Curated OER
Will the Supreme Court Vouch for Vouchers?
Students investigate past Supreme Court decisions that have centered on education issues and assess the ways in which those decisions have impacted American education. They consider the controversies surrounding the issue of school...
Curated OER
Pet-agogy
Students explore interesting animal behaviors and adaptations. They create information sheets about an animal residing in a fictional sanctuary and assess the animal's likelihood of being a good pet.
Curated OER
It's all In the Package
Students examine the concept of reducing solid waste and how it relates to product packaging. They read about and evaluate the packaging decisions of two major U.S. corporations, develop a t-chart comparing the pros and cons of various...
Curated OER
Dealing With Anger
Students assess their own anger levels over the past 12 months. Students discuss when it occurs and ways of dealing with it. Students design a questionnaire to measure young people's anger.
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Cuba On My Mind
Students explore the Cuban society, politics, culture, and economy. As a class, they take a look at the Bush administrations policy on Cuba after reading "Embargo Remains Until Cuba Alters Policy, Bush Says" from The New York Times....
Curated OER
Parts of a Tree
Students identify four parts of trees. In this plant biology instructional activity, students read the book Trees and conduct Internet research to identify the parts of the tree. Students take notes from each website and complete an...
Curated OER
Using Text Features
Fourth graders read a nonfiction story that is presented to them with graphic features, and presented to them with only the text. In this text features lesson, 4th graders decide what the benefits of text organizers are and create...
Curated OER
Afghanistan: People, Places and Politics
Students discuss their prior knowledge of Afghanistan. They work together to complete a study guide about Afghanistan's people and places. They present their information to the class.
Curated OER
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
First graders read key sentences from the story on sentence strips. They read the story with a partner and act out the story, taking turns acting the parts of the various characters.
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A World of Myths
Students read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths to explain natural phenomena.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Students discuss and define folklore, locate town of Sleepy Hollow, NY, on map, calculate distance from Sleepy Hollow to their school, if applicable, review vocabulary list from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, read story aloud, and write...
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The Giving Tree
Fourth graders participate in a shared reading of The Giving Tree. They discuss the relationship between trees and people in the story. Students contribute to a class KWL chart. They create their own KWL chart with at least four things...
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Stump the Dump Maze Game
Young scholars complete reading Because of Winn-Dixie individually or as a class. As students reunite Opal and Winn-Dixie in this timed reading comprehension maze game, they demonstrate their understanding of the novel's plot, theme, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: The Reality behind the Song
Young scholars study how Frederick Douglass uses language to describe a realistic picture of slavery in his writings which are primary source documents. They examine his use of word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals and use...
Curated OER
Decisions: Action or Apathy
Young scholars examine the issues of action versus apathy as related to life pressures, values, consequences and career decisions. They read poetry, short stories and plays and respond to issues personally, critically and creatively.
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Over the Rivers and Through the Woods
Sixth graders examine the purpose of the keelboat used by the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark expedition. They assess its strengths and weaknesses for navigating different rivers, and describe its overall purpose for the...
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An Upbeat West Side Story: Puerto Ricans and Postwar Racial Politics in Chicago
Tenth graders read an article about the migration of Puerto Ricans to Chicago. As a class, they identify the barriers the immigrants faced regarding employment and separation from family members. To end the instructional activity, they...
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How would an oil spill affect a Marine Sanctuary?
Students explore the concept of environmental stewardship. For this science lesson, students discover how scientists assess damages to the environment following oil spills. Students conduct a simulation of a public meeting in order to...
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Letter L
Learners will have fun learning about the letter "L" with the activities in this lesson plan. The author suggests reading "Lightning Bug" from the McGraw-Hill reading book. However, you may find other poems that are fitting for this...
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Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find": Who's the Real Misfit?
Students read and analyze the short story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor. They write a one-page response, explore various websites, take an online interactive journey, and write a final assessment paper.
Curated OER
Temperature and Tracking Weather
Fourth graders discuss, describe and track weather by utilizing a variety of measurable quantities as temperature, wind speed, wind direction, cloud conditions and precipitation. They assess, through experiments and practicing, how to...
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The Writing Process
Young scholars engage in the various steps involved in the writing process. The lesson plan is written as a guide for the teacher to write more in depth lesson plans for specific activities. This is a good model plan to follow.
Curated OER
The Planet Mars
Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. In this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and nonfiction...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Crossing the River
High schoolers analyze the multiple voices in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. In this multiple voices lesson plan, students explore the use of symbolism with the narrative voices of the text. High schoolers write a detailed profile of...