Curated OER
THE GAM SAAN ADVENTURE ARE YOU WILLING TO RISK IT?
Fourth graders study the lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail Service, Western Union, and the building of the transcontinental railroad, including the contributions of Chinese workers to its construction. They explore the...
Curated OER
Clothesline Sleuth
Students explore the make up of fabrics. In this agriculture lesson, students examine the cotton and wool crops of the United States and discover how fabrics are created.
Curated OER
Where Does It Come From?
Students examine food sources. In this agriculture lesson, students investigate how food is stored, moved, and processed as they participate in a classroom activity.
Curated OER
Read All About It! Events and People of the 1930s and 1940s That Shaped California and the Nation.
Learners look carefully at four photographs by Dorothea Lange and discuss them in terms of what is depicted and what she may have wanted to communicate. They review what they learned about the Dust Bowl, the Depression, the war era, and...
Curated OER
Plant Biology
Young biologists discuss the reasons behind the current use of the plant identification system. They get into groups and identify the characteristics of each species of plant which is described. The keys needed for groups to make...
American Museum of Natural History
The Tree of Life
Groups of species can have more in common than meets the eye. An interactive cladogram shows some of the connections between important groups of species. Learners click on sections of the diagram to learn more about the connections or on...
California Academy of Science
Exploring Our Growing Need for Water
Pupils explore the amount of water people use in agriculture and for personal use. They compare water usage for various crops to that of raising animals before considering solutions for increased access to safe drinking water worldwide....
Bermudian Springs School District
John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath — Independent Reading
Lies, deceit, betrayal, criminality: these topics are just a few of the reasons that John Steinbeck's classic novel The Grapes of Wrath has captivated people since its 1939 publication. Scholars begin the lesson by reading background...
Curated OER
Bird Brilliance!
First graders explore natural resources and search outdoors to find materials to create a bird's nest. In this bird's natural resources lesson, 1st graders listen to a book about birds and reflect on the various things birds use to...
Curated OER
Ecology: Why Are Rice Fields Suitable Habitats for Birds?
Fifth graders discover the uses for rice by reading about the habitats of certain birds. In this agriculture lesson, 5th graders research birds from the Gulf Coast and California and their reasons for living in rice fields. Students...
Curated OER
Where is Rice Grown?
Fifth graders create a timeline of the development of rice as an important crop. In this agricultural history lesson, 5th graders read about the history behind why rice was grown and where it is grown. Students demonstrate their learning...
Curated OER
Biographies of Heroes
Second graders explain the importance of individual action and character. They explain how heroes from long ago and the recent past make a difference in others' lives.
Curated OER
Teaching About Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean
Sixth graders examine the trade routes in the Mediterranean of the Ancient world. In groups, they view slides of artifacts while answering questions on a worksheet. After watching a video, they discuss how each object was found and...
Curated OER
That Was Then, This Is Now
Students examine the price of food over time. They analyze charts, perform math operations and compare and contrast data about the price of food. They complete worksheets while interperting the charts.
Curated OER
Freed Slaves
Students are given the identify of a newly freed slave at the end of the Civil War. Students participate in a discussion to explore some of the difficulties and decision making freed slaves had to consider. Students present their...
Curated OER
A Single Lucid Moment
Students examine a case study of contrasting values between cultures. They read and discuss a story of a family of Peace Corps volunteers in Papua New Guinea, write a response to the story, and write a script for a dramatization of the...
Curated OER
Groundwater Movement
Students study groundwater movement beneath the surface of the Earth. In this agriculture lesson, students experiment with how water moves through rock materials such as sand, gravel, and clay.
Curated OER
What's Bugging You?
Students examine the effects of pests on other organisms, crops, and the environment. they construct an insect observation chamber and discover how some insects can be pests in some situations and beneficial in others. They write "pest...
Curated OER
How Much Is Too Much? How Little Is Too Little?
Young scholars perform a series of experiments which show that plants require nutrients in certain quantities. They also cooperatively read materials on the nutrient requirements of plants, fertilizers, composting, and soil management,...
Curated OER
Counting on Cooperatives
Students are introduced to the study of economics, including an introduction to basic business types and systems. They investigate about international, national and California history as they take a historical tour of cooperatives and...
Curated OER
More Than One Grain of Rice
Students explore mathematics, geography and agriculture by studying world rice production. In this production of rice lesson, students read One Grain of Rice and use a worksheet grid to calculate how much rice was received. Students...
Curated OER
The Amazing Tomato
Students gain an understanding of where our food comes from. In this plant life lesson, students review what plants need for growth and how long it takes them to grow. Students research which plants it takes to make salsa. Students then...
Curated OER
Let's Make a Compost Cake
Learners create a compost cake. In this gardening and decomposition science lesson, students review and describe the "nutrient cycle." Learners create a compost pile, measure and record the dimensions and temperature of the pile, and...
Curated OER
Farmers and Growers
Students explore the lives and work of the farmers and growers of specialty crops of the West. The amount of land and natural resources needed, the fertilizers utilized, and the market available for the crops are investigated in this...