Curated OER
Public Arts Programs
Young scholars choose a project from one of the public art programs and work on it as a collaborative project. The goal is to encourage students to research art programs in their city, and communicate with young scholars from another city.
Polar Trec
Calorimetry Lab
Young people between the ages of 11–13 need on average about 2,000 calories per day. Within the lab, groups learn about calorimetry and respiration. They explore how it pertains to humans and animals living the Arctic where cold...
Curated OER
Making Democracy Work for Everyone, 1877-1904
Students investigate the culture of the post Reconstruction South. They participate in a jigsaw research activity, conduct Internet research on an assigned topic, and write a report to present to the class.
NASA
The Case of the Wacky Water Cycle
Join the tree house detectives in learning about the processes of the water cycle, water conservation, water treatment, and water as a limited resource.
Curated OER
How Smart Growth Can Reshape Communities
Middle schoolers explore the concept of smart growth development. They create a class list highlighting the benefits of smart growth and then research, discuss, and present their findings on the benefits of smart growth and how it...
Curated OER
Foreign Language: Vamos a Madrid!
Eighth graders conduct Internet research about Madrid. They then use that information to answer worksheet questions. Both the questions and their answers are in Spanish.
Curated OER
Budget Busters
Use this economic activity to focus on writing summaries of informational text. First, middle schoolers define common economic terms used to describe news about the economy. They closely read news about the federal budget deficit and...
Pulitzer Center
International Aid and Fragile States
"States suffering from internal conflict, weak infrastructures, lack of economic development, and general instability are emerging as a large threat to the international security." What factors contribute to the creation of a fragile...
Curated OER
A Burning Desire: A Focus Group Turns Its Attention To Old Glory
Students explore the issue of a Constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. They simulate the role of a Senator's aide, conduct Internet research, write and prepare an oral and a written response based on research,
Curated OER
Fanatically Grammatically Correct
Research guidelines for correct usage, then explore how creative writers employ punctuation as an essential tool in their craft. Secondary classes create board games to teach elementary school students how to properly punctuate. From the...
Visa
Smooth Sailing: Exploring Insurance and Estate Planning
While purchasing insurance and estate planning may seem like a rather irrelevant topic for high school high schoolers, introducing this concept now can help your learners develop a solid foundation of financial literacy that will support...
Curated OER
Renaissance Occupations - The New Middle Class
Learners share their knowledge of the Renaissance Period. In this creative activity, pupils create fliers detailing services offered during this era. They focus on a particular occupation and detail how this job has changed from then...
NASA
The Evidence is “Clear”!
Do you think you know better? Become a scientist and prove it. Scholars review the evidence for two different theories of the origins of the universe. They notice the empirical observations as well as the inferences to determine which is...
Scholastic
Analyzing Media Messages
Telling young people to just say no can be difficult in a world that inundates them with messages to just say yes. A lesson on media messages encourages teenagers to analyze song lyrics and advertisements that mention drugs and/or...
Curated OER
Examine the History of U.S. Immigration
Students investigate the history of immigration in the U.S. and the current debate over illegal immigration. In small groups, they conduct Internet research on an assigned time period, analyze political cartoons, and discuss themes in...
Curated OER
Stop the Fighting and Start Uniting
Research current and proposed peace talks around the world with this New York Times lesson, Using the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria as a starting point, middle schoolers create a news program on the subject. They propose a future...
The New York Times
Making Do: Learning and Growing Through Adversity
What is it that makes people keep going when they face challenges in life? Ask your class to consider this question in relation to their own experiences and as they read material from The New York Times. Using personal experiences and...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
Novelinks
Tuesdays with Morrie: K-W-H-L Strategy
Readers of Tuesdays with Morrie are directed to use a K-W-H-L chart to record what they know, what they want to learn, how they will find information, and what they learned about a particular topic related to Mitch Albom's book.
Curated OER
"World enough, and time"-Andrew Marvell's Coy Mistress
Discuss tone and imagery with Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." In an attempt to get his fair lady to consummate their relationship, he write a poem urging her to seize the day! Introduce the author to your high school class,...
Curated OER
The Grapes of Wrath: KWHL Strategy
Before beginning The Grapes of Wrath, readers create a KWHL chart recording what they already know about the Dust Bowl, the author, and the book, what they want to know, and where they might find answers to these questions. After reading...
Education Outside
Seed Scavenger Hunt
After listening to a book about seeds, individuals locate, collect, and illustrate five seeds from the school garden and determine how the seed traveled to the plot.
Piscataway Township Schools
Bake Sale
Here is a project that instructs young bakers to calculate the ingredients needed for a cookie bake sale. The catch is that the ingredients for 32 cookies is given; however, pupils must figure out the amounts needed for 12 and 60...
Curated OER
Water Down the Drain
Did you know that leaky faucets waste $10 million worth of water? Conservationists perform an experiment and draw best-fit lines to explore how the US Geological Society determined this value.