Baylor College
What's That Food?
Get things cooking with the first lesson in this series on the science of food. Working in small groups, young scientists make and record observations about different mystery foods. These descriptions are then shared with the class and...
Curated OER
Compliments and Feelings
How do you feel when you get a compliment? Give a compliment? After modeling how to make explicit compliments (“I like the way . . .”) ask class members to practice saying nice things about themselves and others, and to consider how...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Moon
Young scholars explore the phases of the moon. In this solar system lesson plan, students listen to several books about the moon including The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons. Young scholars complete a KWL activity concerning the phases of the...
Common Sense Media
ABC Searching
Learners explore English by completing an interactive computer activity. In this alphabet lesson, students research the Internet to create a picture dictionary which they share with classmates. Learners locate digital images of words...
Curated OER
Agriculture in Motion
Youngsters learn about simple machines that could be used on a farm. They learn about agricluture, listen to a farmer speak, compare and contrast different farm machines, and then design their own. Note that although the publisher...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: The Bouba Kiki Effect
It may be possible for certain symbolic characteristics, like sharpness and roundedness, to cross language barriers. For this experiment you will investigate the Bouba-Kiki Effect to find out if abstract visual properties can be linked...
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: A Brush With History
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about the history of a toothbrush and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more. A link to paired text questions is...
TES Global
Tes: Emotions
[Free Registration/Login Required] This PowerPoint presentation contains art pieces that deal with different emotions. Students will analyze the art pieces and the associated emotions.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Ology: Express Yourself
Test your skill at reading the emotion expressed in a face in these two matching games.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Show and Teach
This lesson plan engages students in classmates sharing their talents. Students will communicate information about their talent and then teach their classmates.
Free Reading
Free Reading: Free Reading: Sounding Out Activities
A wonderful site full of tips for teaching the skills of sounding out words. This site has a plethora of links that provide an excellent way to practice and memorize the essential skills of sounding out words. The links using every...
Other
Critical Thinking Community: Remodeling Lessons to Encourage Critical Thought
Learn to re-model your lesson plans to include room for critical thought and higher levels of learning. Re-modeled lessons cite specific critical thinking strategies. Wonderful examples include Corduroy, "The Pledge of Allegiance," "What...
Buck Institute
Buck Institute for Education: Presentation Rubric K 2
[Free Registration/Login Required] This rubric helps with guiding and assessing K-2 students in giving a presentation. It is aligned with CCSS, but also can be used in non-CCSS settings. It is clear, concrete, and student-friendly, and...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: I See the Weather
Students will answer text-dependent questions for the expository text "Seasons and Weather". While text-dependent questions have been around for a long time, Common Core asks teachers to focus on them during reading. This lesson plan...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Accountable Talk Introduction
Learning to engage in collaborative conversations allows children to learn about their world, to become familiar with words, and to build a solid foundation for the development of reading and writing skills. This lesson introduces rules...
Understood For All
Understood: 4 Parts of a Conversation:how to Help Kids With Social Skills Issues
Navigating a conversation can be difficult for kids with social skills issues. Here's a look at the four parts of a conversation, the skills involved, and how to help your child navigate each one.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Writing Our Sloppy Copies and Peer Editing
Students will write a sloppy copy and help a peer to edit their writing. They will use a kid-friendly checklist (included)to help each other find their mistakes. Videos of the lesson in action are provided, along with a teacher's grading...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Getting to Know You Bags
It is very important to build a class community where all students feel valued and safe. This activity will do just that and you will address the Common Core speaking and listening standards. Students will get to know each by discussing...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Listen to and Follow Directions: Day 2
One important aspect of the common core is to prepare students to be able to participate in conversations and contribute accurate and relevant information. In this lesson, students listening skills will evolve as they translate verbal...
Library of Congress
Loc: Photo Analysis Presenting the Statue of Liberty
The ability to examine a primary source is a gateway to building critical thinking skills and constructing knowledge. This lesson provides the students an opportunity to observe similarities and differences between 2 visual images,...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Shared Inquiry Discussion
Students learn to generate ideas with a clear focus in response to questions while participating in a shared inquiry discussion. Included are shared inquiry guidelines, and tips on discussing fiction and non-fiction books using this method.
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Reading Basics: Informal Assessment
Administering informal assessments on a regular basis throughout the school year provides useful information that can help teachers to identify the individual strengths and weaknesses of each student and guide the next steps in...
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets: Reading Basics: Sounds of Speech
Sounds of speech are the sounds that make up our oral language. Children must understand how speech sounds work to be ready for instruction in reading and writing. To learn more about sounds of speech, browse the articles, parent tips,...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Helping Young Children Express Themselves
We know that communication is central to the learning process. Communication can be specifically linked to the expanding skills of listening and speaking, as children connect to the reading and writing behaviors that characterize early...