Curated OER
Look at What I Did at School!
Third graders use an outline to write a letter to their parents sharing their week at school.
Curated OER
Wildflower Beautification Project
Students, in cooperative groups, design and create a wildflower garden for the community. They write letters to property owners requesting use of their land and then write invitations to their parents and to local, state, and federal...
Curated OER
Aesop's Fables
Examine the fables of Aesop with your class. Pupils identify the morals of fables and role-play a scene from their favorite fable of Aesop. Additionally, they compose letters to a favorite character in the fable. Learners role-play again...
San Francisco Symphony
By the Great Horn Spoon!
By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...
Curated OER
Nous Nous Souvenons: French-Canadians
Students research the French-Canadian influence in northern New York. They interview families of French-Canadian descent, research immigration history, visit a French restaurant, write narratives about their experiences interviewing...
Curated OER
Dead Word Wall Kills Overused Words
Have your class attend a funeral for the words they overuse in their writing. They develop a list of alternate words for those overused words, and make an effort to employ alternatives whenever possible. This is a great way to improve...
Curated OER
Dear Congressperson...
Young scholars identify their local, state, and national officials. They create a short blurb about each official and their function in office. Students choose an issue of concern they would like to write to their local official about,...
Curated OER
Who Is Responsible For Repairs?
Students discuss household problems that may be eligible for repair by their landlord. As a class, students discuss the portions of their lease that require their landlord to repair damages and which damages they may be responsible for...
Curated OER
The Early Suffragists
Students research early suffragists in an effort to find the most influential leader of the movement. They give presentations and the class chooses a winner. They write letters to the postmaster suggesting they be placed on a stamp.
Curated OER
Publishing Pupils
Second graders are guided through the writing process and then given time to use the skills they have acquired by writing a story and publishing it using a computer.
Curated OER
A Bearrific Home Adventure
Students and their families participate in an at home journal activity. In this journal writing lesson, students read the book If You Take a Mouse to School. Students take home a suitcase with a bear and writing elements. Students return...
Curated OER
A Letter to Armadillo
Third graders compose a postcard that includes a short letter, name, address, and postcard design.
Curated OER
Sarah Plain and Tall
Students read the story, dividing it into chapters per day until complete. They respond to the ad, just as Sarah, Plain and Tall did and use the correct parts of a letter used including a return address, greeting, body, closing and...
Curated OER
Bueno Brothers' Bean Dip
Students play a game in which they see how many words they can form from a scoop of lima bean letters
Curated OER
A South African Storm
Students explore racial prejudice in South Africa through the reading of "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard. In this cultural and geography lesson, students discuss ethnicity and prejudices and cite examples from the letter....
Curated OER
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Young scholars write a class letter to a local policeman asking him to come and talk to the class and create a list of safety tips as a class. Students research information on police dogs: type of dogs used, where they come form, how...
Curated OER
To Go Solar or Not to Go Solar!
Middle schoolers imagine that they are on a panel to consider if a solar energy system would be advantageous to a new school as it is being built. They read the included handout and then each play a role as a participant in a community...
Curated OER
Developing Relationships with Older People
Students read books and view movies about older people. They write a questionnaire to interview older people at a retirement center, interview the people, record their information on graphs, and write follow-up letters.
Curated OER
The National Women's Party and the Enfranchisement of Black Women
Students analyze the attitudes and hostility given to African-American women within the National Women's Party. They finish the lesson by examining another moment in the party's history and writing about it.
Curated OER
Let Your Fingers Do the Estimating
Investigate estimation with the White Pages. Youngsters use the phonebook to estimate the average number of phone listings that can be found there. They write a paragraph explaining the processes they used in this challenge.
National Security Agency
Sampling for a Rock Concert
Over the course of three class periods, middle schoolers design an experiment to provide learner input to administration about which rock band to invite to play at school. They practice several random sampling exercises, all well...
Curated OER
El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico
Students conduct Internet research on the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. They complete a worksheet answering questions about the Ballet Folklorico, and create an award and write a speech to present to the class.
Scholastic
Perfect Postcards: Illinois
Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...