Curated OER
Persuasive Letters and The Tell Tale Heart
Students write persuasive letters based on "The Tell Tale Heart." They brainstorm topic sentences, main ideas, and details. They analyze the character and determine if he is innocent or guilty. They create a map listing their reasons to...
Curated OER
Writing Essays
Students compose expository essays. In this written communication lesson, students examine paragraphs from sample expository essays and then discuss the attributes of well-written essays prior to writing their own expository essays.
Curated OER
Pre Writing Strategies
Second graders review story mapping along with characters, setting, problem, events, and solution. They view pictures and tell the story of their picture orally then they write rough drafts and final copies of their stories in the...
Curated OER
Digging Into the Past
Fifth graders study fossils and how they are charted. In this fossil lesson plan, 5th graders research the excavation process of discovering fossils, and view fossils. They then do a hands on activity that involves plastic fossils that...
Curated OER
Responsible Stewardship: The Saving of the Great Lakes
Students devise a plan to protect the Great Lakes. In this environmental lesson, students conduct research to identify nonprofit groups that help protect the waterways. Students write letters to the Congressman or a nonprofit...
Curated OER
Planets in our Solar System
A wonderfully designed, and very thorough lesson plan on the planets in our solar system. Designed for third graders, this lesson has learners use technology and multimedia tools to research, explore, and create information about the...
Curated OER
Springfield Digital Storytelling Project #6: Grapes Commercial
Here is a fabulous instructional activity that should have your class very excited! They utilize the GRAPES formula in order to produce a commercial like ones we see on TV. Working in pairs, they must come up with a script, take video,...
Curated OER
The Presidential Nominating System
Students examine the process by which candidates for U.S. president are nominated by the Democratic and Republican parties.  They identify the differences between primaries and caucuses and key terms and issues related to the primary...
Curated OER
Life Along the Trail
Learners explore the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. They read to explain a new topic and write to inform readers of the historic events they explored.
Curated OER
Change the Face of History
Middle schoolers create and write a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story as they investigate the Revolutionary War. They choose a historical figure who played a key role in the war who meets other influential figures and has the opportunity...
Curated OER
Into the Wild: Settling the South Carolina Backcountry
Eighth graders select their own plot of land in the Backcountry to settle in the 1700s in SC.  Students first find a point for settlement and sketch out the best route from the Lowcountry to arrive at the point.  They...
Curated OER
The Early Tensions of the Cold War
High schoolers uncover the roots of the Cold War. In this Cold War lesson, students research the political philosophies of the Soviet Union and the United States during the era as they define key vocabulary and discuss government...
Curated OER
Debating the Depression
Twelfth graders discover how to debate important social issues in a civil manner. They explain the importance of knowledge in public discourse.
Curated OER
Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this lesson to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format for their...
Curated OER
The Purpose and Power of Persuasion
Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...
Curated OER
My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C.
Although this legislative process lesson plan is designed to accompany a specific text, it is valuable independently. Young learners participate in a picture walk (worksheet included) through My Senator and Me:...
Curated OER
Essay: The Importance of Physical Education
Originally designed for a physical education classroom, this lesson plan asks learners to argue for their school to keep their PE class during budget cuts. Whether your school is facing this challenge or not, it does pose a great...
Rio Salado College
Prewriting Strategies Worksheet
Prepare for any writing assignment with a series of prewriting activities. The resource includes instruction sheets, graphic organizers for brainstormng, and sample writing prompts.
EngageNY
Polynomial, Rational, and Radical Relationships
This assessment pair goes way beyond simple graphing, factoring and solving polynomial equations, really forcing learners to investigate the math ideas behind the calculations. Short and to-the-point questions build on one another,...
Inside Mathematics
Hexagons
Scholars find a pattern from a geometric sequence and write the formula for extending it. The worksheet includes a table to complete plus four analysis questions. It concludes with instructional implications for the teacher.
Curated OER
I'm a Changed Pig
Introduce your class to fairy tales with this lesson. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the fairy tale....
California Education Partners
Four Square Wars
Obviously, four is the perfect number when you're playing Four Square. Scholars first use multiplication and division to solve a set of problems on the number of balls needed, the number of games, and the number of players required for a...
EngageNY
Solving Problems Using Sine and Cosine
Concepts are only valuable if they are applicable. An informative resource uses concepts developed in lessons 26 and 27 in a 36-part series. Scholars write equations and solve for missing side lengths for given right triangles....
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Exploring Quadratics and Graphs
Young mathematicians first graph a series of quadratic equations, and then investigate how various parts of the equation change the graph of the function in a predictable way.