Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning
What does the raven really mean? In this lesson, students analyze Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Raven" to uncover the meaning behind its iconic symbol. Then, they create free verse poems, using symbolism to express themselves. Read more »
Created by: K20 Center
Date Updated: January 14th, 2025
Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"
This lesson is intended to introduce the unit circle, leading into the concept of radians as a unit rather than degrees. This lesson is intended to introduce the concept at the beginning of the unit, but it could also work as remediation if students are just not getting it. Read more »
Created by: K20 Center
Date Updated: February 15th, 2024
The Unit Circle / Trigonometry
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
In this lesson, students will engage in a hands-on learning activity centered around a geometric construct called a hexomino. Similar to the more familiar domino (with two squares fused together on a side), a hexomino consists of six squares fused together. Students will (1) use spatial reasoning skills... Read more »
Created by: Amber Stokes
Date Updated: June 17th, 2022
Area, Perimeter, Spatial Reasoning, and Patterns
There is a quote that says, “Dialogue is easy. It’s what you’ve been doing almost every day, most of your life” (Josip Novakovich). Sure, dialogue seems simple; it’s having a conversation. But what about writing dialogue? To write conversations between characters, or even for a character with themselves,... Read more »
Created by: Jane Baber
Date Updated: August 10th, 2023
Writing Dialogue
This lesson explores the crisis response to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City and the development of the Oklahoma Standard. This lesson should be taught after students have learned about the bombing itself. Read more »
Created by: Chelsee Wilson
Date Updated: June 30th, 2022
The Oklahoma City Bombing
Students will engage in a discussion about what it means to be human before trying to determine, much like the Turing Test, which images were created by artificial intelligence and which were created by humans. Students will read a passage from Frankenstein, analyzing the piece for how the author portrayed... Read more »
Created by: Brandy Hackett
Date Updated: August 9th, 2024
Thematic Links Between AI and Frankenstein
This lesson focuses on how to analyze and solve systems of linear equations by using the graphing method. The goal is for students to use prior knowledge to expand their understanding of equations and how they connect to real-world scenarios. Students will be able to identify, solve, and write equations... Read more »
Created by: Brittany VanCleave
Date Updated: August 10th, 2023
Systems of Linear Equations: Graphing
Participating in difficult conversations in a classroom setting gives students a chance to learn how to express ideas and opinions safely. In this lesson, students build trust and respect for each other, building their confidence to speak on difficult topics without fear. Students will engage with complex... Read more »
Created by: Polly Base
Date Updated: July 17th, 2023
Speaking and Listening
In this lesson, students will create a composition using a limited number of musical elements by selecting from a menu of pitches, dynamics, rhythms, and symbols. Students will then reflect on their experience and engage in a discussion concerning the benefits and drawbacks of musical limitations in... Read more »
Created by: James Doyle
Date Updated: June 6th, 2024
Embracing Musical Limitations in Songwriting
In this lesson, students will look at the question of neutrality through the lens of the Holocaust. Students will explore articles from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's website, read an excerpt from Elie Wiesel's book, "Night," and read Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech while synthesizing... Read more »
Created by: Lisa Loughlin
Date Updated: July 10th, 2024
Exploring the Role of Neutrality in the Holocaust
During this lesson, students will analyze the techniques used in classical literature versus comic book writing to determine how they contribute to the meaning of unknown vocabulary words. Students will use excerpts from the original text, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and the corresponding visuals... Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: August 10th, 2023
Jane Eyre
Werewolves Who Write
“And they called it puppy love…” This lesson will have students falling in love with werewolves from all packs as they explore how mythology and lore has progressed over time, place, and culture. After they discover which pack they belong to, they will work together to design a movie poster that depicts... Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: April 1st, 2025
Werewolves Who Write
In this lesson, students explore reasons for variance in character portrayal. Students begin by watching different interpretations of the same scene and then read an article and each select a monologue to research. Students use a random generator to change the context of their chosen monologues. Finally,... Read more »
