Curated OER
Visualizing: Hill Fire
Learners use visualization while reading Hill of Fire. In this language arts lesson, students read the story and draw a picture of what they see while listening to the story. Learners use manipulatives to create the figures described.
Curated OER
Literature-based Skill Building: Holes by Louis Sachar
In this reading response worksheet, students complete three drawing and essay activities pertaining to Chapter 13 of the book Holes by Louis Sachar.
Curated OER
Genetics: Integrated with History and Art
Students work cooperatively in pairing chromosomes, created statistical genetic babies using the face lab, constructed a color DNA booklet and demonstrated mitosis in a flip book.
Curated OER
Angles in Art Lesson
Students examine the correlation between art and math. Using their computers, students construct and measure angles. Students identify the properties of angles and polygons. They engage in the Angles program on their Palm and use the...
Curated OER
Causes of Death in the 19th Century
Students analyze historical data. They explore the context in which it was created. They develop skills in historical analysis.
Curated OER
Teaching Language Arts in Kindergarten Using Stories, Aesop's Fables, and Tall Tales
Students search into a variety of story elements in the eight lessons of this unit. The title, author, illustrator, setting, main character, problem, solution, events and the story are the components of the lessons.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Final Drafting
Learners are able to revise their own essays for greater clarity and fluency, adding explanation where needed and cutting extraneous information where appropriate. They are able to compose an academic essay with a complete introduction,...
Curated OER
Candide Cubing Strategy
Candide is a dense text. To assist in analyzing Voltaire's satire, groups employ a cubing strategy based on Bloom's taxonomy. Complete directions for the strategy, a template for the cube, a worksheet, and a topic list are included.
Curated OER
Literary Terms: Take Me to the Theater!
Take your class to the theater! First graders will examine characters that actors play such a villians and heroes. Then participate in creating plays and performing in them. They will also research what it takes to create scenery, props...
Curated OER
De-Mystifying Poetry: Understanding Narrative Poetry
Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.
Curated OER
Bringing Household Items to Life
Use folk tales as inspiration for learning about and using personification in creative writing. Learners brainstorm together in order to practice personification before writing their own poems or paragraphs about a household object.
Curated OER
Anticipation Guide for Much Ado About Nothing
Is falling in love easy or hard? Challenge your class to consider seven statements about love and relationships before reading Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Then, as you work your way through the play, revisit the sheet to record...
Curated OER
Peter and the Starcatchers: Anticipation Guide
Pique your pupils' interest before reading Peter and the Starcatchers with an anticipation guide. Given a list of 10 statements, learners choose true or false based on what they think the book is about. They then discuss in small...
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
A Search for Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...
Curated OER
The Final Copy
Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...
Curated OER
Become a Character: Adjectives, Character Traits, and Perspective
Students use an online chart to match the character traits of a character in a book they are reading with specific actions the character takes. Students then work in pairs to "become" one of the major characters in a book and describe...
Curated OER
Fahrenheit 451 Anticipation Guide
Are anticipation guides effective? The first two pages of this lesson describe what an anticipation guide is and how to use it effectively. On the final page is the anticipation guide; use it to get your class talking about censorship...
Film English
Gratitude
Encourage your class to experience gratitude. In order to do so, discuss what your pupils are grateful for and show them a short film about gratitude. The class watches the video a couple of times before responding to a quotation taken...
Film English
Saving Grace
Bring up the topic of world hunger in your class with two emotional videos. The short films are about a program for educating and feeding children around the world. Class members talk about poverty and pay close attention to the...
Curated OER
Stating Your Case: Writing Thesis Statements Effectively
As a writer, if you have a weak introductory paragraph or thesis statement, you might lose your audience! Have your middle and high schoolers practice writing introductory paragraphs that include clear thesis statements in response to...
Curated OER
How Do you Feel?
Students discover how moods and perceptions can be affected by colors. As a class, they create their own color wheel and identify primary and secondary colors. They draw their own cool and warm color mosaic and discuss how each one of...
Curated OER
Shapes
Learners participate in a number of hands-on shape-related activities. They match and sort shapes by attribute, read books about shapes, complete shape art projects and explore and compare parts of shapes.
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily...
Curated OER
Cloud Painting
Students explore clouds and abstract thinking through painting. This lesson uses higher thinking skills and encourages self expression.