Curated OER
Advanced Math Budget Project
What financial situations and decisions await young learners after they graduate from high school? This project allows class members to glimpse into the types of responsibilities they will have as adults, from considering job...
University of Minnesota
C. elegans and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Introduce the topic of astrobiology in a unit that's out of this world. Biology scholars examine the search for extraterrestrial life by culturing roundworms, a species that has been key in helping researchers understand the...
Ashbrook Center at Ashland University
The Constitutional Convention
Imagine sitting down with representatives of your school to write a new student handbook. What arguments would ensue? How would compromises be made to finish the project? Scholars research the Constitutional Convention using a directory...
Teach Engineering
What is a Nanometer?
Teams learn about the size of a nanometer by measuring objects and converting those measurements. A learning exercise then tests the groups' abilities to use nanometers by having them determine the size of objects that are too small to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2 James Madison: The Second National Bank—Powers Not Specified in the Constitution
How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second lesson of a...
Teach Engineering
May the Force Be With You: Drag
Do not let friction drag you down! The 11th segment in a series of 22 focuses on the fourth force acting upon an airplane—drag. Pupils learn about the effects and causes of drag.
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...
iCivics
Hey, King: Get Off Our Backs!
Young historians explore the reason American colonists were unhappy under British rule. Class members complete hands-on activities and participate in a group discussions to understand why colonists drafted the Declaration of Independence.
Mathematics Vision Project
Quadratic Functions
Inquiry-based learning and investigations form the basis of a deep understanding of quadratic functions in a very thorough unit plan. Learners develop recursive and closed methods for representing real-life situations,...
Curated OER
Queen Anne's War and Its Impact on Deerfield
Class members read a series of primary and secondary source materials to examine the effects of Queen Anne's War, also know as the War of Spanish Succession, on the Pocumtucks and other Native Americans in the area of Deerfield, MA.
Code.org
Creating Summary Tables
Let the computer summarize all that data. Pairs work together to learn how to create pivot tables by following directions in the online module. They then utilize the data collected from the beginning of the unit to create their own...
Teach Engineering
What is GIS?
Is GIS the real manifestation of Harry Potter's Marauders Map? Introduce your class to the history of geographic information systems (GIS), the technology that allows for easy use of spatial information, with a resource that teaches...
University of California
Decolonization
The ripple effect from one small event can impact many others. Young historians research the ripple effect World War II had on decolonization in the second installment of an eight-part series. Through primary and secondary documents as...
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Taking Action
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed in 1948 when the majority of members of the United Nations voted in favor of the resolution. Scholars use their knowledge of human rights to determine ways they personally can help promote...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
ProCon
Gold Standard
If all the mined gold in the world was melted across a football field, it would rise 5.4 feet. That's just one interesting fact pupils learn when using the debate topics website to determine if the United States should return to a gold...
ProCon
Teacher Tenure
Before the implementation of tenure in 1886, female teachers were sometimes fired for wearing pants or staying out too late at night. Scholars research the debate topic to decide if teachers should get tenure. They review the history of...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Design 'Y'er Genes
How do changes in DNA affect an organism? Scholars explore chromosomes, genes, DNA, and mutations by modeling the DNA of a strawberry. They build a DNA model, then manipulate it to show how changing the genes transforms the strawberry...
Teach Engineering
Active and Passive Transport: Red Rover Send Particles Over
I can move about freely, but you cannot. The class models the movement through cell membranes by way of passive and active transport. Members of the class play the roles of various proteins, atoms, compounds, and cell actions and mimic...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film
Young scholars research the social context of Elizabethan England for Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They identify cultural influences on the play focusing on the theme of revenge and then analyze and compare film interpretations of the play.
Curated OER
Fruits of the Rain Forest
Sixth graders research rain forests and complete activities for the topic. In this rain forest lesson, 6th graders learn vocabulary about rain forests and research online for rain forest facts. Students research the layers of the rain...
Curated OER
Language Change: The Origins of Names
In small groups or pairs, learners explore the origins of each others' names. An awesome idea, but you'll need to do the initial research to gather your class's names and their origins. Or, consider having each member of your class...
Curated OER
Mathematicians Research Projects
Students research a famous mathematician and create a presentation of their research. For this famous mathematician research lesson, students decide on a famous mathematician that they would like to learn more about. They conduct...
Curated OER
Search and Research
Fifth graders participate in a scavenger hunt on the internet trying to develop a general overview of content and how to locate specific information. They also explore how to receive, store and send electronic information.