Missouri Department of Elementary
If It’s to Be, It’s Up to Me
Here's a clever switch on the tale of Pandora's Box. Rather than lifting the lid and having problems escape, class members write a problem on a strip of paper and place it in Pandora's Problem Box. A student then pulls a problem from...
Curated OER
Harp Of Gold
Learners create "Harp" pictures using harp shapes, shoe box lids, paints, old sheet music, and inspiration from Harp music in this inter-disciplinary Art and Music lesson for the elementary classroom. Resource links are included for...
Curated OER
Shoe Classification Lab
Students use shoes to make a classification flow chart. In this classification lesson plan, students all take one of their shoes off and put it on a table. In groups they create a classification system based on 3 characteristics of the...
Arts & Humanities
Make a Souvenir Suitcase
Shoe boxes are fantastic for art projects! Kids create travel boxes, where they can store their travel memorabilia. Tip: Instead of using this idea to make travel cases, create social studies boxes instead. Kids will make these travel...
Curated OER
Food Pyramid
Young scholars construct food pyramids by painting shoe boxes and using them to respresent different food groups. They cut out and paste pictures of the respresentative foods for the groups on the box sides. They compare their diets to...
Curated OER
Light and Vision
Students explore how light affects vision. In this light lesson, students construct a shoe box model to represent an eye. Experiments are performed with various light sources. Students draw conclusions about how the eye works as they...
Curated OER
PICTURE PERFECT PYRAMID
Students create a model of the USDA's Food Pyramid Guide, using shoe boxes. They bring an assortment of shoe boxes from home. Students are given a copy of the "Food Guide Pyramid." They wrap boxes for the bread group in white, the...
Curated OER
Earth's Age: The Dating Game
Students conduct a simulation to determine radioactive decay and half-life. Using pennies, dice or sugar cubes as isotopes placed in shoe boxes simulating rocks, they hold five trials representing 1000 years each to find the theoretical...
Curated OER
Ocean Floor Model
Students construct a simulated model of the ocean floor in a shoe box. They determine that the floor of the ocean is composed of hills, plains, ridges, trenches, and sea mounts. They draw out a plan for their ocean floor which includes...
Curated OER
Brushing Your Teeth
Students use a shoe box to simulate what happens when candy gets between your teeth. In this teeth brushing instructional activity, students explore the importance of brushing your teeth. Students listen to Brush Your Teeth Please....
Curated OER
Making a Valentine Box
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a factual story about how to make a decorated Valentine box. Students answer 7 questions.
Curated OER
Touch and Feel Box
Students investigate their sense of touch to help become more descriptive with their observations. For this sensory lesson, students reach inside a box to feel an object then guess what it is. Students then use both senses of touch and...
Curated OER
Fish Book Report
Students use previously prepared book reports about fish themed books to make a shoebox float that displays the theme of the book. Shoe boxes are decorated colorfully, using dolls or stuffed animals as the book character. They create a...
Perkins School for the Blind
Find the Objects/Beginning Sound Indentification
If you are just starting out as a teacher for children with visual impairments and want a fun way to teach braille and phonemic awareness, look no further. You'll fill 21 boxes with objects that start with specific letter sounds. You'll...
Curated OER
Electromagnetic Energy and Its Spectrum
Your older elementary students investigate electromagnetic energy and the electromagnetic spectrum. They will observe 7 items represented in the electromagnetic spectrum and make a poster of all the things the items have in common. After...
Curated OER
Solar Hot Box
Students investigate how different colors and materials create various temperatures and apply this it the concept of solar energy.
Curated OER
Which Shoes Are Mine?
Fourth graders write down detailed descriptions of the shoes they are wearing that day. They participate in a relay descriping their shoes as they go.
Curated OER
Box of Mystery
Students are given a box and wrapping paper and are asked to decorate it in a style that is original and creative. The project could be used for content area learning if adapted to include curriculum content. The lesson is designed to be...
Curated OER
Iceberg
Students put the plastic dinosaurs and water in a pan. In this art lesson, students put the pan in the freezer. Students take the pan out of the freezer on a hot day for fun and discovery.
Curated OER
Still Life
Students compose a three-dimensional still life composition in a shoe box, sketch portions of their work and then design a painting based on the finished box. They complete and critique their paintings.
Curated OER
A Review of American History
In this lesson plan students research an important event in American history and use drama, art, music, and dance to express their findings. Suggested activities include illustrating a time line, decorating a shoe box, reciting a speech,...
Curated OER
Frog Friendly Habitat
Students create a frog friendly habitat. In this animal habitat lesson, students study what animals need to survive and then create a frog habitat from a shoe box. Students write a report about frogs and present their habitats to the class.
Curated OER
Prop Box
What other uses can you brainstorm for a key? What about a pair of sunglasses? Bring a bag of props into your classroom and have learners create different uses for a selection of objects. Then, after everyone has shared, translate the...
K-State Research and Extensions
Field Trip Preparations
Scholars prepare for a field trip to collect rock specimens. They learn how to build proper display boxes, create road logs, and study various geology careers. This is the final chapter in a seven-chapter unit on geology and contains six...