Curated OER
Math for the Frontier
Make history come to life by using the Frontier House series to engage students in the past. Your class will "prepare" for a trip to 1833 Montana. They will learn about homesteading, frontier life, inflation, and cost of living. Using...
Library of Congress
To Kill A Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students study the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through studying primary source materials from American Memory and other online resources, students of all backgrounds study the relationships between blacks and whites.
Curated OER
Molded Clay Faces
Artists create clay masks using pre-formed molds, clay, glitter, feathers, gems, and paint. The expressive qualities of clay are perfect for creating many different types of face masks, from Mardi Gras glitter to Japanese Kabuki to...
Curated OER
English Literature: An Overview
Relate literary works and authors to the major themes of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through the 20th century. Working in groups, high schoolers will evaluate period philosophy, religion, and politics that influenced...
Curated OER
Escher-Esque Tessellations
Middle and high schoolers participate in a seven-part lesson creating Escher-Esque tessellations. They demonstrate their knowledge of geometric transformations after viewing a PowerPoint presentation, conducting Internet research, and...
Curated OER
Biography Chat
Young scholars profile a mock television talk-show format to conduct mock interviews with famous people in history. Students read biographies of famous people in history. Young scholars assemble questions for interviews.
Curated OER
Let's Get Linear
Math whizzes utilize spreadsheets to examine linear modeling. They roll marbles down a ramp from three different heights and measure how far they roll. They use Excel to record their data and create a plot of their data.
Curated OER
Adding Strong Voice to Your Writing
Identify examples of strong voice in popular picture books. Young authors add voice to their writing and revise their own writing. In addition, they share their writing with their peers.
Los Angeles Unified School District
Illuminated Poetry
Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay" serves as a model for a poetry analysis activity. The whole class critiques the sample and then groups select a poem and prepare a PowerPoint presentation in which they illustrate how their poet...
Curated OER
Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry
Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...
Curated OER
Streetfilms' Moving Beyond the Automobile
This is an exceptional series that you can use in an environmental or engineering unit. There are four lessons: "Sustainable Transportation," "Designing for Safety," "Changing the Landscape," and "Engaging in Policy." Each lesson plan...
Curated OER
Dancing Lights
Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis. In this Northern Lights lesson, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the Northern lights....
PBS
The Pursuit of Excellence
Who doesn’t love French pastries and the idea of hard work? Discover different philosophies on hard work, and the skills of French pastry chefs as the documentary concerning the “Best Craftsmen in France” or Meilleures Ouvriers de France...
Teach Engineering
You've Got to See it to Believe It!
Youngsters develop an understanding of how smog is produced, and how exhaust from automobiles is one of the major sources of smog. They explore the roles that engineers play in developing technologies that reduce smog, then work in teams...
Curated OER
Unknown Frost Poem Discovered
What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...
Curated OER
Rituals, Scapegoats, and Mobs...Oh My!
One way to teach "The Lottery," a suspenseful and rich short story by Shirley Jackson.
Field Museum
The Case of Darwin's Finches
One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...
Tennessee Technical University
Carousel Brainstorm
A variation of the Walkabout Review process, carousel brainstorming directs groups to rotate through a series of stations posting ideas on the topic or question posted at each stop.
Mathematics Vision Project
Quadratic Equations
Through a variety of physical and theoretical situations, learners are led through the development of some of the deepest concepts in high school mathematics. Complex numbers, the fundamental theorem of algebra and rational exponents...
Curated OER
Inside OKCupid: The Math of Online Dating
Capture the hearts of your young statisticians with this real-life example of using statistics in online dating. The use of average and geometric mean are discussed in the context of creating the algorithm used to connect people.
Illinois State Board of Education
Common Core Teaching and Learning Strategies
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library, whether or not your school has adopted the Common Core. Designed for middle and high school language arts classes, the packet is packed with teaching tips, materials,...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Intensities in the Classroom
Everyone learns and experiences life differently. A set of lessons about character intensities encourages middle and high schoolers to analyze themselves, their peers, and characters from a book based on the five listed intensities:...
Dream of a Nation
Writing a Narrative Essay
Imagine using narrative essays to encourage change. This multi-week unit plan does just that. After reading a series of articles from Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, class members examine the...
EngageNY
From Ratio Tables to Double Number Line Diagrams
How much sugar is in one bottle? Pupils use double number line diagrams to determine the amount of sugar in a 1L bottle of cola. The teacher leads a discussion on ways that double number lines can be of assistance in solving a...
