Curated OER
Web Designs: A Story Comes Alive
Students work cooperatively to choose a theme, write a story, and produce a web site to display this story in this middle-level activity on the career of a web designer. This excellent activity ends with an organized, web site launch party.
Curated OER
Using a Thesaurus
Students discover how to use a thesaurus. In this language arts lesson, students explore thesauruses as they look up words and write sentences for the new words they encounter.
Curated OER
Who Am I?
Middle schoolers use a graphic organizer to brainstorm information about their lives. They utilize brainstorming techniques in a writing exercise, and create a graphic organizer describing their lives. They set personal goals for the...
Curated OER
Conjunctions
Complete exercises for conjunctions in this conjunctions lesson. Middle schoolers work in pairs to combine sample sentences. They analyze the conjunctions and choose one to help them rewrite the sentences. Additionally, they may complete...
Curated OER
Common Denominators between Primitive Art, Fine Art, Folk Art, Children's Art
Students view and create art in several styles. They view African Masks, Picasso's portraits and self-portraits. They compare the two, then create a self portrait. In the second lesson, they view landscape paintings by folk artists....
Curated OER
Theatre Lesson Plan: Finding Your Way
Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson plan, 2nd graders act out familiar activities by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....
Curated OER
Learning About Contractions
Students identify contractions. In this phonics lesson, students define what a contraction is and give examples on the board. Students complete a worksheet as a follow-up.
Curated OER
Paragraph Lesson
Students write paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting details. In this paragraph writing lesson, students fix sentences and paragraphs. Students also write a paragraph that includes an introduction, supporting details, and a...
Curated OER
The Emancipation Proclamation
Middle schoolers read one of the most important documents in our nation's history: The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. After everyone reads the proclamation, they set out to write a "You Were There" type of report on it. They pretend...
Curated OER
Theatre Lesson Plan, Performing a Story
Second graders read the story, The Bundle of Sticks, and discuss the story elements within the story; setting, plot, conflict resolution. For this readers theater lesson, 2nd graders reenact the story in small...
Curated OER
Art and Anatomy: The Vitruvian Teen
Twelfth graders create an artistic version of a Vetruvian teen. In this anatomy lesson, 12th graders design an experiment to test the theory of the ideally proportioned man. They present their findings in class.
Curated OER
Messages in Art Work
Observe images and discuss what messages they convey. In this critical thinking lesson plan, young scholars determine whether works of art are trying to persuade their audience. They also consider the media and how they communicate...
Curated OER
Art Through the Eyes of Youth
Students take a field trip to an art gallery reflecting on the paintings they like the most. Individually, they use magazines to find pictures related to their personality. In pairs, they make a mask to represent their ethnic group and...
Curated OER
Seven Famous African-American Masters of American Art
Students examine seven different African-American artists. In groups, they use the internet to identify their contribution and techniques to the art world and examine the time period in which the artwork was produced. To end the...
Curated OER
Seeing Art in Historical Context: An Activity to Promote Visual Literacy
Students consider works of art in their historical context. In this art in historical context lesson, students are encouraged to think about and record their prior knowledge of the historical period and to make inferences about the...
Curated OER
View Finder Painting
Creative thinkers create a paper "view finder." They place it on a magazine picture in different ways until they find an image to paint. They do this until they have drawn and then painted an entire paper filled with found art.
Curated OER
Fusing Furniture And Asian Art
Students see how French artists used imported lacquer panels in their furniture. They explore Asian lacquer panels and create their own Asian-inspired lacquer panel design. They incorporate their classmates' designs into a new furniture...
Curated OER
Creating A Movie
Pupils create and share movies using multimedia tools and the Windows Movie Maker software in this middle-level technology lesson. The lesson suggests the use of an Interactive Whiteboard, laptops, and digital cameras to create the movies.
US Institute of Peace
Taking a Step Toward Peacebuilding
What can someone do to increase the peace? Pupils take small steps toward a big peacebuilding role in the final lesson in a 15-part unit. Individuals identify their roles as a peacebuilder and create a stepping stone that reflects their...
National Museum of the American Indian
To Honor & Comfort Native Quilting Traditions
"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...
California Academy of Science
Fresh Solutions: Design Thinking Challenge
How do people transport fresh water long distances to ensure everyone has access to it? The final lesson in the 10-part Fresh Solutions unit encourages individuals to design their own solution, or solutions, to that very problem. Groups...
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Negotiation—Identifying Wants and Needs
Let's make a deal! Are real negotiations as simple as they are in the game show? Scholars learn the art of negotiation during the 8th instructional activity in a series of 15. The activity kicks off with a fun group negotiation, then...
Curated OER
American Music Styles - Lesson 1
Learners describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of rock, folk, blues, and country music. They identify two main musical roots of today's American popular music.
Curated OER
American Music Styles: European Roots and African Influences - Lesson 3
Young scholars describe some of the characteristics of country and blues music. They see how country music rose to a nationally known music style. They write a two-paragraph essay on what they think country music be like in the next 100...