Curated OER
Native American Bartering
Fifth graders create items to barter. In this Native American bartering lesson, 5th graders read a book, design and make items, and barter with their peers. Students reflect on the experience through journal writing.
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Can a Christian Drive an Expensive Car
Students decide whether or not they feel that a Christian could drive an expensive car. In this Christian values lesson, students discuss their views on a Christian having luxury items such as an expensive car. Students write...
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Veterans' Voyages
Introduce your middle and high schoolers to a different perspective on war: that of soldier's. Read Guisseppi Ungaretti's poem "Vigil" to kick-start this instructional activity. After discussing his perspective, read "The Screaming...
Virginia Department of Education
Translation and Reflection
Bring about the change you want to see in the world or at least in your lesson plans. Young mathematicians learn about translation and reflections by applying them to polygons on the coordinate plane. Results provide data to...
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Who's Who
Ninth graders read a review three pieces of literature. They then compare and relate each piece to the time period in which they were written. Next, they consult different resources and explain how these sources are similar and different...
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Express Yourself Lesson Seed 10: Character Development
Make a study of Timothy and his development as a character over the course of the first half or so of The Cay. This idea focuses in particular on chapters 10 through 12. Learners start out by working on double-entry journals created in...
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Community Journals
Students visit a multimedia online journal as a model for their research and journal about their own communities. They examine writing for themselves and writing for an audience as they study the community and present it in more than one...
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Writing About Photographs: Responding to the Art of Dorothea Lange
Students view and discuss photographs by Dorothea Lange. They describe what they see, pose questions about the images, reflect on their personal responses, and create diaries written in the voices of individuals depicted in the images.
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Creative Writing/Historical Journals
Students research primary and secondary sources to find information about their ancestors. They write a series of journal entries, from the perspective of one of their ancestors, on what life was like in that given time period.
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
TOTAL LITERATURE SERIES
Fifth graders listen and react to the book Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. They write in their journals every day approximately one page or more as a reflection on the reading.
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Acts of Defiance?
Learners contemplate, discuss and share responses to critical and analytical questions regarding impending war in Iraq. They write persuasive essays arguing the pros and cons of the United States waging war unilaterally.
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A Critical Role
Students read a New York Times review of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. They discuss the roles and responsibilities of a cultural critic, and prepare for a visit to a local museum in order to write their own reviews.
Curated OER
An Introduction to Light Unit-Third Grade
Third graders are introduced to light in an eight part unit which includes activities, additional resources, and rubrics for each part. Students address topics such as energy, reflection, absorption, and refraction through hands-on...
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Writing about Internal & External Conflicts in Lois Lowry's The Giver
Seventh graders examine the internal and external conflicts that Jonas faces in "The Giver" in an essay. Students use SMART Board and Inspiration to organize their ideas graphically before combining them into their paper.
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Keep Heritage Alive
Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.
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Finding Promise in Compromise
Examine how the 'safe passage' for Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank affects those living in Israel and reflects both conflict and cooperation between the Israelis and Palestinians. The class compares the perspective...
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Poets Got Them Blues
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
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Sounding Off About Impeachment
Help your middle and high schoolers reflect on the responsibility of newspapers to act as a vehicle for 'everyday citizens' to voice their opinions. Then, using an article about the first day of the Senate impeachment trial of President...
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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who Needs Math in Life at All?
Young scholars think and talk about the ways in which they use math throughout the day. They add each way to a "math in real life" bulletin board and reflect in writing on the ways they use math.
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Who Am I?
Students create a graphic timeline depicting who they are, where they've been and where they think they are going in their lives. They analyze and reflect upon the important events of their lives, and then use this as a starting point...
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Health Conscious?
What is your attitude on health and illness? By considering their own experiences, students will reflect on and discuss their attitudes toward health and illness while educating each other by researching illnesses in small groups,...
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Under the Sea
Young scholars imagine and describe fictitious sea animals that might live in the ocean. After reading an article, they reflect on new discoveries found in the ocean recently. Using the internet, they research the interdependence of...
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Eggs'ceptional Experiments
Students see evidence of chemical reaction and follow the scientific method to hypothesize, observe, and reach conclusions. They conduct a series of egg based experiments such as forming crystals and complete journal activities as a...