Curated OER
Eating Up Idioms
Ah, food idioms! Now that sounds tasty. Class members read and discuss various food-related idioms, create an illustration of a food-related idiom, and develop a class book or bulletin board to celebrate figurative language and National...
Curated OER
Loan Amortization - Mortgage
Upper graders explore the connection between interest and principal. They use an amortization schedule to determine the amount of principal paid vs interest on a $100,000 home loan. Fourteen discussion questions and a research-based...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Curated OER
Taste the Learning
Lesson and activity ideas to Incorporate National Blueberry Month into all content areas.
It's About Time
Volcanos and the Atmosphere
In the summer of 1815, snow fell every month in New England. Was this related to the volcanic eruption of Tambora in Indonesia earlier in the year? Young scientists design their own experiments to research the long-term effect a volcanic...
Perkins School for the Blind
Circle Time
Oftentimes children or teens with one or more disability are reluctant to participate in whole-group activities. Foster good participation, verbal expression, and social skills through daily circle time activities. Each day you and...
Curated OER
World of Work
Twelfth graders research want ads on the Internet or in the newspaper. They calculate the estimated weekly, monthly, and yearly pay for an hourly, salary and commission positions. They calculate a paycheck including state tax, federal...
Curated OER
To Dorm or Not To Dorm
For some of our students, college is right around the corner. Provide a bit of thoughtful information to help them (and their families) decide if dorm life is right for them. Included here are a list of pros and cons for living both on...
Curated OER
All About Almanacs
Use almanacs to entice your learners to explore non-fiction texts in celebration of Read-An-Almanac Month!
Desert Discovery
Saguaro Seasons
Elementary schoolers take a look at how the saguaro cactus adapts to the four seasons of the year. This amazing plant has distinct flowering and fruiting cycles within the summer season, and other cycles during the other seasons. Your...
Curated OER
What Goes Up Must Come Down!!
Fifth graders look at actual sunrise and sunset times for their hometown to determine a pattern in the amount of daylight. They collect their data in Excel and create a chart to help them identify the pattern, then write an explanation...
Curated OER
Exploring Photosynthesis with NASA Remote Sensing Data
Young scholars explore photosynthesis using NASA satellite data. In this inquiry based biology lesson plan, students will look at data from a chosen national park to determine when the maximum amount of photosynthesis is occurring. This...
Curated OER
Recycled Paper
Sixth graders keep track of the amount of paper they consume on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The goal of the lesson is to have them all find ways to reduce the amount they use. Everyone creates recycled paper from old newspapers...
Curated OER
How Credit Card Interest Works
Young scholars experiment with an Excel spreadsheet model that demonstrates the effects of interest on payments. They calculate actual costs, interest paid, and time necessary to pay off credit purchases and draw conclusions about the...
Curated OER
What Science Suggests About 'Weather Weirding'
Here is an activity that you can use to help upper elementary or middle schoolers to meet Common Core literacy standards for science and technology. Youngsters read the article on extreme weather patterns, "Weather Runs Hot and Cold, So...
Curated OER
1, 2, 3 o' Clock Rock
Second graders identify the hour and minute hands. They tell time by the hour, nearest quarter hour, half hour, and determine the relationships of time (e.g. minutes in hour, days in a month, weeks in a year). They create over-sized...
Teacherfiles
Long Range Planner
Jot your whole year down on a full-page curriculum planner. Grouped by themes, subjects, and months, this page is a good way to plan out a loose idea for the year, or to keep track of the next step in your unit.
University of Colorado
Space Travel Guide
Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Weimar Republic: Historical Context and Decision Making
Did you know that way before Hitler became a dictator, he actually spent nine months in a German jail? Provide the background for the escalating point before the Nazi party took over in World War II through the exercises in the resource....
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classrooms: Wall Street
Open up an intriguing dialogue about Wall Street controversy using political cartoons! Background information gives context, including quotes from various newspapers about compensation caps, bonuses, and the growing disenchantment with...
Curated OER
The Value of Education
The real value of education is highlighted in more than one way on a worksheet designed to not only add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, but also to address the correlation between higher pay...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Windows Into The Earth
Students investigate the concepts related to volcanoes and focus upon Mt. St. Helens. They define the difference between an active and dormant volcano. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order...
Curated OER
Simile and Metaphor
Middle schoolers use context clues to find the figurative meaning of similes and metaphors in writing. They practice using figurative language to help their writing come alive. Use this activity in a activity about poetry, figurative...
Curated OER
Is Grandpa Right, Were Winters Colder When He Was a Boy?
Middle schoolers compare current weather data to historic data to see if there is a temperature change. In this weather activity students complete a lab activity and determine average changes in temperature, precipitation and cloud...