Curated OER
The Color of Poetry
Students listen to a story about colors and then write their own color poems.
Curated OER
Do You Haiku? We Do!
Third graders try their hands at writing Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry. Haiku is usually 17 syllables in three-line form. This engaging instructional activity has many excellent worksheets and website imbedded in the plan. They share...
Curated OER
Mexico's Day of the Dead
Students explore global culture by researching a Mexican holiday. In this Day of the Dead lesson plan, students read assigned text which discusses the view of death in several different cultures including the U.S. and Mexico. Students...
Curated OER
Traditional American Indian Lodges
Students explore the mathematical properties of traditional American Indian lodges. They examine the effect of increasing sides of a polygon, calculate the surface area of prisms and cylinders, and construct a classroom size pyramid...
Curated OER
Speaker Report
Fifth through eighth graders think of themselves as newspaper reporters as they listen to a presentation by a guest speaker. As reporters, they take notes during the presentation. Using these notes, they create a rough draft and then a...
University of Wisconsin
Getting the Word Out
An appropriate way to celebrate and conclude the construction of a rain garden is to share it with the community. Small groups collaborate to design an outreach product such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochure, or poster, to draw...
EngageNY
Mid-Module Assessment Task: Grade 6 Math Module 2
Make sure scholars know all about fractions and decimals — not just a fraction of the information. The 12th installment of a 21-part series is a mid-module assessment. Learners solve problems in the context of a birthday party and a...
Teaching Tolerance
Musical Movement Showcase
Young performing artists create a song or choreograph a dance to illustrate a theme in a text they are reading. Step-by-step directions are included.
University of Colorado
Space Travel Guide
Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...
ReadWriteThink
Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party
It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...
Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment
Concept Muraling
Concept muraling helps learners improve their comprehension of a text by giving them a way to organize their understanding of the key concepts in that text. Introduce readers to this process with a carefully scaffolded lesson that models...
Curated OER
Merging New Technology with Old Stories
Is your city's history a mystery to your class? Ever wonder if your county contains a bounty of folklore? Young computer scientists incorporate technology with time-honored tales during a project with both individual and group...
Smithsonian Institution
What's the Code? Coding Robot Movements Using Sound
Tap into the desire to learn about computer codes. Pupils apply the Tap Code and the Polybius Square to send secret codes using sound. They design a code that tells a robot what movements to make and then test out their code using one of...
Curated OER
Breakfast for Champions
Students prepare an event to honor philanthropic activities in their community. In this common good lesson, students send out invitations to local non-profits or to those who engage in philanthropic activities and plan an awards...
Curated OER
Social Letter
Students write social letter to friend or penpal in target foreign language to demonstrate knowledge of vocabulary and complex language structures, write with understanding and facility, and use appropriate presentational strategies to...
Curated OER
Narrative Prompt
Second graders practice their writing skills on a daily basis. Using a prompt, they write about a time they surprised themselves or someone else. They use a graphic organizer to gather their thoughts before writing the first draft. ...
Curated OER
Once Upon a Pop-Up Book
Third graders compile their writings into pop-up books after reading "The Jolly Postman: Or Other People's Letters." The book contains letters, invitations, essays, and narratives they have written previously. The project also includes...
Curated OER
Designing Carousels
Students design a carousel for an amusement park. In collaborative groups they conduct research, develop a presentation, write a descriptive paragraph, evaluate design features, and draw an artistic rendering of their carousel.
Curated OER
Tuck Everlasting
Students use a rubric given to them to answer questions about the novel Tuck Everlasting. They may have to find ten words that are new to them, complete a Venn Diagram, respond to given prompts or complete a survey. The students...
Curated OER
Animalopedia Poetry
Students reseach animals while working in groups. They write poems to be included in a class Animalopedia book.
Curated OER
Salmon and Steelhead Life Stories Web Search
Students conduct an Internet investigation to discover the natural history of local salmon and/or steelhead. They then write a story that describes the life of a salmon or steelhead from the local creek, including a description of each...
Curated OER
Lessons from History
Students review key vocabulary in history and review a specific website. They write a paragraph summarizing an event they read about on this website. They analyze the importance of studying and learning from history.
The New York Times
Great Debate: Developing Argumentation Skills
"Advertising has no impact on whether people buy something." "Looting is morally permissible during national disasters and emergencies." "Gay teenagers should be allowed to take dates to the prom." Considering a class debate? Check out...
Teaching Tolerance
Collage of Concerns
A picture can speak louder than words. An interesting lesson introduces the themes of social justice and diversity to young learners by having them create artwork. Scholars create collages from a variety of sources to showcase what...