Learning Activities

In this activity, students will work in groups of four to construct a paper roller coaster that will test their knowledge of potential and kinetic energy. Groups will use a roller coaster cardstock template provided by the teacher, along with scissors, tape, etc. Students can add loops, hills, and curves in their designs to increase the speed of the falling marble. Once construction is complete, the groups will test their design by releasing a marble from the top of the roller coaster. This activity can be used as a culminating lesson to assess students’ understanding of the relationship between the speed of an object to the energy of that object.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

In the Soundwave Art activity, students will work independently to create a digital piece of artwork that displays their first and last names in a soundwave format. Students will follow a step-by-step guide to navigate an audio editor website. On this website, they will use a digital device or laptop with microphone capabilities to record their first and last name. The audio editor website will display their name in a soundwave format. Students will then copy the soundwave art into word processing software, where they can customize the color and formatting of the soundwave art, and add labels to show their understanding of wavelength, amplitude, and frequency. 

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

In this activity, students will work in groups of four to complete a thermometer investigation using the Scientific Method. Throughout this detailed inquiry, students will learn the components that make up a thermometer, along with the units of measurement (Fahrenheit and Celsius). In the first part of the activity, students will use the thermometer to measure three different temperatures of water (room temperature, warm, and cold). The goal of this portion of the activity is for students to see the thermal energy of the water expand or contract the mercury within the thermometer. The second part of the activity will lead students to determine whether food coloring travels faster through warm or cold water. The teacher will put one drop of food coloring in both the warm and cold cups, and students will observe which cup the food coloring disperses/dissolves the fastest. This section is included to explain how molecules move faster in warm water and slower in cold water. 

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

The Bird Beak Lab will provide students with a hands-on discovery experience into how bird beaks are adapted based on their diet. This activity is run in station format, and groups will rotate between each of the five stations. At each station, students will use tools meant to represent the different styles of bird beaks: tweezers, pliers, eye dropper, spoon, and strainer. As students rotate, they will encounter different food items to eat: nectar, sunflower seeds, plants, fish, bugs, and worms. The challenge of this activity is to identify which beak style works best for which food source. 

This activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity will prepare students to interpret digital texts. In this activity, students will activate prior knowledge to define the terms subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone, and credibility. They will compare their own definitions with those of their classmates to agree upon a working definition of these terms.

After completing the before activity and defining the criteria for interpreting digital texts, students will read parts of "After 450 Years, We Still Don’t Know the True Value of Shakespeare" by Kate McLuskie.  They will determine the subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone and credibility of the article.  This information, along with evidence to support it, will be added to the Interpreting Digital Texts document.

After reading parts of "After 450 Years, We Still Don’t Know the True Value of Shakespeare" by Kate McLuskie, and determining the subject, occasion, audience, purpose, tone and credibility of the article, students will share what they learned about Shakespeare’s value by reading the article.  This information will help students put Shakespeare and his works into a more current context.  It will also give students practice citing claims and evidence in preparation for more extended research tasks.

In this introductory learning activity, students will become familiar with the terms that will be used in the following learning activities. Students will first complete a LINCs graphic organizer where they will take a new vocabulary term, find its dictionary definition, upload (or draw if using paper) a picture that represents the term, come up with a Reminding Word (a word that looks, rhymes, or sounds like the word but does NOT mean the same), and a LINCing sentence where the goal is to use that Reminding Word and part of the definition in the sentence - and not the actual term itself.

After completing this introductory activity, students will immediately see these terms used in the second part of this learning activity. The three-column chart is used for students to “frame” a certain character in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” by first reading for information and evidence on the character. The teacher and students will work together to read the excerpt for context and comprehension before reading for purpose with a highlighter in hand to annotate for textual evidence.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity, “The Delicious RACER to the Five-Paragraph Essay,” is a slideshow and graphic organizer-based lesson that prepares students to read for information and respond through writing. It is a whole-class, paired, and independent learning activity where all three components are vital to the goal at hand - reading for information to answer a prompt to eventually develop the ultimate five-paragraph essay. Students will learn to ask the appropriate questions to inquire about the relevance, credibility, and purpose of locating a piece of text that is not their own to support a stance that is their own.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This final learning activity serves as a critical-thinking activity to reflect on one's own writing (or can be tweaked for any assignment a teacher assigns that holds extra weight). Students are given a clear rubric on the informational text writing assignment and what their grade would be based on a points system out of 20 points total. After self-grading or grading another’s work, students can then answer a series of short-response questions that serve as a survey tool for reflection on the work at hand. This simple reflection piece leaves the responsibility of the assignment in the learners’ hands as they honestly respond to the rigor put forth on the writing assignment.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools

