Agriculture’s Lasting Heritage
Apples Around Us
Apple tasting launches an investigation of the story and travels of John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. After listening to his story, class members craft a summary of the tale, chart his journeys on a map, and sample different...
Curated OER
Flag Day
Ninth graders design a flag for any flag day of their choice. They may select an existing group but need to redesign the logo or make one up of their own, limiting their colors to a maximum of three or four to keep costs down. They make...
Curated OER
Handprint Rainbow
Students find differences in handprints in a cooperative effort to make a rainbow. In a rainbow painting lesson, students use their hands to create the different levels of the rainbow. Students may choose their colors.
Curated OER
Hidden Children and the Holocaust: A Lesson and Pledge for Action
Students read various personal accounts of children during the Holocaust. Using special identification cards, they relate the Holocaust to historical events in their lifetimes. Examining primary source documents, they describe how they...
Baylor College
Fungus Among Us
In order to learn that mold spores can be found in the air, observers grow bread mold and make observations for a few days. Afterward, they participate in a class discussion to arrive at the knowledge that bread spores are present in the...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Commitment to Recovery
Recovery from substance addiction is an ongoing process. The final lesson in a series about painkiller abuse and addiction prompts learners to research various recovery options before writing a short story about a character who is going...
British Council
Smoking Stinks
There are lots of good reasons not to smoke. Make sure your middle and high schoolers understand each and every one with a instructional activity that prompts them to read anti-smoking posters, note the main points, and write a short...
Curated OER
My Summer Vacation: Traveling
A classic instructional activity idea, kindergarteners share stories about their summer vacations on their first day of school! First, your young learners will listen to you talk about your summer vacation, making sure to use plenty of...
Curated OER
Create a Holiday for Your Favorite Hero
Pupils create a holiday for a hero. The person may be someone in history who is not currently honored with a holiday, another famous person, a family member, a friend, or someone else they admire.
Curated OER
Marching to Freedom: PowerPoint Presentation debating for or against going to war
Fourth graders present research on war. In this debate lesson, 4th graders create a power point presentation debating for or against the American Revolution. Students share their presentations with the class.
Curated OER
Crazy Laws: There Must Have Been a Good Reason?
Students study the reasons for the passage of some "crazy" laws and illustrate one of them. They examine how current laws may seem outdated in 50 years.
Curated OER
Designing My Dream House
Seventh graders design possible dream house layouts. In this architecture instructional activity, 7th graders use sketch paper and a ruler to develop several rough sketches of a dream house. Students discuss how to use a scale for...
Curated OER
Goldilocks Live!!!
Study story elements with your young learners. Read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and discuss the order of events by making a story panel out of butcher paper. Sentences are given as suggestions for the panel, though you may...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
Curated OER
We Are All Authors
Students analyze the components of a book to use it as a model for the creation of their own book. The title, author, illustrator, front cover, back cover, dedication page, and author are examined in this instructional activity.
Curated OER
Guest Readers
Young readers explore reading comprehension by creating a class presentation. In this storytelling lesson, puils read an assigned text in class and analyze the characters, settings and story. They create an illustrated presentation in...
Curated OER
Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
Curated OER
Abercrombie & Fitch Catalogue: Is it Pornographic?
Students use their textbook to find a legal definition of the word pornography. Using the Abercrombie and Fitch catalog, they write a column about whether the pictures are borderline pornographic or not. They also may present their...
Curated OER
Three-Meal Weather: Food inspired adjectives from "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
Students complete a list of food adjectives based on the book Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. In this adjectives lesson plan, students also compose a 3 part piece of writing based on an entire day of raining food.
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Focus: Spelling Common Words
If you’re going to get a tattoo, make sure your artist writes it right because it’s hard to correct their inkings. That’s the big idea in this short lesson on commonly misspelled words like their/there/they’re and it’s/its. Images...
Curated OER
Sculpture and Nature
Eighth graders examine and discuss the environmental art of Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long. They view images, observe how to lash tree materials together, and demonstrate how to lash tree materials.
Curated OER
Using Aphorisms to Help Dealing with People
Here's a formal plan for what many effective teachers already do: Provide a week's worth of aphorisms and have learners choose one to write about in their journals each day. They reflect on the meaning of each aphorism and project how it...
Curated OER
Unit of Study Mural
Students make a mural after reading about the art of Diego Rivera. In this mural lesson plan, students read a book about Diego Rivera, discuss him and his artwork, and make their own class mural.
Japan Society
Our Family and Other Families: Using Totoro to Teach Family Structure
What do families around the world have in common? Explore this theme through the popular animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. Over the course of two days, pupils view the film, pausing to discuss their own families and the...