Does Science Fiction Predict the Future? Inquiry Bases Media Literacy Unit

Students will learn the potential costs and benefits of social media, digital consumption, and our relationship with technology as a society in the three-week lesson. This inquiry based unit of study will answer the following questions: Essential Question: How can we use science fiction’s ability to predict the future to help humanity? Supportive Questions 1: What predictions of future development has science fiction accurately made in the past? This can include technology, privacy, medicine, social justice, political, environmental, education, and economic. Supportive Question 2: What predictions for future development in contemporary science fiction are positive for the future of humanity? What factors need to begin in your lifetime to make these predictions reality? Supportive Question 3: What predictions for future development in contemporary science fiction are negative for the future of humanity? What factors need to begin in your lifetime to stop these negative outcomes?

Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Lesson, Reading, Unit of Study

Author: Morgen Larsen

100 Word Memoir (OER Commons Version)

In this lesson, students will read and analyze a mentor text 100 Word Memoir. After studying the mentor text, students will create and evaluate their own 100 Word Memoir.

Material Type: Homework/Assignment

Author: Sarah Lyons

The Outsiders: Pre- Reading Activity

Before students begin reading The Outsiders, they will work in groups to research the setting and historical background of the novel.

Material Type: Reading

Author: Lindsay Nunan

Safety First: Real Drug Education for Teens

Safety First: Real Drug Education for Teens is the nation’s first harm reduction-based drug education curriculum for high school teachers. The free curriculum consists of 15 lessons that can be completed in a 45- to 50-minute class period. Each lesson is designed to engage students through interactive activities such as discussions and role-playing. The curriculum is aligned with National Health Education Standards as well as Common Core State Standards so it can be easily integrated into Health classes.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Drug Policy Alliance

D9 Sex Talk: Guiding Healthy Discussions About Sexuality

Sex is a fundamental part of human existence. So why are we so terrible at talking about it? If you’d like to have an impact on teen pregnancy; STDs; sexual exploitation; sexual harassment; sexual abuse; healthy relationships and many other areas; then you need to be able to talk about sex. This workshop will examine why we struggle so much to talk about sex and provide tips on facilitating healthy conversations.

Material Type: Lecture Notes

Author: Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice

Beaverton School District - MS and HS Health Lessons on Fentanyl

Teacher resources, MS and HS lessons on fake pills made of fentanyl - fentapills. Deaths from fake pills with fentanyl are surging across the country and right here in our own school district. In the past 18 months, we've lost several students to fentanyl-related poisonings — teenagers who had hopes and dreams and plans. These teenagers had families who loved them and are still coming to grips with their losses. Teens are purchasing what they think are OxyContin, Percoset or Xanax pills via social media, but drug dealers are making these fake pills with the cheaper, stronger and more deadly synthetic drug called fentanyl to increase their profits. Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is odorless, tasteless and colorless. Teens never know what they’re getting. One pill can kill them. One pill.

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Beaverton School District

The Facts About Concussions

In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students explore brain injuries called concussions: what they are, how they occur, the challenges in diagnosing them, and ways to protect yourself from them.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Walmart Foundation, WGBH Educational Foundation

Digital Survival Skills Module 4: Teaching Digital Skills

Authors: Shawn Lee, Liz Crouse

Digital TeachKit

Helping educators use digital tools for remote and hybrid learning Easy-to-use guides crafted by teacher librarians to help K12 educators select, understand, and use commonly-adopted digital learning tools in Washington State

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Washington Library Association

Analyzing and Evaluating Media Lesson

The goal for this unit is to have students analyze a variety of sources on a current events subject of their interest, identify the different perspectives, and defend their own position.This is one lesson from a larger unit on Evaluating Media. This unit will also cover identifying credible sources, analyzing fake news and the role of propaganda, identifying the different ways news is communicated in different communities. This unit will take place in the beginning of the school year to help instill evaluative and critical thinking research skills as we discuss and explore our big ideas throughout the school year. The end goal is to have students create a digital resource for their topic that we can share out as an educational tool for others. We’ll be creating a padlet that links to all of their presentations (students will have their choice in medium, as long as it is digital) that we will share with our school community and ideally can connect and share with other schools and students. There is also a possibility of using PenPalSchools to share out final resources, but that would depend on getting approval from the district to utilize that website.

Material Type: Homework/Assignment

Author: Grace Smith

Digital Literacy Lesson Plan

Hyperdoc playlist of activities for digital literacy lesson. Teacher will need to populate the "Guided Practice" section with updated links to current events. Check out The Sift from the News Literacy Project to get ides.

Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Author: Crystal Hurt

The Constitution and Government of Washington State

An integrated language arts and social studies unit designed to develop student’s literacy skills while giving them an understanding of the general purpose of government, the structure and processes of Washington’s state government, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The unit culminates with an optional mock legislature simulation that has students write and argue for a bill.

Material Type: Unit of Study

Author: Ryan Theodoriches

Exploring Ancient Greek Culture

This site was created to teach 6th grade art students about ancient Greek culture. It contains resources, activities, and lessons that meet Idaho State standards for Art.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Odessa Kirk

Select-A-City for Demographic and Economic Opportunities, Using an Online Database

This activity asks students to review the demographic and lifestyle statistics available at ERsys.com, and determine which city or location would provide the best consumer market opportunity for the given problem.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Michelle Kunz

Ancient Civilizations – Paper

In the paper-based Ancient Civilizations activity, students create their own civilization and see how it fares over the years based on choices they make for location, animals, plants and natural resources. Students create an artistic rendering of their civilization, trade resources between their civilizations and go to war with an unnamed enemy. This activity was inspired by Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.

Material Type: Game

Author: Eli Sheldon

Ancient Egypt Unit

Three separate lessons covering the farming, trading, and geography of Ancient Egypt. Perferct for the beginning of studying Egypt in 6th grade. Each lesson includes pictures, articles, vocabulary to front load, and a quiz. The quizzes have both multiple choic and open ended questions. 

Material Type: Assessment, Lesson

Author: Jacob Crain

Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade

Trade was critical to Old Babylonia, where many highly prized natural resources were scarce but agricultural goods were in surplus. A vibrant trading system developed, bringing manufactured goods and raw materials from as far as Turkey, and even India, 1500 miles away. Trade became integral to the economy and the culture. In this lesson, students explore the trade industry in Old Babylonia and its far-flung influence.

Material Type: Lesson Plan