National Gallery of Art
Islamic Art and Culture
Provided by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, this resource for teachers examines Islamic art, including calligraphy, arabesques, and geometric designs. A recounting of the spread of the faith and the tumultuous political...
Theodore Roosevelt Association
Roosevelt's Legacy: Conservation
The legacy of Theodore Roosevelt carries through modern American politics, economics, foreign policy, and society. But his proudest and most profound efforts were in the world of conservation, and in preserving the natural beauty of...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
A Sense of Belonging
In order to understand how the land changes over time because of the people who live there, learners interview an elderly person about the past. Children ask an older family member to describe what the local area was like when they were...
Social Studies School Service
“Duck and Cover” (Civil Defense)
Bert the Turtle models for viewers the 1950s Civil Defense Duck and Cover strategy that was supposed to protect citizens from a nuclear blast. After viewing the video, watchers are asked to consider the motivations of the producers of...
American Museum of Natural History
Journey to the Stars
Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe.
Curated OER
Geologic Time Scale
Students research the geologic time scale. They create and recognize the importance of a geologic time line.
Curated OER
Interdisciplinary Web Quest: Flower Symbolism
Students identify flowers and their symbolism in art, literature, and design as they appeared in Victorian times from 1850 to 1900, as exemplified in furniture, quilt, paperweight, embroidery, and other designs. They create a simplified...
Curated OER
Plant Adaptations
Students identify parts of prairie plants. They sketch the plants indicating its adaptive parts and write brief descriptions of them. They present their findings to the class.
Curated OER
Exploring Uses of Rocks and Minerals
Students explore the uses of rocks and minerals. They make observations to identify objects from the present and past are made out of rocks.
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals- Uses Past and Present
Students investigate the use of rocks in past and present societies. They examine how important rocks are.
Curated OER
Sorting Rocks
Students devise a rock word web and sort rocks by applying the categories they discuss.
Curated OER
Ride the Rock Cycle
Students examine the steps of the rock cycle. They describe what happens to the rocks in each of the stages. They participate in a rock cycle game to help them with the steps.
Curated OER
Mighty Minerals
Learners investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of minerals. They make a list of the uses of minerals found in Illinois. They write a report individually based on their observations.
Curated OER
Illnois River and Lake Mussel Habitat Diorama Activity
Students identify the environmental elements of river and lake mussels. They compare the elements to the time before settlement and during industrialization. They also participate in a field trip to a mussel exhibit.
Curated OER
Mussel Anatomy Lesson Plan
Students identify the parts and functions of a mussel. They explain how its physical adaptations help it survive in its habitat. They label the parts as a quiz to complete the lesson.
Curated OER
Forest Activity: Forest Layers
Students examine the forest layers and types of forests. They explore a website, read content on forest layers and the effects of environmental conditions, sumarize the characteristics of a forest type and present the information to the...
Curated OER
Minerals- the Building Blocks of Rocks
Students investigate how rocks are composed minerals by dissecting rock cookies.
Curated OER
Igneous Rocks
Second graders examine igneous rocks in this lesson. They discuss the rock cycle and how rocks form. They also explore volcanic activities and build their own volcano.
Curated OER
Sediment Sleuths
Young scholars classify sediments based on their physical characteristics, such as size, shape and color. They identify and describe rocks and minerals that are common to their region of the state.
Curated OER
Physical Adaptations in Ice Age Mammals
Students identify the body parts in Ice Age mammals that allowed them to survive. They answer questions as a class and discuss. They examine photographs of the animals as well.
Curated OER
Spider Anatomy Lesson: Is It a Spider?
Students review information on a website which shows different types of spiders. They sort images of spiders from other insects. They create their own spider out of materials and share them with their classmates.
Curated OER
Spider Poems: The Spider and the Fly
Learners review the information they gathered on different websites to write a poem about spiders. They use other websites to gain more information if needed. They share their poem with the class.
Curated OER
The Spider and the Fly
Students incorporate the knowledge they learned about spiders on the ISM Web site, Spider Collection, and other Web sites they viewed on
spiders to write a rhyming poem (possibly choosing a poem type illustrated here) about an aspect of...
Curated OER
Side by Side: Butterfly Wings and Symmetry
Students observe butterfly images and then draw and paint their own design. They use this activity to explain symmetry.