Curated OER
Effects of Urban Growth
Learners explore population growth in the United States and the impact it has had on society. First, they brainstorm the reasons for population growth and the results of these increases. Then, they design surveys, record results, and...
Curated OER
Creating Scrolls Based on the Illustrated Tale of Genji
Now these are learning activities full of fun, art, and cultural exploration. Kids consider the art of storytelling through comic book images. They then look at the Tale of Genji as it was written in the 11th century. They discuss...
Curated OER
The Mitten
Explore the Ukraine through a reading of The Mitten. Readers will determine the sequence of events, cause and effect, make predictions, and find the main idea of the story. They also use math skills to make charts and graphs. Finally,...
Curated OER
Old Hobbits Are Hard to Break
Explore film adaptation of literature with this lesson, which focuses on the world of film advertisements. Middle schoolers discuss various films (including The Lord of the Rings) and create advertisements for a pretend film based on a...
Curated OER
Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
Curated OER
Savers & Borrowers: Financial Markets in the United States
Investigate the current financial market and have your class explore savings, borrowing, financial markets, mutual funds, and the stock market. This four-part lesson is designed to help learners become knowledgeable and informed consumers.
Curated OER
Is Bigger Always Better?
Explore rational numbers with the young mathematicians in your class. They will investigate decimals, fractions, and percents before ordering and comparing rational numbers. This multi-day unit includes differentiation activities and...
Curated OER
Dancing Lights
Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis. In this Northern Lights lesson plan, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the Northern lights....
Curated OER
Colonial Vacation Planner
Looking for a good lesson on the Colonial Period for your upper-elementary class? Then, this lesson is for you! They use website designs, U.S. travel publications, and maps to plan a family vacation to states which were part of the...
Curated OER
Magazine Production
Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...
Curated OER
An Introduction to the Night Sky and Movement Astronomy
Basically, this is an interactive exploration of educational astronomy software and an app. Young astronomers discover how the apparent motion of the sky relates to Earth's movements and the position of the observer. It is out of this...
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Online Publications
Become a Journalist
Explore the newspaper as a unique entity with a detailed and extended unit. The unit requires learners to consider the newspaper's role in democracy, think about ethics, practice writing and interviewing, and examine advertising and news...
Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning
Reading Activity
Ready to integrate technology into your ELL instruction? Check out this reading activity that has language learners using the Internet and apps, joining online book clubs, and creating blogs. A fine model of what can be done.
California Academy of Science
Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges
Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...
Curated OER
Exploring Our Cultural Heritage Through Art
Students research the art of selected cultures. In this visual arts lesson, students compose essays after they conduct independent research on the art of a culture. Students also create art proposals that feature the attributes of the...
Curated OER
A County Fair Can Lead to an Exploration of Math, Science, and Literature
A county fair can provide an educational experience for students.
Curated OER
Conquistadors: Hernán Cortes
Learners discover the accomplishments of Hernan Cortes. In this Exploration Age lesson, students discuss the attributes of Cortes and his role as a conquistador. Learners then conduct further research to participate in a debate about...
Curated OER
Deep Sea Drilling
Students explore ocean vessels that drill the ocean floor. In this ocean drilling instructional activity, students watch videos about drilling the ocean floor and discuss. Students get into groups, go outside and use string to...
Curated OER
Making a Travel Brochure of a Louisiana Parish
Although the attachments for this travel brochure project are no longer linked, you can still use the idea here and create your own assignment sheet and rubric. Learners choose a parish in Louisiana (or a city in your state) to research,...
Curated OER
Unexplored!
Students explore volcanoes. In this deep sea volcano lesson students complete a worksheet and various activities.
Smithsonian Institution
The American Presidency: Grades 4-6
An interesting unit explains the American presidency from the campaign trail all the way to the role of the president. Historians participate in discussions, create posters, conduct Internet research, and more to gain an understanding of...
Curated OER
An Exploration of the Slope of a Line
Students define the slope of a line. In this algebra lesson, students differentiate between parallel and perpendicular lines using their slopes. They rewrite equations in slope intercept form and explain the meaning of the slope.
Curated OER
A Penny for Your Thoughts, Movies, or Music?
High schoolers investigate copyright violation laws. In this media copyright lesson, students read two articles that discuss copyright laws, then they develop their own perspective on the laws. High schoolers then divide into...