University of Minnesota
Mirroring Emotions
Do you ever give your class the "teacher look"? Without saying a word, they become silent and engaged (hopefully). How do they know what you're thinking? Explore the concept of nonverbal communication and how it relates to our mirror...
TryEngineering
Graphics: Bits and Points
What can a mural teach pupils about computer science? The lesson has scholars create a mural on a wall to learn about bitmap and vector graphics. Along the way, they learn about the graphics coordinate system.
Scholastic
Ruby Bridges: A Simple Act of Courage, Grades K-2
A civil rights movement lesson plan designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary...
Curated OER
The Glass Menagerie: K‐W‐H‐L Strategy
Readers of Tennessee Williams' award winning memory play, The Grass Menagerie, will be neither disappointed nor discouraged by this prereading strategy that asks learners to consider what they know about Williams and his play, what they...
Curated OER
Fresh Foods from Farm to Table
Are you a good egg? Learners begin a farm-to-table lesson by acting out verbs in groups to demonstrate the egg production process, and then research the steps using online resources. Several excellent videos are linked through the...
Curated OER
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage: Grades 6-8
To gain a better understanding of Hispanic heritage and culture, as well as to build informational comprehension skill, learners explore facets of Hispanic American History. They engage in a class discussion, research three facts, and...
August House
Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail
Learn about the animals of Australia with a language arts lesson about an Australian folktale called, Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail. After reading the story as a class, kids discuss events and characters from the book, retell the story to...
Towson University
Looking Backwards, Looking Forward
How do scientists know what Earth's climate was like millions of years ago? Young environmental scholars discover how researchers used proxy data to determine the conditions present before written record. Grouped pupils gain experience...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Growing a Nation: Into a New Millennium 1970-Present
If you want to focus on critical thinking skills, this well-constructed series of activities will challenge your history or agriculture class to evaluate the effectiveness of administrative decisions related to agricultural and the...
Curated OER
PE Back Pack
What a great idea! Young athletes take backpacks with sports equipment home so they can practice their skills. Each backpack has different equipment to practice different skills. There are task cards in each of the backpack with...
Curated OER
Find The Hidden Message: Media Literacy in Primary Grades
Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 6–8
Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast
Following an online activity, scholars listen to a read-aloud of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma. Pupils discuss their family traditions and complete a T-chart comparing the holiday then and now. Collages are made to...
Energy for Keeps
The Energy Times
Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life
A instructional activity looks at the Pilgrims and Wampanoag tribe during the first Thanksgiving. Scholars compare and contrast information presented by an online activity then discuss their findings. Learners examine the two group's...
Virginia Department of Education
Transformations
The coordinate plane is a popular place! Identify rotations, reflections, and dilations on the coordinate plane. Pupils work in small groups to match transformations of a figure with the description of the transformation. They perform...