University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Brain Inspiration
"Neuroscientists consider Cajal as important to their discipline as Einstein is to physics." The first of four lessons has scholars view Santiago Ramon y Cajal's drawings of neurons. They reflect and respond to the art through writing...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?
Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...
Curated OER
Harvesting Mosaics
Students use pieces of farm pictures to investigate the elements of art. In this farm art lesson, students use pieces of pictures to create an original artwork. Students use the Internet to find images. Students create a...
Curated OER
Perception and Observation
Students use common and unusual objects to make observations of details, design, and functionality. They describe and draw each object while working in small groups. The differences between observation and perception is covered as part...
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
Sea World
Endangered Species
Study different endangered species with several activities that incorporate math, science, language arts, and research strategies. A great addition to your activity on conservation or Earth Day.
Curated OER
Design-A-Room
Students employ art as a means of communication. The meaning of the communication comes out in the design of a unique room that is 3 dimensional. The use of the imagination is encouraged as well as visualization skills.
Curated OER
A Day in the life of...
Students read about and study insects--their distinguishing characteristics, habitats, camouflage methods, defense mechanisms, etc. They draw pictures and write a story from the viewpoint of an insect and share their pictures and stories...
Curated OER
Body Building
Students determine whether ancient Egyptian drawing was proportional and in perspective by comparing ancient Egyptian drawings, a mummy's x-ray, and contemporary photographs of people.
Curated OER
A Bug's Journey
Young scholars examine the artwork of John Baldessari that was inspired by a 16th century drawing of a beetle. They analyze a drawing of a beetle, discuss the insect's characteristics, and write a story from the perspective of a bug....
Curated OER
Indians in Georgia: How Do We Know What We Know?
Students discover archaeology by investigating the history of Native Americans in Georgia. In this U.S. history lesson, students participate in a mock archaeological excavation in their classroom by recovering artifacts and...
Curated OER
Rain Forest Stencils
Fourth graders explore animals of the rain forest. They create a drawing of an animal in the rain forest. Students research the animal and write a paragraph about the animal. They use a stencil to create a picture of a rain forest animal.
Curated OER
Forest Management Dilemmas
Students discuss forest management dilemmas and make uninformed decisions as to whether they are appropriate management techniques. They draw bar graphs of the class opinion for each dilemma. They use media sources to become more...
Curated OER
Mummies: Tales from the Egyptian Crypts Part II
Learners explore the shifts in perceptions of the sphinx as Greeks, Romans, and finally the French under Napoleon moved through Egypt.
Curated OER
Travel to the Polar Lands
Second graders receive an "Expedition Ticket" to travel through the Polar Regions- the Arctic and the Antarctic. They research polar bears and make drawings that are to scale.
Curated OER
Cartography
Students follow directions to draw a map of an island. They complete the island map adding their own details using symbols and a legend.
Curated OER
Science Happens in a Social Context
Students discuss how the same data is viewed differently between historians and scientists. Using the data, they compare and contrast the vocabulary used and the focus of attention. They analyze the conditions that help spread diseases...
Curated OER
Your Blooming Pond
Young scholars model a pond system that becomes enriched with nutrients (fertilizer). They manipulate variables, make observations over time, and draw conclusions that may lead to further inquiry. They, in groups, simulate a pond...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive...
NASA
Discovering the Milky Way
What do you call a tiny collection of galaxies? A puny-verse! Young scholars graph data gathered by scientists studying Cepheids. They attempt to identify a relationship between the variables through standard and logarithmical...
Curated OER
A Neighborhood Expedition
Students plan and conduct an expedition through their neighborhood based on the techniques used by the Harriman Expedition to Alaska in 1899. They research the Harriman expedition on the internet and then create a route and collection...
Curated OER
Would You Believe Your Eyes?
Students study the parts and functions of the human eye. They create dodecagons which are twelve-sided figures with twelve equal angles and share these with the class so that each student can begin to see how many different illusions can...
Curated OER
Fitting Trash into Yesterday: A Fifth Grade Activity
Fifth graders explore the concept of waste management. In this recycling activity, 5th graders discover the history of waste management and discuss how the U.S. should respond to the issue of ever-increasing waste.
Curated OER
Building Up, Breaking Down
Young scholars investigate how rocks are modified into construction materials. In this building up and breaking down lesson plan, students explore what happens to building materials over time and how people modify natural materials....