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...
Curated OER
The Brain’s Inner Workings
Do you want to learn about how you learn? Help pupils become the best learners they can be by teaching them how their brain works. The resources available include videos about brain structure and a study guide full of activities that...
Space Awareness
The Sun Compass of the Vikings
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...
Curated OER
Conversation Heart Graphing
Sixth graders review the different types of graphs (bar, line, pictograph) They predict the data set they can garner several boxes of conversation hearts. Students record their data using an Excel spreadsheet. They create a graph based...
PBS
Team Work and Planning
Welcome to the Great Marshmallow Challenge. To conclude a unit study designed to help scholars develop teamwork and collaboration skills, groups are charged with developing a free-standing structure using only one marshmallow,...
EngageNY
Three-Dimensional Space
How do 2-D properties relate in 3-D? Lead the class in a discussion on how to draw and see relationships of lines and planes in three dimensions. The ability to see these relationships is critical to the further study of volume and...
Education Development Center
Rational Exponents
It's rational to root for your class to learn about exponents. Scholars study rational exponents by reading a fictional dialogue between classmates. They analyze the conversation to understand the connection between rational exponents...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
What van Leeuwenhoek Saw
When van Leeuwenhoek saw cells and single-celled organisms for the first time, he knew these small things were a big deal! Share his discoveries with young learners through a narrated video, model-building activity, and scale study....
Stanford University
Ruby Bridges
A two-part lesson features Civil Rights hero, Ruby Bridges. Part one focuses on the heroic actions of Ruby Bridges then challenges scholars to complete a Venn diagram in order to compare themselves to her. Part two begins with a...
National WWII Museum
More Than Words Can Say: Analyzing Visual Materials as Primary Sources
The propaganda of World War II was a key factor in galvanizing the home front. Class members examine images—without their text—to consider their messages, including those around race and gender. Using pictures and discussion questions,...
Curated OER
Understanding Daoism through study of the Daodejing
Middle schoolers work in groups and study Daodejing. They describe how Monkey's behavior (from the Monkey Stories) is governed by the Yang and the Yin powers.
Curated OER
Trembling, Spewing Earth: Impacts on Human Activity
Seventh graders study to identify patterns in earthquake activity and impacts on human behavior. They also develop plans to cope with such natural disasters.
Curated OER
Value Study Marker -- Using Chuck Close as a Catalyst
Sixth graders examine the work of artist Chuck Close. They create their own image using markers that show a range of values. They develop a grid to replicate those values.
Curated OER
Value Study Pencil -- Using Chuck Close as a Catalyst
Seventh graders examine the life of artist Chuck Close. They use markers to create an image to show a range of values. They develop a grid to represent these values.
Curated OER
America Grows - Trailblazers Pave the Way
Students study the time period after the Revolutionary War when people were striving to move away from the coastal areas and look for pathways to the west. Westerward expansion is a central theme and students use a variety of resources...
Curated OER
Three Gorges Dam: Will China Sink or Swim?
Seventh graders study the Three Gorges Dam, which is the largest dam built in the world. They examine how the dam impacts China as it prepares for the 21st century.
Curated OER
Perceptions of German Unification Over Time
Through a series of readings and handouts, learners will study the shifts in perception that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. The history lesson focuses on periods of change in post WWII German history that led to a changed...
Curated OER
Putting It All Together: The Personal Plan of Study
Eighth graders develop an educational and career plan based on current interests, strengths, and limitations. They identify and explore a variety of resources to aid in career exploration and planning now and in the future. They compare...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, lesson activities, and ideas...
Curated OER
The Lansing Old Stars Trading Card Collection
Students study about the first people that came to the Lansing area. After reading a series of stories students have gained an examineing of how people in the 1800s and 1900s dressed. They design trading cards to portray their settler...
Curated OER
I Am Special and You Are Special Too #3
Students explore the meaning of unique and special. They study about why a birthday is significant. They investigate how families celebrate birthdays in different ways and they reflect on why growing up is a good thing.
Curated OER
Where Has It Been? Tracking the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
By studying the assumed extinction, and subsequent rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, learners use maps and come up with a scenario for the rediscovery of the bird. This incredibly thorough lesson plan is chock-full of...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...
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...