Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 6: American Revolution
The American Revolution is the theme of a five-week unit that focuses on reading, grammar, morphology, and writing. Scholars read and respond to texts, practice spelling and word work, and write paragraphs. Assessments gauge comprehension.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 2: The Middle Ages
Over four weeks, fourth graders read and discuss texts about the Middle Ages. They practice vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Writing opportunities allow learners to boost their note-taking skills...
Common Sense Media
The Power of Words
Give youngsters the tools to approach cyberbullying and hostile language on the Internet. This lesson plan includes a variety of handouts and worksheets that will prompt discussion and inquiry with your class members around harmful...
Common Sense Media
Talking Safely Online
What is the difference between online and real-life friendships? Pupils learn how to keep information private online and maintain their safety in various situations requiring online communication.
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Charlie Brown and Friends
Charles Schulz' Charlie Brown and Friends, a collection of Peanuts comic strips, provides young readers with an opportunity to engage in full-class discussions, work in groups to examine how Schulz develops his characters, and...
Bonneville
Solar Powered Water Pumping
Here's the perfect lesson for those who think the world needs faster pumps. Building on the previous activity, scholars work to make the pumps function faster in transferring water between containers. They try adding an additional solar...
Bonneville
Designing a Faster Water Pump
Things can always be made better. The culminating installment in the seven-part Understanding Science and Engineering unit has pupils design their own water pumps. In groups, they build a prototype of a design of their choice, then test...
Bonneville
Making Observations and Recording Data for Solar Powered Water Pumping
Get pumped about an activity with water pumps. The fifth of seven installments in the Understanding Science and Engineering unit has pupils learn how to make observations, record data, and create data displays. Each group measures the...
Bonneville
A Simple Circuit
Heat up a lesson on solar energy by building a circuit for a cooling fan. Given a solar module and a DC motor, scholars develop hypotheses for how to make the fan turn. They test out their hypotheses, and then draw a circuit diagram to...
Teaching Tolerance
Persuasive Letters
Sharpen persuasive writing skills while trying to solve a community problem. Learners choose a burning topic and then write letters to persuade others to come around to their views. The provided procedures walk through how to guide the...
ReadWriteThink
Webcams in the Classroom: Animal Inquiry and Observation
Boost observational skills with an inquiry-based lesson that takes scholars on a virtual field trip. With help from webcams, learners observe animals in a zoo or aquarium. Observations go into a journal and a discussion is held to review...
Curated OER
Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Read an article about the migration of our ancestors and write a paragraph. Pupils paraphrase and summarize to restate the information found in a nonfiction text. They write a shortened version of the reading to demonstrate the...
Read Works
Signal Words in Expository Text
Signal words are one way that authors make the relationships between their ideas clear. Allow your learners the chance to investigate cause and effect in texts by identifying signal words. They locate and analyze cause-and-effect...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing With Writers: Descriptive Writing
This page gives students specific guidelines & tips for a descriptive writing assignment. Students can publish descriptive writing here, as well. A thorough teacher's guide to descriptive writing is also provided.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing With Writers: Descriptive Writing
Need help with doing a descriptive paper or personal narrative? Need a writing lesson plan? Meet Virginia Hamilton and follow her step-by-step guide to writing. When done, you are eligible for a certificate signed by this author.
University of South Florida
Fcat Express: Author's Purpose
Site provides extensive assistance in preparing 4th grade students for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. This section focuses on identifying the author's purpose.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Leading to Great Places in the Classroom
We all know that the most effective way to teach reading is to start with reading. This lesson uses that approach with writing story leads.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing With Scientists
After students investigate a topic through research, hypothesizing, observing, and experimentating, teachers can use this lesson to help their students prepare short science reports and publish them online. The Writing with Scientists...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing Workshop: Persuasive Writing
This site has a great unit that leads students all the way through the writing process while composing a persuasive paper. Includes a teacher guide, mini-lessons, assessment rubric, and worksheets to help out at each step of the way.
Cengage Learning
National Geographic: Informational Text and Young Children [Pdf]
Research-based informative article on when, why and how to introduce and teach reading skills with informational texts to early-elementary students beginning as early as kindergarten.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Synthesize Ideas in Informational/expository Texts
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts representing similar or different genres (including literary...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Grade 1 on Demand Opinion Writing Samples
This collection of opinion essays prompted first graders to write about a "best pet." From the Vermont Writing Collaborative, with Student Achievement Partners and CCSSO, these written pieces are part of the In-Common: Effective Writing...
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Ato Zteacherstuff: Report Writing in Primary Grades
This is a fun, hands-on lesson from AtoZteacherstuff! Students go through a study of frogs while learning how to interpret and restate factual information.
Indiana University
Indiana University: Writing Book Reviews
This page, which is provided for by the Indiana University, gives good information to help in writing book reviews. It tells you what to look for when reading, how to write, and provides a sample book review.