In this introductory, pre-reading activity, students will identify the meanings of unfamiliar words within a literary text using print or digital reference tools. Students will create a slideshow that displays the word’s definition, part of speech, as well as a synonym and antonym. The slideshow will also include a related image for the word. After students identify the meaning of the unfamiliar words, they will locate the word within the selected text and use their vocabulary word knowledge to comprehend the use of the word in context.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

In this “During” activity, students, with their vocabulary chapter-walk knowledge, will jump into comprehending additional text aspects, including literary elements and structure. Students can use their Master Vocabulary List to complete vocabulary checks within the reading, and also before reading as a whole class activity. Students can first complete the vocabulary “search” within their chapters to locate the exact sentence the word is used in. In this specific activity, students and the teacher will go a step further and dive into a text. The skills being used to become close with the text considers text structure (comparing and contrasting), summarizing (finding the GIST through listing), and skimming for keywords after reading the text to quickly find an answer to a comprehension question.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

Students will play a vital role as the “assessor” in this final, culminating activity. By going “backward” and not taking the quiz, but instead creating it, students will learn to shift their focus on the main events/major themes/main ideas of the excerpt. By doing this, they can become better assessment-takers, as they have learned the behind-the-scenes work of making an effective assessment - focusing on the most important vocabulary and plot points. Students will create a quiz with the following guidelines in mind:

Using the selected literary text, students will  make a quiz that includes Four (4) Multiple Choice questions, Six (6) Fill-in-the-Blank questions, One (1) Long-Answer Question, and Four (4) True/False questions where students have to provide a space for “fixing” the False questions = 15 questions total

This serves as a rich, comprehensive “check-in” for chapters, short reading excerpts, poems, etc. A rubric is included so students can know the guidelines for the assignment before beginning the work. The purpose of this is to finalize the vocabulary “walk,” chapter “trot,” and finally into the quiz-making (assessment) “moonwalk,” because it’s a “backward” way of obtaining a formative assessment of a text.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This activity will introduce students to the term "brand strategy." After learning the meaning of the term, students will identify their favorite brand and explain why they like the brand. Students will share their responses with classmates and discuss successful branding strategies. 

Business industry experts agree that identifying a brand purpose and clearly communicating it with consumers is a critical aspect of brand positioning strategy. In this activity, students will read the article, "Strategic Marketing: Brands Consider the Power of Purpose" from the Wharton Global Youth Program and complete a graphic organizer to identify key concepts. 

Business industry experts agree that identifying a brand purpose and clearly communicating it with consumers is a critical aspect of brand positioning strategy. In this concluding activity, students will apply their knowledge of branding and brand positioning strategy to craft their own purpose statement and share it with their classmates. A thorough understanding of brand purpose and its impact on brand equity and image will lay the foundation for other digital marketing concepts and encourage students to begin building their personal brand.

In this activity, students will be placed in groups with each group being assigned to test a different variable related to plant growth. Students will carry out an investigation using one variable at a time (water, light, soil, or air), to determine the growth needs of plants. At the conclusion of the activity, students will be able to identify things that a plant requires to grow.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

Students will work in collaborative groups to collect and evaluate data on different household materials based on their physical properties, such as strength, flexibility, hardness, texture, and absorbency. After students identify the physical properties of each material, they will identify potential appropriate uses for the material. Students will record their scientific findings and share them with their classmates.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

In this activity, students will determine the appropriate tools to measure objects outside, and then determine other tools that could be used to measure the objects. The students will use rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, or a measuring tape to measure items. Students will record their measurements in their science journals.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity is a great way to add high interest over multiple grade 1 standards. It can be used after the study of addition and subtraction within 20, organizing data, classifying, sorting, and basic computer skills. This activity can be completed as a partner activity/assessment or an independent activity/assessment.   

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity is a great way to add high interest in grade 1, and with variations could be used in grades 2, 4, and 5. In grade 1, it can be used after the study of adding and subtracting within 100, identifying tens and ones, modeling place value, composing, decomposing two-digit numbers, communicating the relationship between models and numerical representations, and basic computer skills. The activity could be used in grades 2, 4, or 5 to reinforce and practice operations with numbers in base ten. This activity can be completed as a partner or independent activity or assessment.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity is a great way to add high interest to grade 5 standards. It can be used after the study of identifying and plotting points on coordinate planes, relating points and finding distances in a coordinate plane, graphing and interpreting data in a coordinate plane, making and interpreting line graphs, and basic computer skills. This activity can be completed as a partner activity/assessment or an independent activity/assessment.   

