Curated OER
The Main Man
Students explore visualizing stories by completing a graphic organizer. In this reading strategy lesson plan, students read the story Pecos Bill by Steven Kellog and identify the setting, main characters and their interpretations....
Curated OER
Wrapped in Mystery
Sixth graders can identify five basic elements that most mysteries contain. They put the elements of mystery into a graphic organizer they can follow. They construct meaning after reading Poe's short story and identify or infer the...
Curated OER
What is the Character of Maine?
Students create an individual portfolio using assignments from a unit on the character of Maine. They choose two of the best assignments from each of four chapters studied and then write an essay or create a magazine which synthesizes...
Curated OER
Reading Logs - Practice Creates Efficiency
Students examine how to identify the main idea and supporting details of a reading selection. They keep a reading log of what they read each day, reviewing their reading selections with the class.
Curated OER
Let's Sum It Up
Students summarize a selected piece of nonfiction text as a group. After reviewing the instructors preferred method for summarizing information by identifying the main idea and supporting details, groups write a summary paragraph of a...
Curated OER
What's It All About?- Kansas Prairies
Students examine the interdependence of animal life and the environment. In this Kansas prairies lesson, students read background information on prairies and complete a worksheet to identify the main idea.
Orange County Department of Education
Dancing Rainbows: A Pueblo Boy's Story
Third graders identify the main ideas illustrated in the story "Dancing Rainbows." They identify details from the story that show respect toward self and others. Students write a paragraph to illustrate how the Tewa Indians show respect....
Curated OER
AWARD CERTIFICATE FOR A CHARACTER
Connect to real-world experiences by having your primary learners create an award certificate based upon literal and inferential information from a story. They present the award to a character from a story and explain the criteria used....
Curated OER
Angles
Fourth and fifth graders investigate angles and name them according to the criteria for obtuse, acute, and right angles. They examine a human-made yarn pattern on the floor of their classroom and identify angles, vertices, and types of...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Curated OER
To Recycle, or Not Recycle?
To recycle or not to recycle, that is the question. Your class can find the answer by taking a teacher created WebQuest, where they assume a role of a community member taking a stand on implementing a community wide recycling plan. The...
Curated OER
Tone and Mood
How are mood and tone similar? Different? Help your readers understand the difference between the two with this helpful guide. On the first page, they read the definition for both tone and mood and identify words that are describe each....
Curated OER
Cross-Curricular Language Arts Lessons
Here are lesson ideas to begin integrating social studies content into the language arts classroom.
Virginia Department of Education
Analyzing and Planning Persuasive Writing
Young writers work backward to analyze persuasive techniques. As a class, work through the provided persuasive letter: a plea to an imaginary city council to lift a city-wide ban on fast food restaurants and discount stores. Start by...
Gourmet Curriculum Press
Author's Purpose
Who knew determining author's purpose could be turned into a game? Four teams compete to correctly identify the author's purpose for writing a series of passages.
Curated OER
Taking Action Against Child Labour
Students identify and clarify a problem, issue or inquiry, locate and record information from a variety of sources and identify alternative interpretations from specific historical and contemporary sources. They asses at least two...
Curated OER
Skimming Exercise
In this skimming exercise learning exercise, students quickly read a passage about reverse culture shock to find main ideas. Students have a short time period to read the text and identify the main ideas.
Curated OER
Defining the American Dream
Students define the American Dream and apply their knowledge of American history to evaluate the main idea of H.W. Brands' book, "The Age of Gold."
Curated OER
My Dream Job
Students write a research paper about their dream job. They organize their paper using research notes, and support their main idea with supporting details.
Curated OER
Understanding Cause and Effect
Identify the author's organizational pattern for expressing ideas. After reading an article on the California Gold Rush, middle schoolers determine the author's purpose for writing a passage of informational text. A full list of...
Curated OER
Reading and Responding -- Lesson 7
Fourth graders work individually or in a small group to (1) read a nonfictional selection, (2) identify main idea and details, (3) identify the author's purpose, and (4) practice test-taking strategies.
Curriculum Corner
8th Grade ELA Common Core Checklists
How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach,...
Curated OER
Building a Nation
Eighth graders identify the main ideas of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They read and discuss text, read and summarize a section of the Declaration of Independence in small groups, and write a paper on why the colonists felt it...
Curated OER
Cell Structure and Function
Students identify the main ideas of different cell theories. Using a microscope, they compare and contrast the structures and functions of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. They also compare and contrast animal and plant cells and complete...