Curated OER
All About Almanacs
Use almanacs to entice your learners to explore non-fiction texts in celebration of Read-An-Almanac Month!
Candace Fleming
Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life
Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.
Curated OER
Animals in the Almanac
Students practice using a World Almanac by completing the provided worksheet on animals.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World
Of the many roles he played, Benjamin Franklin most wanted to be remembered as B. Franklin, Printer. Learners of all ages find out more about this amazing man through the activities included in the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Guide.
Columbus City Schools
Moon Phase Mania
Now you see it, now you don't. Our moon seems to pull a disappearing act from time to time—but why? Take your seventh grade scientists above and beyond to discover the truth about the moon and the role it plays in Earth's little corner...
K5 Learning
Miss Mitchell's Comet
Maria Mitchell discovered a comet, became the first female astronomer in the United States, and even has a crater on the moon named after her! Learn more about her passion for the stars with an informative reading passage, followed by...
Curated OER
Ben Franklin Timeline
Celebrate inventions such as lightning rods, bifocals, and stoves with a Ben Franklin Day. Young historians conduct research and write a paragraph about an accomplishment of Benjamin Franklin including an illustration or collage that...
Captain Planet Foundation
Predicting Whether the Weather is Good for the Garden
Can your class predict the weather? Show them how they can come close with a lesson about creating weather instruments, including weather vanes, barometers, wind socks, anemometers, and thermometers. Kids research weather patterns and...
Curated OER
Write All About It
Fourth graders use research skills and the writing process to create a newspaper. Although students work in groups to complete the final draft of the newspaper, each student is responsible for doing his or her own research and writing...
Curated OER
Reference Materials
After a class discussion where kids share how they find answers to their questions, learners explore the world of reference materials such as, an atlas, an almanac, and an encyclopedia. The Internet is also discussed as a way to access...
Teach Engineering
Weather Forecasting
According to the Farmers' Almanac, the weather will be nice today. Class members examine how weather forecasting plays a part in their lives with a resource that provides information on the history of forecasting, from using cloud...
Curated OER
Word Reference Materials
A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...
Curated OER
Organizing Info into Short Reports
The class brainstorms a list of prominent people from their knowledge of social studies. Groups of two pupils get together and select one of these people to research. They create five questions to research on their person and record them...
Curated OER
Searching the States (or Provinces) Scavenger Hunt
Students examine information on a particular state or province. Groups of students use the internet to locate facts about an assigned state. They research information such as capital, state song, and major crops. students report their...
Curated OER
Immigration Research Project
Students formulate guiding questions to use as an aid for research and then use the guiding questions worksheet to help gather information necessary for meeting all criteria for completing the project. They then work together to collect...
Curated OER
From Basketball Court to Supreme Court
Students discuss scenarios about unfairness and retaliation in school sports. They read about a recent Supreme Court ruling about Title IX, and research, conduct polls and write articles about public opinions on gender issues in sports.
Curated OER
DNA-B-C's
Young scholars review what they already know about DNA. After reading an article, they discover a new technique to map the course of evolution. In groups, they create ways to present this material to younger children and research DNA's...
Curated OER
A System of Rules
Learners write letters, create models, create a photo display, and make charts about the rules that a state has. In this rules lesson plan, students learn about and make different displays of how states come up with rules, change them,...
Curated OER
My State of the Union
Fourth graders, in groups, research states and using various print and nonprint reference materials. The groups make a presentation to inform the class about all the information from the state. This lesson plan provides imbedded support...
Curated OER
Graph the Presidents At Inauguration- How Old Were They?
Students construct a graph of the presidents' ages at inauguration. In this U.S. history lesson, students use online resources to gather data about the presidents and accurately present their results on a graph.
Curated OER
You are Uniquely You
Students compare and contrast simple machines and their functions. In this cross-curriculum science simple machines lesson, students observe examples and read about simple machines, then use body movement to demonstrate how machines...
Chandler Unified School District
Frankly Speaking: Exploring Benjamin Franklin's Aphorisms
Benjamin Franklin famously had an aphorism for every situation—most of which we still use in modern vernacular. Introduce class members to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack with a presentation that details the characteristics of aphorisms.
Curated OER
The Role of Philanthropy in an Ever Changing World: Where Did It All Start?
Students trace the origin and history of a nonprofit organization to help them explain the importance of philanthropy.
Curated OER
Under the Weather
Students identify measurable characteristics about the weather and explore how they are monitored. They research and propose the construction of a weather monitoring station on their school grounds.