Curated OER
Breaking News: Nissan to Make Future New York Taxis
Students explore current events by completing worksheet activities. In this transportation activity, students read a news article discussing Nissan's new contract to create New York Taxis due to their improved fuel economy. Students...
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Using Credit: Not for a Billion Gazillion Dollars
Fifth graders explore the concept of credit. For this consumer education lesson, the teacher uses the book Not for a Billion Gazillion Dollars to lead the class in a discussion about credit, debit, and income. Students then analyze their...
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Out of Your Comfort Zone
Students practice their interviewing skills. For this journalism skills lesson, students discover how to use open and closed questions when interviewing a subject. Students prepare for and experience a press conference with a school...
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Bill of Rights Day
Fifth graders examine and identify the values and purposes of the Bill of Rights. They complete a class KWL chart, participate in a class jigsaw activity, write and illustrate a book about the first ten amendments, participate in a mock...
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Satyagrah: Social Change vs. Social Transformation
Young scholars examine the difference between social change and social transformation. they learn through discussion in order to be able to research and analyze a systematic social injustice. Students identify their part in a wider...
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Dinosaurs 1: Where are the Dinosaurs?
Students investigate world history by creating a diorama in class. In this dinosaur extinction instructional activity, students read assigned text discussing the time frame of the dinosaurs residence on Earth and their eventual demise....
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Breaking News English: Adidas Agrees to Buy Rival Reebok
In this ESL activity, students first read or listen to a text about the Adidas and Reebok companies. Students complete 8 pages of comprehension exercises. Included are vocabulary, questions, completing sentences, discussion, problem and...
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Healthy Eating Patterns
After preparing baked potato nachos, the class views a PowerPoint about healthy food choices and takes notes on an accompanying worksheet. Although the PowerPoint is educational, the majority of the time is used for preparing and...
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The Frog Experiment
Your science class reads a silly story in which a mad scientist makes absurd conclusions about an experiment that he conducted. One at a time, he cuts off a frog's leg and commands it to jump. With three, two, and one leg, the frog...
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School Lunches Get More Healthful
Students read a story called School Lunches Get More Healthful and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions about it. In this current events school lunch lesson plan, student respond to literature by answering questions, recalling...
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Asking Questions
Students examine a painting that depicts a scene from the Underground Railroad. They discuss the painting and write journal entries and poems in response to the painting's themes and their impressions.
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Trey and Dave go to Africa: Music
Trey from Phish and Dave from the Dave Mathews Band took a trip to Africa to explore music, culture, and history. Your class watches this episode from VH1's Music Studio to understand how African culture and music have influenced modern...
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Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
Need a musical lesson for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat lesson, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act musical related to her life. This...
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Blogging to Create a Community of Writers #6: Writing a Review
Looking for a good social media lesson for your class? Then, this lesson is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book, restaurant, CD/musical...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
U.S. Immigration Policy and Hitler’s Holocaust
Though the Statue of Liberty welcomes political refugees to her shores, the welcoming sentiment has not always been reflected in the American citizenry. High schoolers read about the regrettable period in United States history...
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Save the Music Concerts: Parts 1 & 2
Music aficionados classify pop music into by musical genres or styles. They evaluate the positive and negatives of collaborative performances, view segments of VH1's "Save the Music" concert, and discuss the difficulties of...
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19th & 20th Century Composers: Exoticism
VH1 Music Studio has put out another great lesson that incorporates analysis, compare/contrast, and musical terminology. Kids will listen to the song "Habanera" considering the use of specific instruments in evoking a sense of location....
Berkshire Museum
Where’s the Water?: Acting Out Science Cycles
Young scientists transform themselves into rivers, oceans, clouds, and drops of water in order to explore the water cycle. After assigning and explaining to students their different roles in the activity, the teacher reads aloud a...
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A Matter of Interpretation
Was the fatal crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 cause by mechanical failure or was it an act of sabotage? The crux of the debate and the subsequent controversy centers on translation of an Arabic phrase uttered by the pilot. The New York...
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Teaching Appositives
Explore appositives, phrases that immediately follow the noun they modify, using sentence strips, examples, and collaborative learning. The class works together to identify appositives and use commas to properly punctuate them. Partners...
Science 4 Inquiry
Expanding the Universe
When Einstein first heard the theory of the expanding universe, he dismissed it as bad physics. Now scholars learn about the theory and how scientists prove it has merit. Through a hands-on simulation and videos, class members measure...
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Fossil Fuels (Part II), The Geology of Oil
More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...
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Energy Jeopardy
While science Jeopardy games are a dime-a-dozen, this one has some pretty unique categories that are still relevant to a middle school physical science curriculum. The topics include: leading nations, famous Americans (who invented...
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Anticipation Guide for The Crucible
Before reading The Crucible with your ninth graders, give your class this prereading guide. They write agree or disagree for nine statements listed. Example statement: Honesty is always the best policy. What makes this guide even better...