Curated OER
Dance: Discovering the Culture of Gullah
It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...
Curated OER
Learning to Ask Questions
First graders analyze historical materials and create questions about Dwight D. Eisenhower. In this question writing lesson, 1st graders ask and answer questions about the life of Eisenhower. Students write about photographs they...
Curated OER
Peer Editing Checklist
Peer editing can be fun and enlightening if it's done effectively. If you're having your class peer edit a general piece of writing (perhaps a personal response or short answer response), this graphic organizer could help. Reviewers look...
Curated OER
Peer Editing Worksheets
What kind of writing did your class just complete? Narrative writing? Process writing? Compare and contrast writing? Print this packet; there are 10 different peer-editing worksheets included here for a variety of writing. Teach your...
Take the challenge
Connecting with Natural/Open Spaces
Get your class outside, away from the television, and maybe even learning something about nature while they're at it. Individuals will chose an open, natural space to spend time in for several days. Each day they will complete a page in...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2
The details in the new Common Core standard for producing informative/explanatory texts is different from what you have in your current curriculum, and now you are confused on what to do. Keep calm and carry on, because not only does...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
Readers identify the author's purpose. First, they read a passage and utilize details from the piece to determine the author's purpose. Then they will explain how they arrived at their conclusion. Links to materials are provided.
Curated OER
Heavy Boots: Group Discussion
Jonathan Safran Foer's phrase, "heavy boots," becomes the focus of a class discussion of grief and sadness. During the reading of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, individuals place examples of their own experiences with these topics...
Illustrative Mathematics
Comparing Numbers
Young mathematicians spin their way to a deeper number sense with this fun, collaborative activity. Using two spinners, one with the numbers 0-9 and the other with the decades 00-90, pairs of students take turns building and comparing...
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.
National History Day
Leland Linman’s War: A Look at Soldiers’ Daily Lives in World War I
Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...
ProCon
Is Homework Beneficial?
Does homework improve student achievement, or does it increase stress? Scholars use the included debate topics website to prepare for a class discussion or debate about whether homework is advantageous. After reading a brief background...
California Education Partners
Summer Olympics
Quickly get to the decimal point. The last assessment in a nine-part series requires scholars to work with decimals. Pupils compare the race times of several athletes and calculate how much they have improved over time. During the second...
Curated OER
I Spy Poetry
Explore the components of rhythm and form through a reading of Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. After discussing Marzollo’s format, the class agrees upon a theme for a class book and topics that fit with that theme. Pupils write a poem,...
Curated OER
Digestion & Nutrition: a Case Study
Middle schoolers explore digestion/nutrition and utilize scientific investigation skills. They complete meal logs for several days and graph their results. After analyzing their data, they write formal lab reports.
Curated OER
Autism And The Brain
Help your class understand Autism. They conduct research into how the brain is effected by the disorder of autism. Then they write a letter to the Center For Disease Control about their findings and forward some of the new research to them.
Curated OER
The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
Curated OER
Making Inferences
Here is an excellent graphic organizer that learners use to write details and facts in boxes to the left, and inferences about them on the right. A good worksheet for visual learners!
Curated OER
Reply to a Job Ad
So, you've just spotted an ad for the perfect job, now what? Get kids ready to enter the workforce by having them practice the first step, replying to a job ad. They scan the paper for a job, role-play responding to the ad via phone,...
EngageNY
Infinite Decimals
Can you support the argument that the decimal 0.99999 ... is equivalent to the number one? The seventh installment in this 25-part module gives convincing support for this conclusion. Pupils write infinite decimals using powers of 10....
Virginia Department of Education
Powers of Ten
Investigate negative exponents of-ten. Pupils use the pattern of increasing powers of 10 to determine negative powers of 10. The scholars write the powers in expanded and product forms and make the connection to exponents using a...
Curated OER
A Way with Words
How do facts and opinions impact the news? After reading "How to Cover a War" from the New York Times, middle schoolers evaluate the claims in the article. They also consider the media's responsibilities in reporting during wartime....
Curated OER
Not Just the Facts
Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...
Curated OER
Conceptual Analysis in Economics
Help develop assertive, critical-thinking skills that enhance growth and change while teaching economics. In groups, select a topic from a list and then discuss the pros and cons of each topic. Debate why advertising is necessary to our...