Curated OER
Poetic Word Choice
Groups or pairs choose ordinary objects from a bag and rename them based on traits, so that a stapler becomes a "paper cobra." Then they connect this exercise to the way authors use language to emphasize certain traits through word...
Curated OER
American Studies
Entitled American Studies, this small unit covers various topics related to the study of the United States. Learners warm up by creating a dictionary of democracy, then dive into three different lessons focused on government, famous...
Curated OER
Animal Fact or Fiction?
Read and discuss the article "Welcome to Cicadaville (Enter at Your Own Risk)" to gain a better understanding around the confusion regarding cicadas and locust swarms. In groups your young analysts research statements about animals to...
Curated OER
Work Hard and Work Smart: Designing for Athletes
Middle schoolers design new insights into work tied into athletes. Students design a sports bag for athletes. Middle schoolers investigate varied sports. They interview people involved in varied sports. Students engage in active problem...
Scholastic
A Tale to Tell!
A creative spin occurs when one pupil acts as author Ann M. Martin. Using a Q & A at the back of her book A Dog's Life, other classmates ask the "author" questions. They discuss the reasons why they know the book is from a...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: A Miniature Game
Art inspires art, as children work to understand artistic forms that come from the imagination. They analyze the installation piece, Fox Games and then discuss the design process. They then use clay to create imaginative dioramas,...
Curated OER
Place Value of Whole Numbers Through One Million
Third graders construct numbers to the millions place. In this 30-page place value instructional activity, learners create numbers and evaluate the place value of digits. They explore standard and expanded form of numbers. An incredible...
Curated OER
Colonial Vacation Planner
Looking for a good lesson on the Colonial Period for your upper-elementary class? Then, this lesson is for you! They use website designs, U.S. travel publications, and maps to plan a family vacation to states which were part of the...
Exploratorium
Geometry Scavenger Hunt
One of the nice things about geometry is that it's all around us. The lesson presented here has elementary schoolers go out to the playground to identify and name a variety of geometric shapes. They perform a "geometric scavenger hunt"...
ESL Kid Stuff
Classroom Stationery
What's in the bag? Learn about classroom items, such as pens, glue, pencils, and books, with a series of fun activities. Kids sing and play games to practice their new vocabulary words.
PJ Library
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the holes in...
ESL Kid Stuff
Intro ESL Lesson (Ages 8-14)
Introduce language learners to class behavior expectations, and each other, with activities that include greeting and name games, conducting a class survey, and creating a classroom rules poster.
Curated OER
Egyptian Mummy Cases
Here is an activity I'd like to do with my class! They researching the ins and outs of Egyptian culture, hieroglyphs, symbolism, and art, then use what they know to create realistic or stylized Mummy cases. These cases need to include...
Curated OER
Classroom Archaeology
Students, in groups, receive a box of artifacts. They record their findings and discuss what the items would have been used for. They come together at the end of the lesson to share their findings.
Curated OER
Be the Poet
Students work through a Haiku Organizer to determine the characteristics they use to write eight haiku poems on a theme that they choose. They design presentation folders of their completed work.
Curated OER
Measuring Pumpkins and Our World
Students estimate the circumference of a pumpkin. They measure the pumpkin and other school objects, and record the measurements on worksheets.
Curated OER
All About Me Books
Students examine literature of emergent readers, categorize books into types of literature common for primary readers (wordless, pattern, alphabet, number, rhyme, etc.), and write a book about themselves to give as gifts to their new...
Curated OER
Let's Celebrate Kwanzaa!
Learn more about Kwanzaa with a celebratory lesson. As learners analyze My First Kwanzaa Book by Debbi Chocolate, they compare and contrast the celebration to other holiday traditions they know about. Next, they prepare and play a...
Curated OER
Gadget Anatomy
Sure to be a hit with your charges, here is a science lesson plan that has lots of hands-on activities packed into it. The focus is simple machines, and how they help us perform work. After a discussion and demonstration session, groups...
Curated OER
Making Movable Books
Investigate the parts of a book and in particular, the pop-up, tab, wheel, and or accordion features that can be added to a book to move and enhance the storyline. This is a three lesson unit.
Curated OER
Soft Sculpture Birds
Art can mimic life, and animals are always interesting subjects. Learners create large soft sculptures (stuffed) birds using paper, paint, and other basic collage materials. They view images of birds, and discuss bird traits and shapes....
Curated OER
Lost on Everest
What would it be like to be stranded on Mount Everest? Curious learners view a video clip, test common fabrics to see how they stand up to cold, and develop/answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Origami In A Box
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the assembly of origami folding paper projects. They practice creating different shapes or creatures with the folding of paper. Students are led through a guided practice before...
Curated OER
All About Me Books
Young authors write books about themselves using one of the identified types of literature and the writing process. They identify the common characteristics among the books in each group, edit, and gift their books to a younger student.