Curated OER
Red Riding Hood in China
Inspire young writers to compose their own version of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood." They begin by reading "Little Red Riding Hood" and the Chinese version <i>Lon Po Po</i>, then they compare and contrast the two...
Curated OER
Graffitti
Here is a fun way to encourage a cooperative classroom, drawing skills, and creative expression. Each child draws a design or shape on his paper, then he rotates to the next child's paper where he adds to the previous design. When the...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Mask Symmetry
When you engage learners in creating symmetrical objects you are also building their vocabulary and math sense. Kids discuss key words such as, asymmetrical, symmetrical, balance, tint, and shade. They use these elements of design to...
Curated OER
Cotton Swab Skeletons
To truly teach through the arts means one must tackle both art and core content in one instructional activity. This quick activity does just that. Learners make skeletons out of cotton swabs in order to study relief sculpture and the...
Nemours KidsHealth
Skin Cancer: Grades 6-8
Do we really need sunscreen? What are the risks of tanning? Learners explore these questions through a series of informational texts and engaging, hands-on activities.
Curated OER
The Flat WSD Students
Young scholars engage in creative writing and performance using Flat Stanley. After reading Flat Stanley your class summarize their understanding and then create a flat image of themselves. Students then brainstorm ideas of how they...
Teaching Tolerance
Act Up! Drama for Justice
A lesson turns young historians into playwrights to understand and speak out against social injustice. Pupils work individually or in groups to write and perform monologues that deliver personal messages on social justice. Writers then...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Using Positive and Negative Numbers in Context
Measure the temperature of your math class with a temperature-based lesson plan on adding and subtracting rational numbers. The thermometer serves as a vertical number line for learners as they work together to solve a temperature change...
National Council of Teachers of English
A Bear of a Poem: Composing and Performing Found Poetry
Scholars work collaboratively to compose a found poem from one of their favorite stories. With a finished product in hand, class members form a circle and perform their work for an audience by taking turns reciting one line till the poem...
Curated OER
Be the Change: Core Values
How do core values and identity contribute to citizenship and leadership? After engaging in a series of activities that explore core values, writers craft a children’s story that focuses on one value. They arrange to read their story to...
Curated OER
The Art and Science of Impressionist Color
Discover Impressionist painting as students investigate the 19th century combinations of colors characteristically used. Students experiment with their own paintings, utilizing primary and secondary colors.
Curated OER
Delve Into the Metaphorical Mind
There are many ways to teach metaphors — all are gold to our young learners.
Curated OER
Identifying, Mapping, and Personifying Countries Involved in WWII
Get artsy with this WWII group activity, starting with a whole-class assignment. Create a map of Europe, Northern Africa, and the Pacific using geometric shapes cut from construction paper and placed on the floor. Consider splitting the...
Curated OER
Countries Involved in World War II
Students create their own floor map of Europe, Northern Africa, and the Pacific. They locate, identify, and speak for one of the countries involved. In addition, they classify the country they represent as an Axis Power or as an Allied...
Curated OER
Making the Connection: Incorporate The Arts Into Every Subject
Art, music, movement, and drama will enhance and bring your lessons to life!
Curated OER
Interpreting Statistics: A Case of Muddying the Waters
Is river pollution affecting the number of visitors to Riverside Center, and is the factory built upstream the cause of the pollution? Let your class be the judge, literally, as they weigh the statistical evidence offered by the factory...
Curated OER
Proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem
Working individually and collaboratively, geometers gain a clear understanding of the Pythagorean theorem. They create, explain, and compare proofs of the theorem. Proofs involve areas of trapezoids, squares, and triangles, congruent...
EngageNY
Matrix Multiplication Is Distributive and Associative
Learn the ins and outs of matrix multiplication. After discovering the commutative property does not apply to matrix multiplication in a previous activity in the series, pupils now test the associative and distributive properties. The...
American Press Institute
Media Literacy: Where News Comes From
What actually happens at a press conference? Make sense of the mayhem with a mock press conference activity designed to promote media literacy. Individuals participate as either members of the press or the governor's office to examine...
Curated OER
Noncombatancy and the Seventh day Adventist Church
Upper graders investigate how the Seventh Day Adventists are objectors to the practice of war. The lesson covers the Civil War and examines the church's position about the practice of war. The research extends to modern wars and learners...
Curated OER
An Organic Work That Imitates Life
Students practice using organic and geometric forms while creating individual works of art. This creative art activity incorporates Math concepts for a cross-curricular approach in the classroom.
Curated OER
Beadwork: Creativity Booster and Stress Reliever
Invite students to experience the benefits of making and working with beads.
Curated OER
Fostering Creative Writing
There are many interesting ways to help students develop their creative writing skills through writing prompts and games.
Curated OER
Cooperative Classroom Text Features Activities
Fifth graders examine text features and create a PowerPoint presentation. In this text features instructional activity, 5th graders go over Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures and text features before they choose one to include in a...