Curated OER
"I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady
The classic short essay "I Want a Wife" will probably surprise your class. After all, the way Judy Brady presents it, who wouldn't want a wife? After your readers complete the text, present them with this two-page document. Eight...
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Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
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"If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?"
Geeta Kothari presents an honest and compelling account of trying to assimilate into American culture. After your class reads her short story "If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?," present your scholars with this two-page analysis...
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"Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is quite the story-teller. Read "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" and follow it up with this two-page learning exercise. Readers will revisit the text to answer higher level thinking questions. Designed...
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Motion in the Ocean
How does the formation of currents and waves in the ocean happen? High schoolers will learn about the primary causes for ocean currents and waves by calculating a wave's amplitude and nautical mile speed. Then they will complete a...
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The Civil War: A Nation Divided
Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...
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Working on the Slant
Compare and contrast a major news story from various newspapers. How does the perspective change? Are certain things included in some of the stories and left out of others? Have pupils complete a graphic organizer to compare how...
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Electronic Circuit Design
Students design circuits to power 3-9 volt devices such as CD players or flashlights. After measuring the voltage and current requirements for the item, they design a loaded voltage-divided circuit to power it. Students work in teams to...
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Keep Heritage Alive
Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.
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What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
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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...
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I Can Be Whomever I Wish
Famous people who have overcome obstacles are the focus of this language arts and social studies lesson. Pupils are introduced to the concept that they have the ability to overcome obstacles in life. They read selections embedded in the...
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Haiku: The Power of Nature and Emotion
Introduce your students to the famous Japanese Haiku with these great ideas for the classroom.
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Health Conscious?
What is your attitude on health and illness? By considering their own experiences, students will reflect on and discuss their attitudes toward health and illness while educating each other by researching illnesses in small groups,...
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Dr. Fix-It Subjects: Health, Government
Help your students undertand the critical problems around healthcare. By focusing on the political and private process of healthcare, students will watch a video, analyze issues, and write an essay on their findings. Additionally, they...
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
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Hammurabi's Code: What Does It Tell Us About Old Babylonia?
Students examine life in Babylonia during the time of King Hammurabi. They read and discuss excerpts of the Code of Hammurabi, participate in a simulation of advisors to the king, complete an online interactive activity, answer...
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Escher-Esque Tessellations
Middle and high schoolers participate in a seven-part lesson creating Escher-Esque tessellations. They demonstrate their knowledge of geometric transformations after viewing a PowerPoint presentation, conducting Internet research, and...
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Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2007
Environmental science enthusiasts show what they know at the end of the year by taking this full-fledged final exam. They answer multiple choice, graph interpretation, and essay analysys questions, 73 of them in all. Topics range from...
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Regents High School Examination: Living Environment 2005
The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in the area of ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple choice questions on everything from the structure of DNA to the interactions within...
Shakespeare in American Life
Patriarchy in King Lear and As I Lay Dying
King Lear, “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and Anse Bundren? Imagine a unit that examines the tragic hero and patriarchy in King Lear, As I Lay Dying and Apocalypse Now. To liven the brew, learners are asked to include in...
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Turn Your Empty Classroom into a Tutoring Hall
Invite students to receive additional instruction, one-on-one mentoring, and specialized study time in a drop-in study hall.
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Write Away
Students examine the effect of computers and other word processing programs have had on traditional forms of communication and expression after reading and discussing the article "Where the Pen is Mightier Than the PC" from The New York...
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Recurring Nightmares
Does history really repeat itself? Encourage your middle and high schoolers to answer this age-old question by reading the attached articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Iraq Crisis of 2002. How similar or different are...