Scholastic
Lesson One: The Earth, Background and Glossary
How much do you really know about our planet? Middle schoolers build up their prior knowledge about Earth, its placement in the solar system, its composition, and important geological vocabulary with an introductory earth science lesson.
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Response to Art Exercise
Depending on your perspective, solitude can be lovely or very, very lonely. Kids take a look at the simple landscape illustrated in Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince, and write a short journal entry about their perception of...
Curated OER
"Mother Earth" -- Present
Students examine the Native American belief of "Mother Earth". They read stories from Native American authors and reflect. They illustrate this concept through art and haikus.
Curated OER
Past Imperfect: Examining Secondary Sources of the American Revolution
Ninth graders respond in essay form to the following writing prompt. Mel Gibson, star of The Patriot, is quoted as stating, "If one were to adhere to historical accuracy all the way, you'd probably have the most boring two hours on...
Virginia Department of Education
Three Types of Rocks
Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the accepted...
Curated OER
Getting Through the Day Duck Style
Students observe ducks at a local wetland. They answer various questions about the ducks behavior and write the answers on a downloadable worksheet.
Curated OER
Write Picture Captions
Students notice and investigate a large range of devices for presenting texts-captions. Students write original captions for several audiences. Students write a fictional news story based around a certain caption.
National Security Agency
Let's Party With Place Value
Put on your math caps and explore place value and ways to represent numbers. Learners read, write, and represent whole numbers. They interact with numbers as they read and explore a teacher-created story, play games, and practice their...
Curated OER
Scale/Ratio
Investigate the use of ratios in scale drawings. Learners scale objects up or down using ratios then find the actual size of something using ratios. They apply their knowledge of ratios as they make their own telescopes in science class....
Curated OER
Environment: John Muir Day
Students observe John Muir Day by visiting Websites containing fact sheets, excepted writings, as well as songs, pictures, and educational sources. They use April 21 as a day to reflect on Muir's accomplishment and environmental legacy....
Curated OER
Keeping Things Toasty in New Zealand
Students identify the signs of a volcanic eruption. In this earth science lesson, students compose a letter to their neighbor convincing them of an impending eruption. They recognize the danger in living near a volcano.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Curated OER
Far Out!
Students research and compare/contrast how routine tasks on Earth would be without gravity. They read and discuss the article "The Life Galactic: A Lot of Work, a Little Play, Plenty of E-Mail." In groups they write a pitch for a TV...
Peace Corps
Introducing Culture
Growing up within a culture leaves a lot of ideas and values unspoken. Take a closer look at the cultures in which your learners live with a discussion activity that addresses cultural identity and traits of those living within the...
Curated OER
Message in a Bottle
Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...
Curated OER
Spaced Out
Students explore the transit of Venus and the information that this minieclipse provides about the distance between the Earth and the sun. They create their own astronomical units.
Curated OER
The Power of One
Learners read stories about people making differences in the world and specifically the hunger plight. In this making a difference lesson, students read stories about people who impacted people and the plight of hunger. Learners then...
Curated OER
Eclipse: An Introduction
Students write journal entries about eclipses with a focus on solar eclipses.
Curated OER
Mysterious Footprints
Young scholars, after observing and responding to two pictures, consider the interaction of two unknown animals by examining the pattern of their footprints. They make observations, draw conclusions and propose possible explanations for...
Curated OER
Protecting Agriculture's Tools
Students brainstorm which tools farmers can control and why. They discuss how to conserve water, air and soil. They discuss the role of farmers and how they feed the world.