EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Analyzing the Author’s Point of View: Relief Camps
We're halfway there ... what a relief! Scholars read an excerpt from a primary source about the relief camps associated with the1906 San Francisco earthquake. Next, they complete a mid-unit assessment, answering short-answer and...
EngageNY
Researching about the Red Cross, Continued: Who Is the Red Cross and What Does This Multinational Organization Do?
Code red! Learners read an informational article about the Red Cross, discussing the gist of the text in small groups. On a three-column note catcher, pupils take notes to show how the Red Cross functions as a multinational aid...
Curated OER
Blogging To Create A Community of Writers # 5 of 7
Here is instructional activity 5 from a 7 instructional activity unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this instructional activity is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use...
Curated OER
Boiling and Freezing Points of Water
Challenge your sixth graders with this lesson about the freezing and boiling points of water. In these activities learners graph temperature data, read and analyze information, and identify the freezing and boiling points of water and...
Curated OER
Venn Diagram-Paleolithic and Neolithic
Review the paleolithic and neolithic time periods using this creative instructional activity. After a unit on Mesopotamia and the Stone Age, learners fill out a Venn diagram comparing the paleolithic and neolithic period, and write a...
Smithsonian Institution
Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Curated OER
Symphonic Poetry
Young scholars interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic...
Curated OER
Parts of the Plot: Constructing A Plot Diagram
After reading "The King of Mazy May" by Jack London, learners reinforce their literary analysis skills in this SMART board activity. The provided SMART board file allows themto define elements of a short story, and then add it to the...
Curated OER
Writing a Personal Letter Using the Short Story "Eleven"
Challenge your class to connect to the text of "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros with this activity, which prompts them to write a personal letter from the main character's point of view. The story, prompt, and letter template are all included...
Curated OER
Memoir Writing Based on Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed
Using chapter 1 of Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed, middle schoolers write a personal memoir based on Spinelli's style and a Six Trait writing activity. The lesson suggests several ways to activate prior knowledge, including a picture book and...
Curated OER
Create a Walking Tour of San Francisco's Chinatown
Take a tour of Chinatown as it was in the 1800's. Analyzing primary source images and documents, learners will gain a better understanding of the myths and misconceptions of Chinese immigrants during the 1800's. They create a pamphlet to...
Curated OER
Comic Life With Kenzuke's Kingdom
Kenzuke's Kingdom is a wonderful adventure about a boy sailing around the world, it's also the focus of this lesson. Students read the novel as a class then use the Comic Life website to create a two-page comic based on the story. This...
Curated OER
Figurative Language iMovie
In order to understand figurative language, learners read 5 poems, each exemplifying a different literary device. They discuss and write responses to each poem. They then choose one literary device which they will use as the basis for a...
Core Task Project
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...
Google
Beginner & Intermediate 5: Evaluating Credibility of Sources
Convey how to determine appropriate and credible online sources with a series of three lessons. After completing the lessons, class members will know what kinds of sources to use, how to identify credible sources, and how tone and style...
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.
Special Olympics
Train at School
Keep your mind and body fit with a fun activity about the five food groups. After going over the functions of fruit, vegetables, grains, meats and beans, and dairy, as well as oils and fats, learners participate in a bean bag toss to...
Anti-Defamation League
Sexism and the Presidential Election
Young historians investigate how sexism impacted the 2020 United States presidential election. They examine media coverage of the six women candidates, engage in a four-corners debate reacting to statements about gender and the...
Curated OER
"User Friendly" Cause and Effect
Bring literature to life with your SMART board and this literary analysis lesson. While reading "User Friendly" by T. Ernesto Bethancourt (from the Holt Elements of Literature textbook by Kylene Beers), have your class discuss the theme...
Curated OER
Book Trailers/Sneak Peeks
Looking for a motivating and creative technology lesson? Then this lesson is for you! After viewing a movie trailer, middle-schoolers follow that design to create a video preview of a book's story elements. They also create a storyboard...
Speak Truth to Power
Elie Wiesel: Speaking Truth to Genocide to Power
Invite your learners to discover the efforts of Night author Elie Wiesel to promote awareness of genocide in the world. After watching and reading an interview of Elie Wiesel, high schoolers work to create a living Holocaust museum by...
Washington Township Public Schools
Using Paired Text
Paired reading passages frequently appear on standardized exams, but finding text sets to use in the classroom is sometimes a challenge. A lesson plan on using paired texts includes a selection of passages and a graphic organizer for...
Curated OER
So Much Depends Upon...Sixteen-Word Imagery Poems Inspired by Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (and possibly shedding a few tears), middle schoolers work on their own sixteen-word poems with a Six Trait writing activity. They focus on word choice in this activity to capture an...
Curated OER
The Ultimate Survivor Using Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
What items would you need to survive if you were stranded in a remote place? Using chapter 10 of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, middle-schoolers work through a Six Trait writing activity to create a story about their own survival in a similar...