Missouri Department of Elementary
The Problem Solving Game
Creativity, communication, cooperation. Pupils assume the role of employees at a game factory working together to develop a new game. Using the principles of the STAR method (Stop, Think, Act, Review), they work in teams to create game...
Teaching Tolerance
Poetry and Storytelling Café
Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...
El Museo del Barrio
Dia de los Muertos Educator Resource Guide
What are the origins of el Dia de los Muertos, and how is this tradition observed in contemporary celebrations? With a variety of lesson plans and suggested hands-on activities, here is an excellent resource to reference as you...
Curated OER
The Finer Things in Life
Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...
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...
PHET
Features of the Sun
There are so many things to discover about the sun! Pupils discuss their knowledge of the sun, explore its features, apply their knowledge by labeling photographs, and then reflect on their learning by working in groups to draw and label...
Curated OER
Research, Writing, and the 'Isms'
Students research an art style. They create an original short story, poem, or personal essay and illustrate the written work with the style of art they researched.
Curated OER
Writing Fables
Young scholars develop a working skill of using graphic organizers for writing. The lesson notes that the best kind of organizer is one that is engaging to the appropriate audience. The assessment follows the rubric given in the lesson.
Curated OER
Tales of Edgar Allen Poe
Analyze the writing of Edgar Allen Poe by reading and then writing in a similar style. Budding authors learn about the life of Poe and read one or more of his famous works online. Partner groups create an original piece of writing using...
Curated OER
Haiku Movies
Young scholars create a movie to illustrate an original haiku poem in this upper-elementary school, Language Arts lesson utilizing technology. The lesson meets state standards for Language Arts and includes a materials list and possible...
Curated OER
Considering Media And Meanings
Students study reproductions of prints or murals. They interpret artworks supporting their conclusions with evidence in work and from contextual information. They focus especially on significance of artist's choice of mural or...
Curated OER
Word of the Day
Students practice using their new vocabulary word by creating an original iMovie project based on that word.
Curated OER
Create - A - Story
Apply the elements of a story to create an original story. They select a character, setting, and plot out of a bag, and write an original story tying the three story elements together.
Curated OER
Kinetic Sculpture
Students discover the art of kinetic sculpture using found materials to create objects with human characteristics. Activities address inventive thinking, utilizing unusual materials and team building through the creation of robotic...
Curated OER
Up-to-Date Aesop
Learners translate one of Aesop's fables into a modern setting with modern language. They illustrate a fable using art supplies or illustration software on the computer.
Curated OER
Write It, Read It, Solve It
Writers create an original mystery and have a chance to put it into movie format. The classic elements of a mystery must be present: the crime, the suspects, the motive, the solution and clues. Use iPhoto and Quicktime Movie to integrate...
Curated OER
Ceramic Handbuilding
Learners are taught the three basic handbuilding techniques used in beginning pottery: pinch pot, coiling, and slab work. They complete 4 pieces of pottery. Students comprehend the basic pottery process from start to finish. They discuss...
Curated OER
Go Nuts with Peanuts
Young scholars learn about peanuts through online research. In this peanut lesson, students use provided links to research information on the origins of the peanut. Young scholars collect information about peanuts also called goobers.
Curated OER
Writing Session: Writing a Summary
The similarities and differences between academic and everyday summaries/abstracts are explored in this PowerPoint. After reading "Historiographic Reflection on Israel’s Origins: The Rise and Fall of the Patriarchal Age,” and abstracts...
Curated OER
Mother's Day Trip
Help your class develop their public speaking skills. They write original scripts for informative infomercials, plays, or poetry. They work to present their information with purpose.
Curated OER
Reader Response
Fifth graders reflect upon different concepts of Language Arts while reading literature. In the novel Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt, the characters discover a spring of eternal youth. After reading the first several chapters of...
Weston Wood
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Create a cross-curricular learning experience based on the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat with this collection of learning activities. Starting with a class reading of the story, children go on to learn about the...
Curated OER
Sculpture and Nature
Eighth graders examine and discuss the environmental art of Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long. They view images, observe how to lash tree materials together, and demonstrate how to lash tree materials.
Curated OER
Poetry SLAM: Youth Verse Competition
Use this model, based on urban youth poetry competitions, to create an engaging venue for your poets to share their work out loud, with expression. Build class community, have fun, and celebrate your authors' original verse....