Curated OER
Is It Fact or Opinion?
Distinguish between fact and opinions in this nonfiction reading instructional activity. Middle schoolers read 'The Diary of an Early American Boy' and work in groups to analyze the text. They record the facts and opinions for the text.
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Tom Thumb Stories From Around the World
Students read Tom Thumb story versions from around the world. They locate the country on a map. They compare and contrast the stories and analyze common elements found in fairytales. They create a finger puppet and write about being...
Arts & Humanities
Make a Souvenir Suitcase
Shoe boxes are fantastic for art projects! Kids create travel boxes, where they can store their travel memorabilia. Tip: Instead of using this idea to make travel cases, create social studies boxes instead. Kids will make these travel...
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Let's Celebrate Christmas!
Students explore the celebration of Christmas as part of an investigation into the multicultural experiences of celebrating holidays. The story written by Richard Paul Evans, "The Light of Christmas" provides the basis for the exploration.
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1900 America: Primary Sources and Epic Poetry
Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and...
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Balancing a Budget
Students calculate living expenses for a non-traditional career choice. They examine interest, balancing a checkbook, and financing cars and homes.
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Verb - Adverb Agreement
In this verb - adverb agreement instructional activity, students choose the correct words to complete the sentences. Students complete 16 sentences.
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Troop Surge vs. Redeployment
Students explore American foreign policy regarding the war in Iraq. In this Iraq debate lesson, students examine videos and documents about the pros and cons of keeping American troops in Iraq.
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Auto-Bio Poem
Students create an autobiographical poem. In this writing lesson, students write an eleven line autobiopoem after read the teacher's model. Students include their name, fears, and family in the poem.
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Water: The Liquid of Life
Sixth graders complete a lesson on the properties, types and amounts of water on Earth. In groups, they travel between stations to identify water resources in Illinois and pollution sources. They complete the lesson with a field trip...
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Playing the Stock Market
Students analyze how the performance of a company affects its stock value resulting in profits or losses. They simulate buying stock and earning dividends.
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Mosaic Tiles
Elementary schoolers create a mosaic project. This simple art lesson produces big results! The tile mosaics are beautiful, and will be cherished by the young artists who create them, and their parents. These are the kind of projects that...
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Picture the Future
Young scholars create a digital portfolio about their activities for several school years. Students compile pictures and copies of their best work onto flash drives. Young scholars combine the pictures and text each year to create a...
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Students Involved in the Community
Eighth graders discuss the importance of serving in the community. Individually, they choose a community agency or program to volunteer for a specific period of time. They realize their sense of pride and accomplishment as well as...
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Discovering the Oasis
Fourth graders explore the ecosystem of Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In groups, classmates take pictures and research the species of birds and plants in the area. Over a period of time, 4th graders collect temperature...
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ONE SURVIVOR REMEMBERS: A Call to Action
Students explore how to become active in their communities and develop a plan of action for a service-learning project.
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Cargoes from Three Continents Ancient Mediterranean Trade
Sixth graders begin the activity by researching the different types of ships and shipbuilding techniques used to help trade in the Mediterranean Sea. Using different objects, they determine what one can tell about a society and discuss...
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Adopt a Tree
Students adopt tress on their school campus for scientific observation purposes. In this tree science lesson, students adopt a tree at their school, observe the season changes for the tree, and create a PowerPoint presentation about the...
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Teaching in the Swithched On Classroom
Students engage in activities to help them develop computer skills and other various problem solving methods. They also work collaboratively, and apply technology in an ethical way.
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Idioms Quiz: Body 8
For this English idioms about the body worksheet, learners interpret sayings about the body and complete sentences using them correctly.
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Academic Challenge
Young scholars apply their knowledge of math to the real world. In this algebra lesson, students explore different way to incorporate math topics into the real world. They create a score or progress sheet to mark their progress.
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Boating Safety
Students are introduced to the safety procedures to follow while boating. After taking a quiz, they complete open-ended questions about boating accidents in Illinois. They discuss as a class how those accidents could have been prevented.
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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.
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Anasazi Basket Weaving
The Anasazi Indians of Mesa Verde are the focus of this art and social studies lesson. Working in pairs or groups of three, students utilize computers and go online to search for websites about the Anasazi. Students will choose two or...