Curated OER
Making the Old New Again
How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest...
Curated OER
Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers...
Curated OER
Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching...
Curated OER
Technical Merits
What is technical knowledge? The class explores what technical knowledge might mean to an Olympic athlete. They catalog the different types of information that athletes would need to compete in various Winter Olympic sports and develop...
Curated OER
Funding a Way to the Top
Review economic vocabulary, presidential election campaigns, and current campaign budgets (2004). Your class will determine how they feel about the amount of money spent on presidential campaigns, they will read an informational article,...
Curated OER
Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
Curated OER
Be That As It Maya
Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...
Curated OER
Test-Driving Computers
A new form of standardized testing? Learners evaluate arguments for and against the use of computer-based standardized tests in schools. They express their views through discussion and explore the views of others through the creation and...
Curated OER
Modeling the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Learners construct a model of an electromagnetic spectrum using play-doh and string. They use exponents and plot the radio/microwave, infrared, and visible bandwidths of the spectrum.
Curated OER
Nellie Bly's Newspaper Club: Introducing the Art of Writing
Students use video and the Internet to research the life of Nellie Bly, a famous female reporter from the 19th century. They research a writer and present their information to the class in the style of a news reporter.
Curated OER
Fabric Art
Do kids use problem solving skills when they create scrap art? You bet they do! After examining the art of Mary Katherine Lamb, they create their own pieces using recycled products and vintage art techniques. They watch a video about the...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 1
To prepare for a field trip to a local art museum, art class members journal their initial reactions to a reproduction of the work they will focus on during their visit. The whole class then considers the artistic elements in the piece...
Curated OER
Creating Compassionate Communities
Have you ever lost someone? Middle and high school learners journal about a time they experienced the loss of someone through death, divorce, moving, or another type of change. They share their responses and discuss an article relating...
Curated OER
Investigating the Swissair Flight 111 Tragedy
Middle schoolers read two articles about the same event: "Plane from J.F.K Crashes off Canada" from the New York Times and "No Survivors from Crash of Swissair Jetliner Off Nova Scotia" from the Associated Press. They then compare the...
Curated OER
New Gun Control Politics: A Whimper, Not a Bang
Using an article from The New York Times, students answer discussion questions about gun control. They are divided into four groups to research different standpoints on gun control, including the Executive Office, Congress, Gun...
Curated OER
Welcome To Middle School Video
Students create questions to pose to adults working in Middle School. In groups, students create a video interviewing the Middle School staff. They edit the video and format present it as an introduction to Middle School for perspective...
Curated OER
Kids These Days!
Young scholars create a scrapbook of college student life during the 1960's using digital archives and Internet research. They read and discuss the article "What's the Matter With College?" and then compare college experience of today...
Curated OER
Whose Afraid of Contemporary Art?
Have your class create original modern art sculptures. Learners analyze and discuss "The Profile," a sculpture by Martin Puryear. They work in teams to develop a proposal for a large outdoor sculpture in the community. Presentations...
Curated OER
Eyes On Me
Students investigate the human eye. In this biology lesson, students read the book Look At Your Eyes and locate the various parts of their eye. Students play the game "I Spy."
Curated OER
Let's Make A Deal
Third graders make a picture money book. In this money lesson, 3rd graders read The Monster Money Book, discuss money terminology, watch a video on money and draw an example of the barter system. Students use the Internet to find...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Still-Life Painting: Arranging Nature—Lesson 1
Art learners examine still-life arrangement images and respond to a series of prompts. In a whole-class discussion, pupils list elements and qualities that still-life paintings can have. After instructors create an arrangement and model...
Curated OER
Writing Lesson Plan: Homework Books
What a way to end the day! Class members recall important events that occurred throughout day. These events are posted on the chart board for class members to copy into their Homework Book. Books are sent home for parents to read, sign,...
Science Friday
Ugh, a Bug!
Young entomologists familiarize themselves with the physical characteristics of insects. Composed of two activities, each lesson involves your scientists tapping into their prior knowledge of bugs and making observations of real live...
Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Persuasive Writing
Get your junior high writers stimulated with the strategies and ideas available in this activity. Learners discuss and debate controversial subjects, and outline their reasons with an online graphic organizer (link included) that creates...