Curated OER
Understanding Protagonists and Antagonists
How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts learning exercise. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a character map...
University of Florida
Sailing to St. Augustine
Using a Florida map from 1597, young explorers consider the physical characteristics they would need in a site for a new colony and the resources they would need to survive. After selecting a site, class members research to discover the...
Reading Resource
Going to the Movies (Basic Code Sentences)
Take a pretend trip to the movies with a series of basic code sentences. Images of movie tickets, popcorn buckets, and movie cameras award learners varying amounts of points for each sentence that they can successfully read.
Curriculum Corner
Camping Literacy Pack
Increase camping vocabulary just in time for summer with a camping themed literacy pack. Use word cards and sentence cards to enhance fluency, build vocabulary, and strengthen writing skills. The activities are perfect for centers,...
Teacher's Corner
Hey Batter, Wake Up!
Does jet lag affect a baseball team's performance in games? Read about how a baseball team's chance of winning a game can be affected by traveling over one, two, and three time zones. Readers then respond to five short answer questions...
Curated OER
Map of Ship Trap Island
Students read the short story "The Most Dangerous Game," and create maps of Ship Trap Island and justify why items are placed on their map in certain locations.
Curated OER
Maps and Globes
First graders complete a unit on map skills and the globe. They label maps, create a styrofoam ball globe, create a map of their community, sing a continent song, and complete a map and globe assessment worksheet.
Curated OER
A Map Mystery
Second graders solve a map mystery. In this technology lesson plan, 2nd graders develop an awareness of maps and the symbols associated with maps as they the "Neighborhood Map Machine."
Curated OER
Mapping the Census
High schoolers learn why the census makes a difference. In this U.S. Census lesson plan, students learn the key elements of cartography, examine the difference between data and their representation, and create a map using census data.
Curated OER
Lively Read of the Tale of Despereaux
Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...
Curated OER
Play Doh Map of Your State
Young scholars create a state map using Playdoh. In this hands-on state geography lesson, students work in groups to form a three-dimensional map of their state using Playdoh made at home following a (given) recipe. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Genetic Testing: Road Map or Crystal Ball?
After looking at the many aspects of the issues behind genetic testing, high schoolers are exposed to the pros and cons and must take a stand by writing a position paper. They will view the "Who Gets to Know?" video and/or reading case...
Curated OER
Mapping Counties
Students practice reading a map. In this mapping lesson, students illustrate a map and compare and contrast the counties based on their population. Students also explore what a census is and read census data on a map. A student...
Curated OER
Map Your House
Students are introduced to the concepts of maps as scale models of the whole. After a brief lecture on creating and using an accurate scale when drawing and reading a map. They create a scale drawing of the floorplan of their homes.
Curated OER
A Walk Around the School: Mapping Places Near and Far
After reading Pat Hutchins’ Rosie’s Walk, have your young cartographers create a map of Rosie’s walk. Then lead them on a walk around the school. When you return class members sequence the walk by making a list of how the class got from...
Curated OER
Orienteering - Lesson 3 - Topographical Maps and Contour Lines
Learn how to read a topographical map and understand what the contour lines mean. Explore longitude and latitude. Find a cliff, a valley, a mountain peak, and more. This is just one of the ten lessons in this unit on oreinteering....
Curated OER
Making Lewis and Clark's Journals Come Alive
Students are presented daily excerpts from Lewis and Clark's experiences. The dates and activities are tracked on a classroom map.
Curated OER
Making Cranberry Bread
While the preparation for this lesson plan is extensive, the results are well worth the effort. Prior to the lesson plan, Xerox the pictures from Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, collect the ingredients for Cranberry...
K12 Reader
Colonization: for Gold, God, and Glory
Colonization, cartography, and circumnavigation. After reading a short article about early explorations, kids use the information provided to answer a series of comprehension questions.
Curated OER
Vocabulary Multiple Choice. Worksheet 22
In this vocabulary activity, students select the best of four choices to complete each of eight sentences. The activity is intended to be used with advanced English language learners.
Newsela
Understanding "A Long Walk to Water"
What is the secret to success? Scholars use close reading of a variety of articles to determine characteristics of people that overcame hardships to become successful. While reading, pupils annotate their copies, make claims, and...
Social Media Toolbox
Ethical Decision Making
When faced with a dilemma, how do journalists decide how much news to use? Social media scholars explore the philosophies of ethical resolution in the first of a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Partnered pupils use a Potter Box to...
Curated OER
Street Map
In this street map instructional activity, students observe the street map and answer short answer questions using the map. Students complete 4 questions.
Tennessee State Museum
Deciphering the Document: Unlocking the Meaning of the Emancipation Proclamation
Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...