Curated OER
Date with Destiny
Learners examine the outcome of the war in Iraq. In this Iraq history instructional activity, students discuss the effects of the war and the regime of Hussein. Learners write and design textbook pages that feature the contemporary...
Curated OER
Islam: History, Society, and Civilization
Students explore the Crusades. In this world history lesson, students watch a video regarding the Crusades and compile a list of facts regarding the series of religious wars. Students compare the Muslim view of the wars to the Christian...
Curated OER
Hello Summer
Students celebrate the great outdoors and the coming summer break by studying the natural world. In this seasons lesson, students engage in bark rubbing and operate a digital camera to capture outdoor imagery for a collage to help them...
Prestwick House
Reading Challenge
One of the big challenges of assigning independent reading is helping class members find a book to read. Another is encouraging readers to read a variety of genres. Never fear, help is here in the form of a quest that asks individuals to...
National Wildlife Federation
Power Pellets! Nuclear Energy in the United States
Nuclear power provides about 20 percent of the energy generated in the United States. The seventh activity in the series of 12 tackles nuclear power. After sharing what they know about nuclear energy, scholars complete a...
Overcoming Obstacles
Handling Stress
Middle schoolers learn how to "put stress to rest" by identifying their stress factors and the physical and emotional signs they exhibit when stressed. After the class brainstorms ways to handle these stressors, individuals commit to...
Curated OER
A Musical Holiday Gift
Students record a CD of their musical talents and package it for gift giving. They make the CD for either a holiday or end of the year activity.
Center for Civic Education
Responsibility and the U.S. Constitution
When are responsibilities freely chosen, and when have they actually been imposed on us? Here you'll find a unique way to frame your class discussion on civic duty and responsibilities inherent in the United States Constitution.
Curated OER
Message in a Bottle
Students acquire a pen pal in a foreign country and write letters at least twice a month throughout the year to exchange with them. At the end of the year, they write an essay that compares one important difference and one important...
Curated OER
Capitalization and Punctuation
First and second graders explore writing conventions. They add question marks or periods to the end of teacher generated sentences on sentence strips. They locate punctuation marks in poems and write original sentences using appropriate...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr. Team Activity
Young scholars sequence the events of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, after first being read a biography. The facts are on strips of paper, which are later glued end to end.
Curated OER
Poem in Your Pocket Day: Ideas for Celebrating
First instituted in New York City in 2002 and recognized nationwide in 2009, "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is part of National Poetry Month (April) and celebrates poetry in everyday life. A brief news story includes 9 ideas about how to...
Curated OER
Using Graphology to Teach Traditional Writing
Introduce your class to the narrative, descriptive and expository forms of writing. In groups, they discuss the personality of the author while graphing the characteristics after reading different examples from the same writer. To end...
Curated OER
The Learning Network: More Like Disney
A great source of high-interest reading for the language arts classroom! Meant to be used with an article also available on the New York Times website, this worksheet provides 10 comprehension questions about the reading as well as one...
Curated OER
Teaching Basic Banking Principles
Young scholars explore basic banking principles and the value of money as they probe into the lesson. The case of Gus Mahler is examined as students discover the money making dealings of the banking industry.
Curated OER
Punctuation: Periods. Commas,
Color-coded slides model for viewers the various uses of the comma and the period. The rule is presented and followed by several examples. Consider extending the lesson with a practice exercise.
Curated OER
Preserving Buds and Blooms
Students learn how to preserve flower buds and blooms. In this gardening lesson, students explore the methods of air drying, using drying agents, and pressing plants to preserve them.
Curated OER
Web Designs: A Story Comes Alive
Middle schoolers work cooperatively to choose a theme, write a story, and produce a web site to display this story in this middle-level lesson on the career of a web designer. This excellent lesson ends with an organized, web site launch...
Curated OER
Good Deeds Reap Rewards
Students recognize the good deeds of their classmates. In this self-esteem lesson, students participate in a reward program for doing a good deed. Students get prizes for outstanding behavior.
Curated OER
The World Around Me
Combining visual and language arts, here is a resource that prompts middle schoolers to write stories based on pictures of their surroundings. They use digital cameras to take pictures of favorite areas in the school. Next, they choose...
Curated OER
Finding My Voice
Have your class learn the essentials of public speaking. They compose a speech for their fifth grade celebration using iPods and presentation software. This would be a great end of the year activity for any grade level.
Curated OER
Australian Crawl
During a unit on Australia's pop culture, don't forget to include a lesson about Australian Crawl, a famous band from the 70s and 80s. This worksheet includes 10 multiple-choice questions.
Brooklyn Museum
Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties
While the lesson is lacking in procedure, it does provide a wealth of information on artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Information on his life, art, and inspirations can provide you with insights into creating learning activities that convey...
Indiana University
British Literature Restoration Unit: The Pillow Book – Sei Shonagon
First drafted in the year 996, The Pillow Book contains reflections of those met by a lady-in-waiting in the Japanese court. A brief summary, historical context, and discussion questions are provided on the first two pages. Then, two...