Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning
In this interactive session, teachers will participate as learners in a 5E LEARN lesson. Through this experience, they will build formal knowledge of 5E concepts and evaluate the lesson’s alignment with the 5E model and its elements of authenticity. After observing modifications made to the 5E LEARN... Read more »
Created by: Heather Shaffery
Date Updated: November 19th, 2021
This lesson demonstrates how using reading strategies enhances understanding of text. Students are asked to “read” a variety of texts, including art, a video, and a short story, using the OPTIC strategy. Students first make (O)bservations and (P)redictions about the text to aid in their understanding... Read more »
Created by: K20 Center
Date Updated: August 14th, 2024
Visual Literacy
Segregation was a pivotal issue in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Homer Plessy took a stand against segregation and the notion that separate but equal was legal. Upon reviewing and evaluating the Fourteenth Amendment, Jim Crow Laws, the Plessy v. Ferguson case, and other... Read more »
Created by: K20 Center
Date Updated: August 15th, 2024
In this lesson, students will explore various types of expository writing. Students will experience the expository forms of description, sequence, comparison, cause/effect, and problem/solution writing through engaging tasks and collaborative activities and create an expository writing reference sheet... Read more »
Created by: K20 Center
Date Updated: September 25th, 2024
Expository Writing
In this middle school lesson, best facilitated at the beginning of a westward expansion unit, students analyze John Gast's painting "American Progress," then read and analyze primary source documents to construct their own definition of "Manifest Destiny." To deepen their understanding, students analyze... Read more »
Created by: Sarah Brewer
Date Updated: August 12th, 2024
U.S. Territorial Expansion
In this lesson, students will learn to compare anatomical similarities and differences between organisms and explain the relationship between organisms based on homologous structures. They begin by reading a recent research article on either parrots or penguins. Then, students learn about the ancient... Read more »
Created by: Teresa Randall
Date Updated: January 11th, 2024
Homologous Structures
This extended multi-standard lesson uses the phenomena of the Dust Bowl to understand ecosystem stability and human impacts on the environment. Students examine art, plant-soil interactions, climate data, and agricultural practices to develop concept maps synthesizing the ecosystem-based causes of the... Read more »
Created by: Heather Shaffery
Date Updated: October 10th, 2024
Climate, Ecosystems, and Human Impacts
Students will construct a watershed and discover how water flow impacts humans. IMPORTANT NOTE: Parts of the lesson are adjusted to meet each grade level's specific standard, so be sure to do the parts that correlate with your grade level. Read more »
Created by: K20 Center
Date Updated: September 25th, 2020
Earth and Human Activity
This lesson is a middle school adaptation of the high school "How Does Your Garden Grow?" lesson. Students will explore soil health principles, soil chemistry, nutrient cycles, and environmental impacts of soil quality and investigate optimal soil conditions in which to grow plants. Using the data and... Read more »
Created by: Heather Shaffery
Date Updated: June 16th, 2022
Conservation, Ecosystems, and Soil Health
This middle school lesson is adapted from the high school lesson "How Does Your Garden Grow?" Students will explore principles of soil health, soil chemistry, and nutrient cycles by testing and analyzing soil samples. Students will also explore humanity's impact on soil health and create public service... Read more »
Created by: Heather Shaffery
Date Updated: December 4th, 2024
Conservation, Ecosystems, and Soil Health
This lesson is a middle school adaptation of the high school "How Does Your Garden Grow?" lesson. Students will explore soil health principles, soil chemistry, nutrient cycles, and environmental impacts of soil quality. Students will construct models that demonstrate the flow of matter and energy in... Read more »
Created by: Heather Shaffery
Date Updated: June 6th, 2022
Conservation, Ecosystems, and Soil Health
In this lesson, students will examine the facts associated with evolution, infer what fossilized remains can inform us about an organism, explore how evolution is influenced by an ever-changing environment, and construct a timeline of an organism change resulting from environmental factors or human... Read more »
Created by: Brittany Bowens
Date Updated: August 5th, 2024
Biology
In this lesson, students will explore the reasons for imperialism in Africa and the effects of colonization on the African continent. Students will analyze maps, images, and political cartoons. They also will watch a video and read an article to understand how imperialism affected the continent of Africa... Read more »
Created by: Laura Halstied
Date Updated: April 18th, 2023
Imperialism in Africa
During this third lesson in the Connecting Social Issues and Health Inequities unit, students will analyze satellite images of two locations, calculate the percentage of squares that are mostly forested and those that are mostly urbanized (using aerial images of two different zip codes with drastically... Read more »
Created by: Alonna Smith
Date Updated: July 13th, 2023
The Role of Green Spaces
In this lesson, students recall their current knowledge about the Supreme Court and then analyze a political cartoon about the branches of government. An infographic and a video about Marbury v. Madison are then summarized in a graphic organizer. Students extend their learning by discussing an argumentative... Read more »
Created by: Laura Halstied
Date Updated: June 22nd, 2023
Marbury v. Madison