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science (GEMS) Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity is to be used in a grade 10 English Language Arts classroom and will prepare students to analyze and evaluate information presented in graphic texts to draw conclusions, defend claims, and make decisions.  Students will brainstorm different ways information can be displayed in graphic form and evaluate three graphic texts about threatened or endangered species in the United States for clarity, visual appeal, effectiveness, and form. This activity will activate prior knowledge about graphic texts and set the stage for two other learning activities using graphic texts, Graphic Texts in Action and Using Graphic Texts to Make Decisions.

This learning activity is an engaging teacher-created Google Slides presentation with basic definitions of literary terms illustrated with examples (gifs and videos) featuring a student favorite, Spongebob Squarepants. This activity includes a link to a Quizlet flashcard set.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This is a final activity for demonstrating students' understanding of how to evaluate sources for credibility. After reviewing the PAARC model Slide Show and Infographic, and after having students evaluate sources in a small group, this activity is designed to be used to assess individual students' understanding of the objective. Students will follow the links to three sources and use the PAARC model to provide guidance on the credibility of the sources. Students will make notes on the provided graphic organizer and determine if the sources provided are legitimate. The chosen sources all relate to F. Scott Fitzgerald, an author widely studied in eleventh grade. Students need to keep in mind the following question: Would this source be appropriate to use in a research paper?

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This activity includes a teacher-created Google Slideshow for assessment of active listening skills with a 30-minute podcast on a high-interest topic, a student note-taking handout, and a Google forms quiz. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this learning activity, students will add linear expressions using the properties of operations. The students will also have a chance to practice adding linear expressions on their own, including those that contain integer coefficients and constants as well as expressions that have rational coefficients and constants. This activity includes a review and worksheets ready to print or assign digitally. 

In this learning activity, students will learn to add or subtract two vectors. The activity will teach the students how to add and subtract vectors in 2D. Vectors can be represented by line segments with a specific length (magnitude) and directions. Students will use this information to help visualize vector addition and subtraction. The scope of this learning activity will only consider vectors in two dimensions; however, the methodology described can be extended to vectors in three or more dimensions. The teacher will recall that a unit vector is a vector with a magnitude equal to 1 and that the unit vectors in the 𝑥- and 𝑦-directions are denoted by  ⃑𝑖 and ⃑𝑗 respectively. This learning activity can be used as a core lesson activity. 

In this learning activity, students will practice adding and subtracting vectors in 2D. This learning activity can be used as a stand-alone activity or an assessment activity for the corresponding activities found in the Notes or Recommendations section.

This is a Google Slides presentation with a brief introduction to Rudyard Kipling, author of Rikki Tikki Tavi and an explanation of the conflict in the story between the mongoose and the cobras. The story is presented in both audio and pdf format. Attached to the Slides presentation is a digital plot diagram for students to complete as they read.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this learning activity the students will be using different amounts of color tiles to discover rectangles that have the same area but different perimeter, have the same perimeter but a different area and have the same area and same perimeter.

The teacher will introduce students to syllables in this activity by showing the video What are Syllables? This video will help students decode grade-appropriate multisyllabic words by clapping, tapping, dividing, and reading out the words. Students will use words placed inside an envelope attached to an anchor chart to clap, tap, divide and read out multisyllabic words and syllable divisions with friends. An example anchor chart can be seen here.

This activity can be extended by allowing students to place one hand under their jaw and count out the syllable divisions for each word (as shown in the video.)  

This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

This learning activity is a great introductory activity that allows the students to build equal groups using arrays. Students will build designs of desk arrangements in a classroom using counters or unifix cubes. Students must take 24 desks and divide them into equal groups to create a classroom desk arrangement. Students will write a multiplication and division equation for each arrangement. This will help students see the relationship between multiplication and division.

This learning activity introduces a numberless word problem that asks students to write an addition word problem. The task involves students exploring combinations of numbers that make ten. The students will start with "what do we know" and end with "how many could be." The activity will allow students to have multiple correct responses.

In this learning activity, students will learn to find the standard deviation and be able to find the similarities and differences in 4 data sets. These sets have the same mean but different ranges and standard deviations. Students will discover that the standard deviation increases when points are further away from the mean, even those in the middle. This learning activity is intended to be a During Activity for a standard deviation lesson.