Curated OER
Reporting from the Front Lines
Students examine the battle of Gettysburg as they write news articles. In this Battle of Gettysburg lesson, students become familiar with the job of the news reporter as they report on the events of the Battle of Gettysburg as they write...
Project Noah
Writing Goes Wild
Young scientists develop their observation and writing skills as they craft and then post a detailed description of a plant or animal they have spotted and photographed.
Curated OER
Let Pharady Enjoy Her Childhood
A thought-provoking instructional activity which will provide your 5th graders with a world view. Pupils discuss children's rights here in the US and around the world, and do some comparisons. They watch a video, embedded in the plan,...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark and Me: A Dog's Tale
Providing a wonderful way to explore reading and vocabulary skills, this resource takes your class on a journey to understand the accomplishments of Lewis and Clark through the eyes of their dog Seaman. It focuses on using the book Lewis...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Question Answer Relationship
Chapter 12 of The Hobbit provides the text for an exercise that asks readers to use the QAR strategy to develop and respond to questions about story.
Curated OER
Parts of a Friendly Letter
The art of writing a letter has not been lost to email and texting! Teach kids how to format a friendly letter with a presentation about the parts of a letter, as well as prompting them to write a letter about their favorite holiday.
US Institute of Peace
Perspectives on Peace
Is peace simply the absence of war, or is there more to the story? Young social scientists define peace in the second installment of a 15-part series. Groups work together to explore cultural concepts of peace and the peacemaking process...
Curated OER
Way to Go Bananas
Fifth graders explore bananas. For this interdisciplinary lesson, 5th graders discover the dietary benefits of bananas, complete a fruits word search, write banana myths, research banana recipes, and use their problem solving skills to...
Curated OER
I'm Published! A Parts of Speech Book
Reinforce the importance of the writing process with this publication lesson plan. Elementary and middle schoolers compose a parts of speech book which includes one page each for nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions,...
Curated OER
Writing about Internal & External Conflicts in Lois Lowry's The Giver
Seventh graders examine the internal and external conflicts that Jonas faces in "The Giver" in an essay. Students use SMART Board and Inspiration to organize their ideas graphically before combining them into their paper.
Curated OER
Identifying author's purpose
Why is it important to know an author's purpose? After reviewing the three main purposes of writing, seventh graders write a persuasive letter to convince why summer school is better than taking the summer off. They can then join in a...
Curated OER
Do Heroes Have to Wear a Cape?
Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...
Curated OER
Lesson Two: Writing Letters in Code
Combine your friendly letter lesson, grammar lesson, and technology lesson with this fun activity! Young writers compose letters to friends, and then convert the text to Webdings font. Their friends then decode the letter based on a key....
Curated OER
Veterans Day Newspaper
Students examine the reasons for and origins of the Veterans Day holiday. They define key vocabulary terms, read and discuss the article "The Origins of Veterans Day," conduct research and complete a worksheet, and create a class...
Curated OER
A "How To" Project in the Science Fiction Genre
You can have students use science fiction elements to create a "How To" brochure that can stir the imagination.
Curated OER
Recycling: Creative Uses for Items
Third graders list creative uses for old objects. In this recycling lesson, 3rd graders work in groups to brainstorm creative, new uses for old, everyday items. This is the first lesson in a unit on recycling.
Curated OER
What's New? Translating Foreign Newspapers With Word
Students copy and paste foreign newspaper articles into a Word document, convert the passage to table format and then use the table to translate the words of the original article into English.
Curated OER
My Spanish Christmas
Tenth graders research Spanish Christmas customs on the interent and role play in their writing their findings in an essay. They teacher provides a list of web addresses for the students to locate information on and from that their...
Curated OER
Larger Than Life Figures
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes six lessons about larger than life figures from the American Literature series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response...
Curated OER
World Literature From Africa
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes twenty-four lessons from the World Literature series, each covering a different reading selection from Africa. Pre-reading and response activities are...
Curated OER
Creating Hate: The Power of Words
Students explore why authors choose to use hate words in literature. In this power of words lesson, students complete group participation, journal entries, and written assignments to investigate the use of inflammatory language. Students...
Curated OER
Ancient Civilizations
Students examine the institutions and values of various ancient civilizations. They define civilization, read and discuss text, write journal entries, list the characteristics of a powerful society, and write a description of an event.
Curated OER
Exploring Scientists/Presentation
Learners research a scientist of their choice. They write a research paper on him or her. They select ten important facts from their research paper and prepare a PowerPoint presentation using their facts.
Orange County Department of Education
The Hero: Writing and Responding
Pupils identify heroic character traits that they admire and that inspire trust and result in service to others. They identify the heroic traits of a character of their choosing and defend their reasoning using evidence from the text and...