Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 3 Day Lesson
Was the Scopes trial more complicated than a simple debate between evolutionists and creationists? As part of a structured academic controversy (SAC) activity, pupils consider multiple perspectives of the Butler Act and engage in close...
Film English
Serial Taxi
Explore the murder mystery genre through film, discussion, and writing. The plan features several activities centered around a two-minute video that include collaboration, writing, and prediction. After the lesson, individuals write...
Achieve3000
Listening for Main Idea and Supporting Details
Did you hear that? It's the main idea! Teach your class listening and note-taking strategies for determining the main idea by following the steps provided in this plan.
Federal Reserve Bank
Less Than Zero
Perry the penguin wants to buy a new scooter, but he doesn't have any funds! Walk your kids through the short book Less Than Zero, and have them track his borrowing, spending, and saving on a line graph while you read. Pupils will learn...
NASA
Touchdown
Individuals design and build a set of shock absorbers to protect their astronauts when they land. Using a limited amount of supplies, pupils build a system that will keep two large marshmallows from flying out of a cup when it lands...
US Institute of Peace
Nonverbal Communication
What is your body saying that maybe your words aren't? Scholars explore the vast world of the subtle, and not-so-subtle, nonverbal communication cues through group and individual work. Lesson seven in a series of peacebuilding exercises...
Curated OER
Jacob Have I Loved
Students examine visual images about the novel, Jacob Have I Loved. They compare pictures from "America from the Great Depression to World War II" that are described in the book and other studies of the Chesapeake Bay. They present their...
Federal Reserve Bank
Something Special For Me
People often save money, but what are the benefits and drawbacks of that action? Youngsters learn about saving, savings, and opportunity cost through the lens of a short book, called Something Special for Me.
British Council
Letters Home
When you're writing historical fiction, the past really can become the present — especially if you're writing in the present continuous tense! Cover World War I, verb tenses, censorship, and letter writing with one informative lesson and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Accessing Prior Knowledge: Global Climate Change Survey
Begin a unit on weather and climate change by assessing prior knowledge of the topic. Learners respond to a survey with questions that ask what they think causes climate change, the effects of climate change, and if it is important...
Curated OER
Tell a Ton of Tall Tales
Elementary schoolers read many tall tales. They create their own tall tale about a specific event of their choosing. They must act the part of the author. This well-designed instructional activity takes three class sessions to complete,...
Curated OER
How to Calculate Time
Students complete a worksheet. In this calculations lesson, students learn factual information about computing time with clocks, calendars and eras. Students show their knowledge by completing a worksheet.
Curated OER
Religion in the Schools
The requirements of the Equal Access Act are studied and applied to factual situations. By looking at the particular contexts suggested your class can examine the difficulties faced by administrators in whether they should permit...
Curated OER
To Tell the Tale
Students explore how themes common to the human condition can be found in literary and oral traditions across cultures. They compile traditional folk tales around these themes and write their own tales to reflect their own cultural context.
Curated OER
Closer to the Ground
Students understand the idea of a nonprofit organization, the service donated by others, and how it helps a community. In this philanthropic lesson, students explore the types of nonprofits that would be beneficial to a school and what...
Film English
Fear of Flying
A bird that's afraid of flying? See what happens to this character when it's time to fly south. Over the course of the lesson, pupils discuss fears in general, share their fears, make predictions about the film, and view the film. The...
Curated OER
What is a Philanthropist?
What does a philanthropist do? Help your class explore philanthropy using character development and literacy ideas. Learners will define and give examples of philanthropy, listen to The Lion and the Mouse, discuss how the characters help...
Newseum
Editorials and Opinion Articles
Reading the news is fun, and that's a fact! With the lesson plan, scholars differentiate between fact and opinion as they read editorial articles. They complete a worksheet to analyze the information before writing their own editorials...
Curated OER
Compare Two Versions: Folk Tales, Sequencing, and Summary
Compare two versions of "The Three Little Pigs" (traditional and Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, told from the wolf's point of view). As your 4th graders recount the familiar version of the story, emphasize the...
Prestwick House
Teaching Shakespeare: Sonnet 73
It's that time of year to consider how Shakespeare selects his images and structures his Sonnet 73 to develop the meaning of the poem. Class members examine the rhyme scheme, the indented lines, the conceit, and the images used in each...
Curated OER
Lessons in Looking: Contraband in Paintings
Using the paintings On to Liberty and A Ride for Liberty, 10th graders analyze historical perspectives on life after the Civil War. They attempt to determine what the Civil War meant for free slaves, then read a paragraph highlighting...
Science Friday
Cooking with Chemistry
Use class time to perfect your hollandaise sauce with a chemistry lesson. It includes two activities to teach about immiscible liquids, emulsifiers, and creating a stable homogenous mixture. Young scientists first mix...
EngageNY
Chance Experiments
Class members are introduced to probability using terms such as impossible, unlikely, likely, and certain. Numbers between zero and one are associated with the descriptions of probability. Pupils find the likelihood of chance experiments...
Smithsonian Institution
Be a Food Detective
What are packaged food products really made of? This lesson will prompt your learners to consider and investigate the source of ingredients in their food. They begin by breaking into groups and analyzing food labels by identifying...