Curated OER
Reading a Comparison-Contrast Essay
Turn your passive readers into active readers with an engaging lesson on reading informational text. Focused on compare and contrast structured essays, the activity prompts elementary learners to jot down questions and think-aloud...
Civil War Trust
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address may have been four score and seven years ago, but its message is still as relevant today. Young historians explore the context of the famous speech, as well as its central theme and argument, before discussing the...
Mathed Up!
Angles
What does a geometric farmer drive? A protractor, of course! A set of assessment worksheets prompts learners to use a protractor as they measure angles, name angles, and identify lines. Use the video as a way to...
Global Oneness Project
The Man and the Wolf
Human attitudes toward the big bad wolf come into focus in a photo essay that asks viewers to consider their own feelings about the endangered species.
Global Oneness Project
A Vanishing Island
The effects of rising sea levels on Isle de Jean Charles, located off the coast of Louisiana, are documented in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's poignant short video. Viewers are asked to consider not only the plight of residents but also what...
Global Oneness Project
Recording a Dying Langauge
Is there value in preserving indigenous languages that are almost extinct? That's the question posed to viewers of a short film about the attempt of one Native American woman who is creating a dictionary for Wakchumni, the language of...
Global Oneness Project
Relocating Residents: The Impact of Housing on Community
Sama Maydani and Sarah Kuck's film, Even the Walls, that explores the benefits and drawbacks of gentrification in downtown Seattle, asks viewers to consider how houses, apartment buildings, and outdoor spaces can be designed to build a...
Global Oneness Project
Communities on the Threshold of Change
Viewers of the short documentary Santa Cruz Del Islote consider how changes in climate and overfishing impact the life style of the 1,200 residents of a small island off the coast of Cartagena, Columbia.
Global Oneness Project
The Power to Persevere
Joris Debeij's film, Making It in America, takes a look at Alma Velasco, a Salvadoran immigrant who was granted political asylum in the United States. The lesson gives a face to immigrants and their struggles to embrace the...
Global Oneness Project
Clowning Around
Being a clown is hard work — no joke! Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's Laugh Clown Laugh, a short film about German clown Reinhard "Filou" Harstkotte, asks viewers to consider the various roles played by clowns and to consider the...
Global Oneness Project
Rethinking the Fabrics We Wear
What are fibersheds and what what do they have to do with environmental protections? A photo essay and audio recordings about Mimi Luebbermann, and her sheep, cause consumers to reflect on how their clothing choices can support local...
Global Oneness Project
Understanding Blindness
Gaia Squarci's photo essay, Broken Screen, turns viewers attention to the challenges faced by those with visual impairments. After viewing the images, class members discuss why they believe the photographer structured the album as she did.
Global Oneness Project
Resurrecting a Home
Davina Pardo's documentary Minka asks viewers to consider that value of preserving traditional dwellings and traditional building techniques by examining how American journalist John Roderick and Japanese architect Yoshihiro Takishita...
NOAA
Motion from the Ocean
Create a fish mobile using cardboard and string to hang in the classroom while studying ocean life. Each printable requires pupils to cut out two of the same fish to create consistency on the front and back.
Global Oneness Project
The Nature of Happiness
The U.S. Constitution states that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. The United Nations' Global Happiness Index ranks countries according to the happiness of its citizens. As part of a discussion of the nature of...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Analyzing Impact of Word Choice and Figurative Language in "Barbie Doll"
After a close reading Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll," class members craft an AP®-style explanatory essay in which they analyze the diction and other figurative literary devices the poet employs to deliver her commentary on modern...
Teaching Tolerance
Inventing a Better World
From play pumps that provide clean water to shoes made from trash, innovators change the world one invention at a time. After researching various inventions, young entrepreneurs develop their own. Extension opportunities include prompts...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Battle of Trenton
The Continental Army's victory at the Battle of Trenton marked a turning point in the American Revolution. Young historians examine maps, read primary source materials, and create a timeline of events to understand why the victory was so...
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is the focus of an 11-page packet that includes three lesson plans, three worksheets, and a homework assignment. The first lesson introduces readers to the historical context of the novel. At the same time,...
Curated OER
Writing: Lesson 5
Eighth graders pre-write a story brainstorming things that they want to tell in their story; writing down as many details as possible. They then arrange the details in chronological order and practice several ways to write a narrative.
Curated OER
Researching Vertebrates
Fifth graders research and present a paper about vertebrates. In this research and writing lesson, 5th graders research information about vertebrates which they include in a paper and presentation. They determine how to present relevant...
Curated OER
Introduction to Recycling
Students read a story about recycling, and then identify 3 different objects that can be recycled on a worksheet of numerous items. In this recycling lesson plan, students also write a sentence about recycling.
Curated OER
Imaginative Winter Stories
Third graders write, type, and print imaginative stories about any phase of winter.
Curated OER
Spam University
Students read a New York Times article in order to consider the dissemination of information. They investigate the need for privacy as opposed to the need for information by looking at mass on-line and postal mail distributors.