Curated OER
Pioneer America: Journey West
Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write about...
Curated OER
To Sum it all Up...
Young scholars observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently...
Curated OER
Creating a Universally Designed Lesson Plan
Students investigate plant cells. In this multiple intelligences lesson, students engage in a variety of activities to foster an understanding of plant cells and how they work. Students read, write, observe, and role-play parts and...
Curated OER
Story Map Book Report
This is an example of what a story map book report can look like using mind wing teaching concepts. Consider this idea as a way to provide special needs or those with learning disabilities a way to communicate what they know or learned...
Achievement Strategies
Unit/Chapter Design Template
A thorough lesson plan template allows teachers to design balanced and standards-based lessons for any grade. The template includes spaces for unit vocabulary and concepts, objectives, and additional resources.
Curated OER
Summarizing is Fun with Flat Stanley!
Students read the book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown. Through modeling and guided practice, as a class, they complete a story map and 1-paragraph summary of the first chapter in the book. Then, in groups, they follow the same procedure...
Curated OER
L.R.C. Learning Reading Comprehension
Students demonstrate comprehension of reading material. They preview questions and then read silently. Students answer questions and write a short summary of the text they read.
Curated OER
So You Want to be President?
Students review the meaning of a summary and why they are important. They silently read the book, So You Want To Be President thinking about the main points in the story. When finished, each child summarizes a page from the book which...
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Summarizing Puts the Pieces Together
Pupils summarize a piece of fiction. After reviewing the correct way to read and summarize, students work in groups to summarize a piece of text assigned by the instructor. They write a summary paragraph by creating a story map and using...
Curated OER
Summing it all Up...In Your Own Words
Learners observe and demonstrate the steps to identifying the main ideas of a text. They listen to the teacher read a paragraph and model the steps of summarizing the main idea. Students then independently read a different paragraph...
Curated OER
Summarization Time
Learners write summaries in this lesson. They read "Stellaluna" by Jaell Cannon independently and answer story map questions: who, what, when, where, and why. They then take the answers to these questions and write an individual summary.
Curated OER
Decision Making and Assertiveness
Fourth graders identify a problem and write a persuasive essay to the appropriate audience, to correct the problem. They demonstrate effective decision making based on positive self-worth. Students need to write a paragraph about their...
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Successful Summarizers
Students review the concept of silent reading. Through modeling and guided practice, they explore six steps/rules of summarizing. In groups, they read a short book and then, using the summarization rules and skills, write an effective...
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Excavating the Trash
Students look at a day's accumulation of recyclable trash from first through fifth grade classrooms, not knowing which classes it came from. After setting up a collection sheet for data, students remove items from the receptacle and...
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Missing May
Students listen to the first couple chapters in the book, Missing May by Cynthia Rylant and then sketch or write about a character or the setting, using words and phrases from the book as guides. They then discuss the chapters using the...
Curated OER
The Basics of Creature Connectedness: Biodiversity Diversions
Learners study biodiversity. They participate in a scavenger hunt to look for presence of wildlife and connections in nature. They create a collage about Venezuelan biodiversity in small groups and present to the class. They write a...
Curated OER
Summarization Station
Pupils observe and demonstrate a variety of strategies for summarizing text. They read and discuss the five steps of summarization, silently read an article, then observe the teacher write a summary paragraph for the article. Students...
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Someone is Summarizing
Students practice summarizing text using James E. Knight's, "Boston Tea Party, Rebellion in the Colonies." They read the story silently before summarizing it using main ideas and supporting details and deciding what type of information...
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So You Want to Be A Poet?
Fourth graders study different types of poetry and then write examples in this unit. They write, among others, free verse, Diamante, Clerihew, and color poems.
Curated OER
Summarization
Students summarize a selected piece of text using the five Ws. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a selected piece of nonfiction text. They write a summary paragraph using a process outlined by the instructor.
Curated OER
Say It with Meaning: Applying Sayings and Phrases
Students complete a unit of lessons on well known sayings and phrases. They create a journal, write paragraphs, sequence events, and analyze key vocabulary for various sayings and phrases throughout the school year.
Curated OER
Reading to Learn
Students participate in a lesson that reinforces reading skills. Specifically, this lesson focuses on the skill of summarization. This strategy teaches students how to better comprehend written text.
Curated OER
Transitioning Between Scenes
Learners create a chart to reference when writing new scenes in fiction stories. In this fiction writing lesson, students are exposed to various ways to transition between scenes in their writing. There is a Word document to download...
Curated OER
Columbus Postcard
Students examine Columbus's discoveries in the Americas. For this Christopher Columbus lesson, students determine the purpose of the explorer's voyages and then write postcards from his perspective to his parents describing his voyages.