Curated OER
Current Earthquake Activity
Fifth graders record any earthquake activity throughout the school year on various maps. In groups, they identify a map locating the points given to them by their teacher. To end the lesson, they add the date, strength and damage to each...
Channel Islands Film
Restoration Channel Islands Debate
Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Let’s Throw an Electric Science Party!
Are you looking for a shockingly good instructional activity? Check out one that has middle schoolers recreate four of Benjamin Franklin's experiments. Groups investigate, observe, and draw conclusions about static electricity and...
Population Connection
Where Do We Grow from Here?
Did you know that the population is expected to grow to 11 billion by 2100? The resource serves final installment in a six-part series on the global population and its effects. Scholars interpret data from the United Nations about the...
K20 Learn
Bavaria Has Issues...Experimental Components
New ReviewDo you want to be a detective by analyzing situations? An engaging lesson provides young historians with the tools to help them understand the difference between data types and how to analyze them to draw conclusions. Scholars complete...
Curated OER
What's The Story?
Teams of learners integrate reading, writing, math, social studies, and science in this simple, yet effective lesson. They work in groups in order to solve a ten-step problem which requires internet research, the use of a calculator, and...
University of Minnesota
Mirroring Emotions
Do you ever give your class the "teacher look"? Without saying a word, they become silent and engaged (hopefully). How do they know what you're thinking? Explore the concept of nonverbal communication and how it relates to our mirror...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Working with Watermills
In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this instructional activity is included:...
PBS
Technology: Conveniences and Consequences
It's a delicate balance—using technology to improve our lives while still protecting the environment, and ourselves, from the hazards of technology use. Class members examine statistics about the increase in media use, complete a survey...
Teach Engineering
You Are There... First Flight
Glide into the study of flight. An engaging lesson has scholars research information on the Wright brothers. They develop props and produce a recreation of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. They then report on the event as if they were...
Berkshire Museum
The Three Life-Giving Sisters: Plant Cultivation and Mohican Innovation
Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...
National Wildlife Federation
Yesterday: Our Energy Needs Over Time
How has our relationship to energy changed over time? An engaging exploration challenges learners to create a timeline showing human energy needs and uses over time. Scholars review what timelines are, choose a 50-year period in history...
Curated OER
N is for Natural State
For any pupils who live in the state of Arkansas, this would be a fabulous educational experience to help them get to know their state better. Through the use of activities in literature, art, mathematics, science, social studies, and...
Curated OER
Lady Liberty
If you're looking for a fantastic cross-curricular instructional activity on the Statue of Liberty, then this instructional activity is for you! Learners watch a Reading Rainbow episode which focuses on the Statue, then gather facts...
Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
Earthquakes
What causes earthquakes? What are the effects and impacts of earthquakes? How are earthquakes measured? If there was an earthquake on Mars, would it still be considered an earthquake? Class members will find the answers to these and many...
Rainforest Alliance
Forests of Guatemala
With 90 percent of its land area covered in forests, Suriname, a country in South America, contains the largest percentage of forests throughout the world. Here is an activity that brings classmates together to learn about the...
Foreign Policy Association
Public Diplomacy Online Lesson Plan
To build an understanding that there are many perspectives of global issues and that an individual's perspective is influenced by background and experience, class members assume the identity of a person in the global community and...
Population Connection
The Peopling of Our Planet
How many people live on the planet, anyway? The first resource in a six-part series covers the topic of the world population. Scholars work in groups to conduct research and make population posters after learning about the global...
Rainforest Alliance
Trees and Carbon
You'll find everything but the kitchen sink here ... or just a carbon sink. In the activity, pairs or groups of middle school learners go outside and measure a tree's circumference and height to estimate its carbon storage potential and...
Global Oneness Project
Then and Now
The devastating changes happening to the Native American inhabitants of an island off the coast of Louisiana are the topic of an informational lesson. After scholars break into groups to explore particular topics, they come back together...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 2
Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...
Channel Islands Film
Dark Water: Lesson Plan 2 - Grade 3
A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new animal...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
Global Oneness Project
Protecting Wilderness
Would you live in a tree for three years to protect a redwood forest? Viewers of Rainhouse Cinema's Among Giants documentary consider the actions of Earth First! environmental activists who moved into the treetops of a grove of giant...