Curated OER
East Asian Fiction and Non-Fiction Books
Readers explore East Asian culture and literature with a book folder project. Before beginning the project, learners record three beliefs they have about East Asian culture. They then select two books to read and create a display for the...
Curated OER
How to Celebrate Kwanzaa on Your Campus
An article details everything you need to know about celebrating Kwanzaa at your school. An opening-day ceremony starts the seven-day holiday celebration followed a daily routine that includes a greeting, candle lighting, reciting an...
Teaching Tolerance
Picture Books
Aspiring artists and budding writers combine their skills in an interactive lesson. Young scholars become authors when they create their own picture books focused on social justice. The resource guides learners through the writing and...
Facing History and Ourselves
Civil Rights Historical Investigations
The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights. Groups...
Curated OER
Unit 2: Subject/Object Pronouns School
In this grammar worksheet, students underline the pronouns in a conversation about school. They locate all of the subject/object pronouns.
Curated OER
Indian Boarding Schools
Pupils research government-run American Indian boarding schools. In this American Indian history lesson, students analyze primary documents to develop an understanding of the forced acculturation of American Indians through...
Curated OER
My First Day of School
For this Junie B. Jones activity worksheet, learners think about their first day of school and create a comic strip using the 8 boxes to depict their day.
Curated OER
Suitable Schools
Students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives. They define and describe what students, teachers and parents expect from formal schooling.
Curated OER
Magic School Bus: The Wild Whale Watch Lesson Plan
Students research information about whales. In this early childhood lesson plan, students create an illustration of a whale to display in a sea scene in the classroom. Students then use the library and internet to research a whale of...
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Goes to Mussel Beach
Students investigate tides and create a model of an intertidal zone. In this hands-on marine science lesson plan based on a Magic School Bus book, the teacher leads students in a discussion about tides, then helps students model a tide...
Curated OER
Folktales: Oral Traditions as a Basis for Instruction in our Schools
Pupils visit their school library to read a variety of folktales. While they read, they identify the trickster or hero in each and discuss how the character represents the chaos in the real world. In groups, they write their own...
Curated OER
Library Treasure Hunt
Learners conduct a scavenger hunt activity in their library. In this library research lesson, students use treasure hunt worksheets to locate various items on the library computers and in the library shelves.
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas: The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
Learners read The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Janna Cole. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of plants and seeds. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Magic School Bus
Students read The Magic School Bus Gets Baked In A Cake: A Book About Kitchen Chemistry by Joanna Cole. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of kitchen chemistry. Included are reading, art, math,...
Curated OER
The World of Amelia Bedelia
Get ready to laugh with your class by reading the book Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School. After they read the book and do activities comparing their first day of school with Amelia' they will then have conversations around the story....
University of British Columbia
The Outsiders: Identity, the Individual, and the Group
S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is the anchor text in a unit that asks readers to reflect on their own identity, their place in their family, in groups with which they identify, and in school.
Facing History and Ourselves
Dual Identities
Many of us have multiple identities. There's who we are at home, school, friends, and strangers. And often these identities come with different names. The third activity in the First Days of School series examines how names reflect...
Facing History and Ourselves
Teaching Strategy: Contracting
The final lesson in the First Days of School series focuses on how to build a classroom community where all class members can feel safe, heard, and valued. The resource includes step-by-step directions for engaging pupils in developing...
Facing History and Ourselves
Becoming Ourselves
Here's a great way to build community during the first days of the new school year. Participants read personal narratives, then craft and share their stories with others.
Harper Collins
Fly Away with Books Poster
Put up a poster near your class library to encourage your pupils to take trips to different worlds and times through books. The poster features one large hot air balloon made out of book covers and several smaller balloons, some with...
Facing History and Ourselves
What's In a Name?
Rumpelstiltskin understood the power of names. The second lesson in the First Days of School series focuses on building community by recognizing the importance of the relationships among names, identities, and cultures. Learners engage...
Facing History and Ourselves
Our Names and Our Place in the World
Names come with all sorts of nuances and can influence how we see ourselves and how others see us. To gain insight into the power of names, class members journal about their names and then read a short essay about a girl and her feelings...
Facing History and Ourselves
Making Meaning of Community
In the post-pandemic classroom, it's more important than ever to begin the school year by building a strong sense of trust and community. Using the Make Meaning and Big Paper teaching techniques, groups develop a definition of community...
Curated OER
Learning About Trees
After looking at pictures of trees, discussing tree growth, and identifying the parts of a tree, lead your class on a nature walk and have them collect samples and record their observations. They then work in pairs to polish the...