Curated OER
What a Character!
Guide your readers to explore character traits. As a class, discuss and record the traits of a commonly-known fairy tale character. Then do the same with the main character in the class novel. Finally, have learners use magazines and...
Curated OER
I Am Special and You Are Special Too #4
The students listen to a book about being different and investigate that everyone is different, but special in their own unique way. The students draw a picture of themselves using multi-cultural markers. Along with the drawing, the...
Curated OER
Zoom Broom
Learners explore comprehension strategies as they listen to Zoom Broom by Margie Palatini. As the story is read, teacher and pupils will stop occasionally to make text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world connections. They also...
Curated OER
No Taxing of the Tea for Thee
Research the history of the Boston Tea Party. Learners read the book The Boston Tea Party and write down important facts. They use the Internet to continue their research and construct an art project of a boat that contains a tea bag.
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas About Government Are Included in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Young historians explore the meaning of the Preamble to the US Constitution in this upper-elementary social studies activity. Working with partners or in small groups, children discuss the purpose of government before reading and...
Curated OER
Possessives
What is a possessive? Review the information at the top of the page before asking your class to work on this independently. For the first eight questions, your learners add the necessary s's and apostrophes when appropriate. For the...
EngageNY
Researching: Asking the Right Questions
Learners look over the iCare about the iPhone performance task and discuss how it relates to working conditions. They then review the research process and place focus on the step of asking questions. Finally, scholars ask questions to...
Curated OER
Silence for Solo Reading
Young scholars examine how to read silently after listening to a number of teacher given book talks. They review the silent reading techniques of cross-checking, and the cover up method. Next, they complete independent silent reading...
Curated OER
I Can't Hear You
Students practice reading silently to become better readers. They each read a copy of the book, "Mr. Cricket takes a Vacation," from Carousel Readers. Each student explains why if everyone read aloud in class how distracting it would be...
Curated OER
Kitty Protector
Pupils observe and demonstrate a variety of strategies for reading silently. They observe the teacher model techniques for reading silently, and discuss decoding strategies. As a class, they silently read the book "The Fire Cat" and...
Curated OER
I'm Bananas for Faster, Fluent Reading!
Young scholars review the way to use cover-ups to focus on vowels and decoding. They listen as the teacher demonstrates reading a sentence slowly like a robot, and then a little faster each time, adding feeling and expression. They then...
Curated OER
I Read On My Own!
Students examine how to choose books to read on their own and how to participate in reading discussions. They practice the two finger rule for choosing an independent reading book and how to look at the book's topic for personal...
Curated OER
The Sundance Kids
Students discuss independent filmmaking industry, focusing on the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. As a class, students develop a storyboard for their own independent film, then write movie reviews from the point of view of a film critic on...
Curated OER
Adventures in Alice
Students create a haiku and illustrate it on the computer. In this haiku lesson plan, students review the history of the haiku while they are outside and then write their own. Students then use a computer program to illustrate their poem.
Curated OER
Books Have Feelings Too
Second gradersincrease their reading fluency and expressiveness through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding and rereading, 2nd graders complete an initial read of a novel text without expression. Each student reads a...
Curated OER
American History Review
Pupils examine how people have contributed to American history, regardless of culture, race or religion. They develop a sense of pride for their own efforts, as well as for the efforts of others. They also study how to work both...
Curated OER
Pick-A-Phonic Picture Books
Learners explore phonemes. They create a picture book when a new phoneme is introduced. Students discuss the new phoneme and words that contain the phoneme. They create phoneme books shaped like the phoneme being studied. They illustrate...
Curated OER
Literature Circles: Typical Discussion Day Structure
Tenth graders practice and facilitate a discussion. In this literature lesson plan, 10th graders practice using effective discussion strategies. Students participate in reflection and self-assessment on their own discussion abilities.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment and Discussing Themes in Esperanza Rising: (Chapter 9: "Las Ciruelas/PLums")
Give this skills-based assessment halfway through your unit on Esperanza Rising. After a brief review, class members take the test, which asks them to show that they know how to analyze the novel independently. They are asked to...
Curated OER
Plot of a Short Story (SMART Board)
Using the SMART Board, teacher reviews the elements of a short story while students follow along in their notebook. Continuing with the SMART Board, teacher introduces the definition of plot and the five parts as students take notes....
Curated OER
Question What You Read
Readers test their reading comprehension after reading a nonfiction text about Paleo Indians. (This text is in Alabama: It's History and Geography, but other texts can be used.) After reading the nonfiction article as a class, they...
Curated OER
Interjections
Teach your class that they can use interjections to make their writing more interesting. Individuals read a selection of sentences from their book using great expression and then explain to the teacher how interjections can make their...
Curated OER
The Tangle Box quiz
Review The Tangle Box by Terry Brooks in your language arts class. Students can submit and review simple comprehension questions in an instant. Use this resource to test their independent reading novel.
Curated OER
The 5 W's
Examine how to answer who, what, when, where, and why when reading text. Young writers listen to the story Skeleton Hiccups, and as a class answer and discuss the five W's. Independently they read the story silently, and write the...