CK-12 Foundation
Direction on the Earth: Using a Compass
Navigate the world of orienteering in an informative interactive. Earth science scholars learn practical direction skills, such as proper polar coordinates and pairing compasses with maps. The interactive map allows them to practice...
University of Minnesota
Get the Point(s)
Do all areas of your skin have the same sensitivity to touch? Playing with the sense of touch, this experiment has scholars guessing how many pin heads gently touch their arm and hand. In the second part, pupils...
Polar Trec
Where is the World's Water?
Scholars discover the amount of the Earth's water in various locations such as the ocean, ice, the atmosphere, etc. They then make a model of the how much water those percentages represent. Finally, analysis questions bring the concepts...
CK-12 Foundation
Pie Charts: Soda Party
Using the interactive, pupils create a pie chart that represents the percentage of sodas bought for a party. Individuals need to determine the percentage and number for the final variety of drinks. The learners determine how the...
Trinity University
Who Am I? Using Personal Narrative to Reflect on Identity
Who am I? Pupils work to answer this question through a unit that explores personal narratives and identity. Exit tickets for activities that examine different poems, short stories, and autobiographical writing serve as prewriting for...
US Institute of Peace
Becoming a Peacebuilder
"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" The 15th and final lesson in a peacebuilding series uses this quote from Gandhi to prepare pupils for their own action projects. Individuals research a global issue, then brainstorm a method...
PBS
Benjamin Franklin: Writer, Inventor, and Founding Father
Imagine being a writer, inventor, businessman, and the founding father of an entire nation! Pupils analyze the life and activities of Benjamin Franklin. Primary documents, videos, and paintings open up the world of Franklin to young...
Alabama Wildlife Federation
Birds are Everywhere
Wildlife includes all animals that have not been domesticated, both big and small. Young scientists search for all types of wildlife and more importantly for evidence that wildlife is present. As they venture in an outdoor space, they...
Thoughtful Learning
Setting and Reaching Goals
An activity boosts self-management through goal setting and reflection. Scholars choose one goal they wish to obtain by the end of the week. Participants brainstorm ways to make their goal a reality then reflect on whether or not their...
Nemours KidsHealth
Self-Esteem: Grades 6-8
It would be lovely if we all had mirrors that told us were were fabulous. Alas, such devices designed to boost self-esteem have yet to be invented. However, there are activities that can prove effective. Two activities in a four-page...
Nemours KidsHealth
Germs: Grades 9-12
Beware the bugs! Two activities engage high schoolers in the study of germs, what they are, what they do to the body, and what can be done to prevent them from spreading. After reading a series of related articles, groups create a...
Teaching Tolerance
Parallels Between Mass Incarceration and Jim Crow
Is history repeating itself? A riveting lesson examines the parallels between mass incarceration in the U.S. and the Jim Crow Laws of the past. Academics review Jim Crow Laws and compare them to mass incarcerations of African Americans....
Bowland
Taxi Cabs
Determine the cheapest way to the airport. Pupils read a scenario about trying to get 75 people to the airport using two different sizes of taxis. Learners calculate the number of smaller taxis needed given a number of large taxis and...
Tean Truth
4 Ways Leaders Approach Tasks: Leaders Motivation
Attitude is everything when approaching a task. That's the takeaway from a instructional activity that asks teens to consider the four ways leaders approach tasks.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "The Shapes of Leaves" by Arthur Sze
Arthur Sze's poem, "The Shapes of Leaves," encourages young scholars to notice and speak for others who "do not speak." The lesson begins with pupils writing about a tree that they really like. The class then examines an image of...
NASA
Build a Light Detector Inspired by Space Communications
Data can travel on light waves ... who knew!?! Pupils explore the idea of using light waves to transmit data through space. They then build their own boards that detect a specific wavelength of light.
Bonneville
Making the Standard Solar Heater
Heat up a instructional activity on solar energy. The first of three parts in the Experimenting with Solar Heaters unit has scholars construct solar heaters. They then use them to heat up a container of water and calculate the amount of...
NASA
Earth’s Energy Budget - Seasonal Cycles
Earth's energy budget should be in the red. Young researchers review satellite data in a presentation to study Earth's solar radiation. They make both qualitative and quantitative observations about variations in available seasonal...
Anti-Defamation League
When Perception and Reality Collide: Implicit Bias and Race
The big idea in this lesson is that implicit bias often clouds perceptions. High schoolers watch a short video, read research articles, and engage in discussions about implicit bias and how these biases lead to stereotyping. They craft...
Curated OER
Watery World
Students brainstorm to develop resource/reference charts for later use. they are introduced to Microsoft Word and to an internet movie site. They use prepared chart headings, to respond to questions posed on each chart such as: Where do...
Curated OER
Is It Possible?
Students brainstorm ideas on how to a group of people could reach the highest together. In this possibilities lesson plan, students test their ideas and see how high they can reach.
Curated OER
From A Bill To A Law
Students read about and discuss how a bill becomes a law and then propose a law themselves. In this law lesson plan, students learn legislative vocabulary and then brainstorm a law a write a letter proposing that law.
Curated OER
It's Under Discussion
Students create brainstorming webs to facilitate discussions about writing about an informational topic. In this writing lesson plan, students do this in groups and then free write about their topic.
Curated OER
Nonprofit Organizations in Our Community: Interviewing Representatives
Students interview representatives from nonprofit organizations. In this philanthropy activity, students prepare questions for a representative from a nonprofit organization. After conducting the interview, they are to prepare a short...