Museum of Tolerance
Music Evokes Memories and Emotions
Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...
Curated OER
A Season for Chapters
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
Curated OER
Multi-sensory Writing
Students use their senses to help describe special place they have been. They write short sensory-image essay that incorporate all five of their senses, and identify sensory language while reading different pieces of literature.
Curated OER
Easy Essays Step 2
Third graders write essays after participating in mini-lessons that encourage better writing. They write using the model of a skeleton to which they add the muscles.
Curated OER
GLOBALIZATION
Students define the concept of the global community. They analyze characteristics of global communities using Stark's three categories: communication, economy, and culture/community. They write a five-paragraph essay which includes an...
Curated OER
Four Year Plan Essay
Learners complete a personal vision, a four year plan essay, meant to stimulate their thinking process. They set a foundation for what they hope to strive for in the next four years to come.
Curated OER
Thoughts to the President
Students write a persuassive paragraph to the President stating their opinion on a topic. To do this, they start the message with a topic sentence such as "War is _____." The blank should contain a word or phrase expressing the student's...
Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Expository Writing
Struggling on what steps to take in your expository essay lesson? Or confused on what to include for your scribes? This exercise in the process of expository writing provides concepts and structure for the educator on what the writers...
Curated OER
Sandwich Chart
Students fill in the blanks on a writing learning exercise to create ideas for a five paragraph essay. Each blank needs to be filled in to create a "sandwich" essay which includes a topic sentence, the paragraphs with supporting details...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...
Curated OER
Using Transitions
Transitions, words that reveal the relationship between two ideas, are the subject of a presentation that provides color-coded illustrations to show viewers how this part of speech functions in sentences. The PowerPoint concludes with an...
Virginia Department of Education
Counterarguments
Create an urbane battle royal in class with the old Coke vs. Pepsi challenge that develops upper level high school learners skills in developing counterarguments in essay writing. The educator divides the room according to tastes, and...
Curated OER
Writing Thesis Statements in Sociology
Students discover methods for writing strong thesis statements. In this writing skills lesson, students follow the steps their instructor outlines to review the strengths and weaknesses of their sociology thesis statements.
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...
Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...
Wordpress
The Inn of Lost Time
Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...
Curated OER
teaching Geography Using Literature in K-University Classrooms
Students read one of the following books: Minn of the Mississippi, Paddle-to-the-Sea, or Seabird, all by Holling C. Holling, and identify the five themes of geography as well as make a literature journal with chapter field notes. They...
US Department of State
Reader's Theater: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The opening chapters of Mark Twain's masterpiece, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, can be daunting for some readers. A reader's theater assignment divides the second chapter of the novel into a seven-role script, allowing...
Curated OER
Writing: A Friendly Letter
Students practice writing career oriented letters and filling out job applications. As a class, they review the proper ways to make citations and identify the difference between the various types of letter formats. They use peer editing...
Curated OER
Photo Essay
Young scholars examine the process of writing a photo essay. They examine and select a personal photo or photo from a magazine, and brainstorm a story that can go with the photo. They identify an emotion to go with their picture, then...
Curated OER
New Year's Resolutions
Students write about New Year's Resolutions made about personal improvement, family and friends, and school and the outside world. They write a first draft and a final draft of a five-paragraph essay about their resolutions.
Curated OER
The Great Debate: Internationalists vs. Isolationists
Students examine the opposing arguments of the isolationists and internationalists in 1941. In this debate lesson plan, the students are divided into two opposing groups representing a position in a live, in- class debate. After the...
Weebly
Infographic Project
This multi-faceted, progressive project includes an array of activities for analyzing and evaluating a theme of American history. Learners begin by constructing a timeline of events in United States history using Google docs, create a...
Curated OER
Keeping Your Heart in Good Shape: What are the Benefits? - Biology Teaching Thesis
Students name the main parts of the heart and what events occur there. They write a reaction that contains complete sentences, and uses proper spelling and grammar, after viewing a video. Students define the following terms: contraction,...