Created by: James Doyle
Date Updated: October 4th, 2024
Character Portrayal on Stage Versus Film
This is a lesson used to provide context for the Holocaust prior to teaching about the involvement of the United States and other Allied nations in the Nuremberg Trials. Students will watch a short film about the Holocaust called "Pigeon" and comment about what they notice. Next, students will use a... Read more »
Created by: Becky Lockler
Date Updated: August 24th, 2023
Introduction to the Holocaust
In this lesson, students explore what a Faustian bargain is and examine examples in literature and pop culture. Students read, watch, listen, discuss, and write an argument as they work through the concept and its lasting legacy. Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: September 20th, 2023
Robert Johnson and Faustian Bargains
During this lesson, students will analyze the techniques used in classical literature compared to comic book writing to determine how they contribute to the meaning of unknown vocabulary words. Students will use excerpts from the original text, Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, and the corresponding... Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: January 9th, 2024
Vocabulary in Beowulf
In this lesson, students discover how the human mind develops the ability to perform cognitive functions and engage in moral reasoning. First, students establish what they already know about how people learn. Next, students gain a basic understanding of cognitive and moral development by reading two... Read more »
Created by: Tanner Lusher
Date Updated: March 6th, 2025
Human Development
Students will explore how measures of central tendency are used in the world of sports and will learn how to calculate a weighted average. Students will work through ACT-style practice problems using prior knowledge of mean, median, and mode. Read more »
Created by: Laura Young
Date Updated: January 11th, 2024
Decoding the Game
U.S. Constitution and Equal Protection of Laws
In this lesson, students will learn how the Fourteenth Amendment impacted the history of civil rights in the United States within a focused context. Students will discover the origins, significance, and lasting effects of the 14th Amendment by examining a collection of primary and secondary sources.... Read more »
Created by: Tanner Lusher
Date Updated: February 21st, 2024
U.S. Constitution and Equal Protection of Laws
This introductory philosophy lesson begins by introducing students to existentialism through artwork. Once they have a basic understanding of philosophical inquiry, which explores the issue of human existence, students will delve further into the key themes: Philosophy as a Way of Life, Anxiety and... Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: May 6th, 2024
Existentialism
The Civil Rights Movement
In this lesson, students learn about the Little Rock Nine, other monumental moments from the Civil Rights Movement, and their impact on music culture. By examining the historical inspiration behind Beyoncé’s rendition of the song "Blackbird," students analyze a speaker’s impact on the meaning of a text,... Read more »
Created by: Lisa Loughlin
Date Updated: July 8th, 2024
The Civil Rights Movement
This lesson gives students a sneak peek inside how a sports statistician interprets team and player statistics. Students will analyze basketball player data from the OKC Thunder's 2021–22 season related to measures of central tendency. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to calculate measures... Read more »
Created by: Laura Young
Date Updated: August 14th, 2024
Measures of Central Tendency
World War One Mental Illnesses of Soldiers
In this lesson students will consider what they already know about psychiatric disorders and how they affect individuals. They will analyze poetry, photos, and video clips of the effects that World War One had on the soldiers mentally and physically. Read more »
Created by: Kyra Carroll
Date Updated: March 31st, 2025
World War One Mental Illnesses of Soldiers
The following activities guide you through writing your first code. As you work through the activities, remember that coding is about trying different solutions and making changes until the code works the way you want. Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time—computer programmers rarely... Read more »
Created by: Will Markham
Date Updated: November 23rd, 2022
The Creating 5E Lessons PD focuses on familiarizing participants with the 5E instructional model. The goal of the session is to immerse participants in an authentic 5E activity with an emphasis on each element of the 5E model. Participants will identify and describe the components of a 5E lesson and... Read more »
Created by: Robyn Hilger
Date Updated: March 7th, 2024
Forging a path of strong community in an online classroom can be a challenge. Teachers and students are separated, and maintaining a sense of community relies on some of the same practices we use in the in-person classroom. However, when coupled with uniquely designed virtual materials, authentic teaching... Read more »
