Curated OER
Writing Fables
Students develop a working skill of using graphic organizers for writing. The lesson notes that the best kind of organizer is one that is engaging to the appropriate audience. The assessment follows the rubric given in the lesson.
Polk Bros Foundation
Meet the Nonfiction Main Idea Challenge
Help your class develop the ability to determine a main idea with a packet of materials that you can introduce and use over a period of time. The packet includes some information for the teacher and rationale for the exercises. There are...
Smarter Balanced
Poetry
How does poetry differ from other forms of writing? Class members view two writing samples, decide which one is a poem, and then identify the criteria they used to distinguish between the two samples.
Curated OER
Computer Literacy Career Research Project
High schoolers write a two or three-page typewritten paper on a career of interest. They collect research materials from the library and Internet. They are also required to include at least four citations from a minimum of four different...
Curated OER
Advanced Spelling Challenge: British English
Challenge your ELLs to correctly spell 15 challenging vocabulary words in English. Incorrect spellings are given, followed by space to write in the correct spelling and to translate the word into their native language. British English...
Curated OER
English Skills Worksheet
Help your class brush up on their spelling words and review lots of other English skills in the process. They are given 10 activities to complete to review parts of speech, compound words, synonyms, and alliteration. Creative writing is...
Curated OER
How to Integrate Quotations
Quotations add validity to an argument or an analysis, but how do you integrate them into your writing? Several examples are provided, and your emerging writers will surely benefit from looking at different ways to add quotations....
Curated OER
Technology Proposals
In groups or independently, learners interview their teachers to see what their technological needs are. They write a proposal that persuades them to purchase those supplies. Then they come up with a budget to get all teachers their...
Odell Education
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: "Cuplae poena par esto: Let the punishment fit the crime."
Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...
For the Teachers
$1 Math
Captivate your class by having them find the value of their names, different zoo animals, musical instruments, etc.,with a mental math lesson. Using the coding formula listed, children learn to fluently estimate and calculate simple sums.
Pearson
Unlocking and Exploring Folktales
Designed with many of the Common Core standards in mind, this 10-lesson unit is brimming with ELL strategies, teacher's notes, and the best of core instructional methods for teaching the common elements of folktales, and exploring...
Dream of a Nation
Writing Interdisciplinary Essay
The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a classic...
EngageNY
Blending Informative and Narrative Writing: Transforming Research Notes into Field Journal Entries
The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries.
EngageNY
Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...
EngageNY
Inferring About Characters Based on How They Respond to Challenges (Chapter 3: "Las Papayas/Papayas")
Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...
Curated OER
Maurice Sendak's Books: More Relevant and Rigorous than Ever
Nearly 50 years after publication, Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are holds up to the Common Core.
Curated OER
A Season for Chapters
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
Speak Truth to Power
Harry Wu: Forced Labor
Over the course of two class periods, young historians explore human rights issues; specifically, forced labor in China. This resource provides everything you need, including relevant vocabulary, an anticipatory activity, and a...
EngageNY
Contrasting Two Settings (Chapter 6: "Lost Melones/Cantalouples")
Continue working through Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan, by looking into language choices and discussing text-dependent questions. Pupils converse in small groups and as a class about plot, setting, and figurative language. Using...
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for Jefferson's Sons
Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Using Positive and Negative Numbers in Context
Measure the temperature of your math class with a temperature-based lesson on adding and subtracting rational numbers. The thermometer serves as a vertical number line for learners as they work together to solve a temperature change...
T. Smith Publishing
Counting Tools
As the title states, the activity required to complete this worksheet is counting tools! Saws, screwdrivers, and wrenches are depicted for children to count. They simply write the number of items on a line to the right of each group....
Shodor Education Foundation
Cross Sections
Use this activity on cross-sections of three-dimensional shapes in your math class to work on algebra or geometry Common Core standards. The instructional activity includes a list of relevent terminology, and a step-by-step process to...
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...