April 26th, 2023

Middle School Resource: Balancing Act by PhET

Middle School Resource

Balancing Act by PhET

This simulation will allow students to play with objects on a teeter totter to learn about balance.

Using the simulation, students will:

  • Predict how objects of various masses can be used to make a plank balance.
  • Predict how changing the positions of the masses on the plank will affect the motion of the plank.
  • Write rules to predict which way a plank will tilt when objects are placed on it.
  • Use your rules to solve puzzles about balancing.

Related NY State Academic Standards: S.3.PS.2.1, S.MS.PS.2.2, MST4.E.PS5.1, and MST4.I.PS5.1!

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April 24th, 2023

Elementary School Resource: Arithmetic by PhET

Elementary School Resource

Arithmetic by PhET

This simulation will allow students to brush up on their multiplication, division, and factoring skills with this exciting game. No calculators allowed!

Using the simulation, students will:

  • Explain how the multiplication tables help understand multiply, factor and divide.
  • Increase accuracy in multiplying, factoring and dividing.

Related NY State Academic Standards: 3.NBT.3, 4.OA.2, 4.OA.4, and more!

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April 21st, 2023

High School Resource: On the Beach: Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’

poem

High School Resource

On the Beach: Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’

For this activity, read ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen to the students.

Free write: Give students a couple of minutes to write down personal reaction to the poem’s content. Large group, volunteer sharing is recommended as a means to scaffolding and tapping into one’s schema.

The following questions can be used as a guided class discussion or copied and run on dittos for the purpose of using partners or part of a jigsaw activity.

  • Who is the narrator of this poem?
  • What is the physical condition of the man described in the first stanza? His mental condition?
  • Is he having a flashback or is he in the war at the moment? How did the soldier feel about the war?
  • What is his main concern?
  • To what is death by poisoned gas compared?
  • What do they do with the man poisoned by gas?
  • What horrors of life in war does the poem tell us of?
  • Where does the man continually see the sight of the gassed man?
  • How do dreams affect what we believe?
  • Who is the narrator speaking to? Is this a universal poem?
  • What does he tell us about the reality of war?
  • What is the glory in war?
  • Do you think we would be where we are today if there had never been a war?
  • Why/why not?
  • What is the meaning of the quotation that ends the poem?
  • What is its purpose?
  • How does it make you feel?

Related NY State Academic Standards: RL.9-10.11, RI.9-10.4, W.9-10.4, and W.9-10.10!

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April 19th, 2023

Middle School Resource: Diamante Poem by St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES

Middle School Resource

Diamante Poem by St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES

The students will use this activity during a Poetry Unit. The students will learn what a Diamante Poem is, create a Diamante Poem while using a web site, and print their finished product.

Related NY State Academic Standards: W.5.3.d, W.5.4, W.5.11, and more!

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April 17th, 2023

Elementary School Resource: How to Write an I AM Poem

poem

Elementary School Resource

How to Write an I AM Poem

This site contains two methods for writing I AM poems. These poems are good icebreakers for the beginning of the year.

Related NY State Academic Standards: ELA2.E.SW2C and ELA2.I.SW2C!

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April 14th, 2023

High School Resource: The Greenhouse Effect by PhET

greenhouse gas

High School Resource

The Greenhouse Effect by PhET

This simulation will allow students to see how the Earth’s temperature changes due to the Greenhouse Effect. Students can select the level of atmospheric greenhouse gases during an ice age, in the year 1750, today, or at some time in the future. Just how do greenhouse gases change the climate?

Using the simulation, students will:

  • Describe what happens to the temperature, sunlight, and infrared photons as you change the concentration of greenhouse gases.
  • Explore the differences between the ice age and today.
  • What happens when clouds are present?
  • Explain why the temperature increases as the concentration of greenhouse gases increases.

Related NY State Academic Standards: S.MS.LS.2.5 and MST4.I.LE.7.2!

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April 12th, 2023

Middle School Resource: Project Earth Game by Teaching Channel

planet

Middle School Resource

Project Earth Game by Teaching Channel

The objective of the lesson in this video is for students to work as a mock community to see how choices impact the environment.

Related NY State Academic Standards: SL.5.1.c and SL.5.1.d!

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April 10th, 2023

Elementary School Resource: The Living Earth by Discovery Education

earth

Elementary School Resource

The Living Earth by Discovery Education

In this activity, students will:

  • discuss glaciers and how they change the land;
  • do an activity that illustrates how glaciers change the land, and
  • make a class list of what causes changes to our planet’s structure.

Related NY State Academic Standards: S.2.ESS.2.1, S.4.ESS.2.1, MST4.E.PS2, and more!

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April 7th, 2023

High School Resource: Plant Science Research Paper

High School Resource

Plant Science Research Paper

In this activity, students will develop a research paper addressing the international production of a selected crop.

Activity:

  • Students select a plant crop to research, and then they write a paper on their findings. The paper could include information regarding the following:
  • Countries in which the crop is produced
  • Comparison and contrast of the crop production practices of each of the major crop-producing countries
  • Major products produced from the crop
  • Regional, national, and/or international regulations related to the crop

Related NY State Academic Standards: CDOS.C.2.1.B, CDOS.C.2.1.C, CDOS.C.3a.TS.2.A, and more!

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April 5th, 2023

Middle School Resource: Plant Pollination by Discovery Education

flower

Middle School Resource

Plant Pollination by Discovery Education

In this activity, students will:

  • identify the different parts of a flower and understand their functions and
  • understand the importance of pollen for plant reproduction and diversity.

Related NY State Academic Standards: S.MS.LS.1.6, S.MS.LS.1.4, MST4.E.LE.6, and more!

Be sure to check out our Educational Resources, featuring thousands of activities, lesson plans, constructed-response questions, rubrics, teacher resources, multimedia, and more!