Created by: Lindsey Link
Date Updated: July 2nd, 2024
This PD introduces the use of Swivl™ robots in the classroom. Participants will go through the process of setting up the bot, recording video, uploading video to the cloud, and accessing previously saved videos. Additionally, participants will discuss possible uses of Swivl bots both for instructional... Read more »
Created by: Bradly Cusack
Date Updated: May 21st, 2024
This professional development will provide participants with literacy strategies to use in their classrooms as they implement document-based questions (DBQs). Read more »
Created by: Daniel Schwarz
Date Updated: May 20th, 2024
This professional development session focuses on authentic instruction and implementation of technology in the classroom. During this session, participants explore the K20 Center Mentoring Team’s materials, resources, and activities through a digital breakout session. Participants will have an opportunity... Read more »
Created by: Lindsey Link
Date Updated: September 24th, 2024
During this second day of the Formative Assessment Institute, participants focus on distinguishing assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning. Read more »
Created by: Lindsey Link
Date Updated: June 5th, 2024
Participants will learn how to plan and host "Game to Prepare for Life" events at their schools. They will experience sample booths that let them see what the event can feel like for students. Afterward, participants will reflect on the process and discuss some of the benefits and challenges of coordinating... Read more »
Created by: Mariah Warren
Date Updated: April 21st, 2023
This session examines the barriers, benefits, and process of creating lessons that touch on standards from more than one subject area. Participants view samples of student products from multidisciplinary lessons, analyze a K20 LEARN lesson, and work to create ideas for collaborative lessons in their... Read more »
Created by: Ryan Rahhal
Date Updated: February 10th, 2023
In this professional development session, educators explore the benefits of acknowledging students' cultural backgrounds in the classroom. Participants explore lessons that incorporate Native Culture in order to identify strategies for creating culturally inclusive lessons that integrate diverse perspectives... Read more »
Created by: Patricia McDaniels-Gomez
Date Updated: September 22nd, 2023
This professional learning session introduces some of the more effective strategies for preparing for the ACT. The goals of this learning experience are to access prior knowledge of the ACT and use the "Power Up: ACT Prep" activities already prepared to assist students in increasing their scores. Read more »
Created by: Matthew McDonald
Date Updated: October 21st, 2024
In this session, participants will explore inquiry-based learning, one of the components of authenticity. Participants will identify barriers to productive student discussion and explore solutions to overcome these barriers. Participants will read a research brief on inquiry-based learning and apply... Read more »
Created by: Brittany Bowens
Date Updated: October 4th, 2024
5E Lesson Writing Session 2: Developing 5E Lessons focuses participants on examining different authentic lesson activities, placing them in appropriate components of authenticity, and reflecting on designing activities that are highly engaging for students. Read more »
Created by: Daniel Schwarz
Date Updated: August 28th, 2024
Participants learn how to plan and host a Future U: The Enrollment Adventure event at their schools. They experience sample booths that let them see what the event can feel like for students. Afterwards, participants reflect on the process and discuss some of the benefits and challenges of coordinating... Read more »
Created by: Patricia McDaniels-Gomez
Date Updated: November 7th, 2024
In this professional development session, educators explore the benefits of acknowledging students' cultural backgrounds in the classroom. Participants explore lessons, strategies, and activities that integrate diverse perspectives and experiences. By the end of the session, participants develop a personal... Read more »
Created by: Mariana DeLoera
Date Updated: March 26th, 2025
In this first ACT prep reading activity, students focus on setting a goal for a future ACT. First, students review and reflect on the ACT process of superscoring. Then students review their existing reading scores before setting a goal to reach on the ACT and the reading test when they take the test... Read more »
Created by: Laura Halstied
Date Updated: April 29th, 2025
In this learning experience, students will explore proper laboratory equipment usage and safety then apply this knowledge to hands-on laboratory experiments. Students are asked to make connections between these laboratory skills and professions that may use similar skills, with a primary focus on agriculture... Read more »
Created by: Rachelle Johnson
Date Updated: March 11th, 2025