Nancy N. Boyles
Summary Frame for Story Text and Informational Text
Provide these templates as aids for pupils as they work to compose summaries of both stories and informational texts. The first two frames provide sentence starters to help learners structure their summaries and include all the necessary...
National Gallery of Canada
Urban Desire
Urban spaces are often overlooked and broken down. Offer your pupils the opportunity to reimagine an urban space. Learners examine and discuss works of art related to this theme and consider their own communities. Small groups then...
Code.org
Cleaning Data
"Clean the data!" "I did not know it was dirty." Introduce your class to the process of cleaning data so that it can analyze it. Groups work through a guide that demonstrates the common ways to filter and sort data. Pairs then...
New York City Department of Education
Designing Euclid’s Playground
Create a geometric playground. Pupils work through a performance task to demonstrate their ability to use geometric concepts to solve everyday problems. The accompanying engineering design lessons show teachers how the assessment works...
Curated OER
Where Do Plants Get Their Food?
Plants need food to survive, just like any other living organism. Young biologists analyze an experiment performed in 1610 by Jan van Helmont to determine if plant nutrition is obtained through the soil. First, lab groups work together...
Sunday School Resources
Fruit of the Spirit
An old-fashioned cootie catcher project is a good way to help kids learn about the ways to honor God with the fruit of the Spirit. After cutting, folding, and constructing the cootie catchers, Sunday school kids work together to name the...
PBS
Working with Coordinate Planes: Assessments
It's time for scholars to show what they know about coordinate planes with a collection of three assessments. The exams' objectives include plotting points on a single grid, measuring using the distance formula, and identifying...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Being the “Host” at This Party is No Fun
Discuss the symptoms and variations from infectious diseases from one person to the next. After a class discussion, small groups complete research on the topic.
Classics for Kids
A Composer Leads the Way
What song is playing? A music activity focuses on composers throughout history, their famous works, and the instruments in each piece. As pupils complete the instructional activity they play a short game to review music theory terms.
Curated OER
Find the Value of Expressions Using the Order of Operations
Here is another great way to introduce order of operations using "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally." Pre-determined small groups work cooperatively to solve expressions. Afterward, they write a journal entry to explain the steps they...
National Math + Science Initative
Introduction to Decimals
Three activities make up an introductory lesson plan designed to create a strong foundation in comparing fractions to decimals and exploring and building decimal models. Pupils brainstorm and complete a Venn diagram to show how decimals...
Curated OER
Complete or Incomplete? That is the Question!
Students work in small groups to determine factors that contribute to a well-done assignment. They report their findings to the rest of the class.
Curated OER
Putting It Together in Writer's Workshop
This lesson about writing can be taught in small groups or large group settings. They examine basic writing techniques and practice using them to improve their writing.
Curated OER
Arkansas' Top Ten Events of the Century....Says Who? Why? Deciding What is Important in History
Middle and high schoolers work in small groups to compare four different lists published in the Arkansas Times newspaper which chose the "top ten" Arkansas news events of the 20th century. Learners look for similarities and differences...
Curated OER
Two Squares are Equal
This problem is sure to get your young mathematicians thinking. The idea sounds simple: one equation, solve it as many ways as you can. This is meant to get at a deeper understanding of solving quadratic equations, including some more...
Curated OER
Risk Taking Behaviors
Tenth graders listen to a presenters introduction and write questions they hope to have answered during the presentation. They listen to a presentation and record notes. They participate in small group discussion and complete...
Curated OER
People Movers
Students investigate how transportation has evolved through the years. Students also generalize how transportation may continue to change in the future. Students work in small groups to brainstorm ideas the identify and solve a...
Curated OER
News or Propaganda?
What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...
Curated OER
Medicare Reform
Young scholars calculate how much of each paycheck is deducted into the Medicare system, explain the need for health insurance and Medicare, and work in small groups to develop their own plan to reform Medicare.
Curated OER
Campaign Trailblazers
Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Digging for Clues
Make critical and creative thinkers out of your class, with an archeology-based project they'll love. They start the activity by first researching what archeologists do, then they generate a list of the qualities archeologists need...
Curated OER
Traders of the Lost Art
Learners work in small groups to investigate a variety of art and architecture forms common during the Old Kingdom epoch in Ancient Egypt. Learners then evaluate how these art forms reflect a culture's beliefs and values. And, finally,...
Curated OER
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,...
Curated OER
Keiko, Killer Whale
Middle schoolers will create a children's book on Keiko, the killer whale, that was rehabilitated and returned to the wild after living in an aquarium. In small groups, they conduct internet research to find out the history and current...