Curated OER
My Antonia: Magic Squares (Vocabulary Strategy)
Help your pupils discover the power of context clues by teaching the this vocabulary strategy. Designed to go with words from Willa Cather's My Antonia, this exercise focuses on having individuals use their own words to define new...
Curated OER
Brain Break: Vocabulary and Context Clues
Young scholars utilize various sources to build and refine their vocabulary skills. They work together to solve a crypto-quote and daily puzzle from the newspaper.
Illustrative Mathematics
How Many Marbles?
Don't lose your marbles! This simple story problem helps make teaching division with fractions much easier. Work on this problem along with the lesson titled, How Many Servings of Oatmeal? to highlight the difference between the two...
Curated OER
In Pursuit of the American Dream
Students compare and contrast assimilation and acculturation. They explain the idea of "The Melting Pot" as it relates to what it means to be American. They write an 8 page response paper on a selected author.
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka and Nuer Tribes Until the Mid-1980s (“Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War” Excerpt 1) (Version 1)
Readers consider comparisons between the Dinka and Nuer tribes in South Sudan, making connections between an informational article about Sudanese tribes and the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They annotate the text to help...
Achieve The Core
Linda R. Monk, Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution - Grade 8
“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
EngageNY
Events and Venn Diagrams
Time for statistics and learning to overlap! Learners examine Venn Diagrams as a means to organize data. They then use the diagrams to calculate simple and compound probabilities.
EngageNY
Analyzing Documentary Videos: “Great Bear Rainforest Remote Camera Project” British Columbia, Canada
Lights, camera, action! Viewers discuss a video about the Great Bear Rainforest Remote Camera Project. As they watch, they find the gist, determine the meaning of unknown words, and analyze the features of a documentary as an...
Curated OER
The Grimm Truth—Comparing & Contrasting Children’s Stories and Fairy Tales in Cross-Cultural Texts at Different Points in Time
High schoolers explore world literature through completing several varied exercises. In this compare and contrast lesson plan students compare and contrast stories and how time and culture impacts the stories.
The Alamo
A Lesson in Citizenship
What does it mean to be an American citizen? Lieutenant Colonel Commander William Barret Travis believed that it meant honor to country first—even above one's own life. Middle and high schoolers read his final letters from the Alamo that...
Curated OER
What's in the Time Capsule? A Technology-Connected Lesson Plan
Twelfth graders use computers and the Internet to research a specified area, word processors to prepare an essay, a digital camera, a video camera gather visuals, and a scanner to add visuals to a PowerPoint presentation as they discover...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Before, During, After Lesson Plan
Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori presents a vivid picture of Japanese culture and history. As kids read through the third chapter, they find novel-specific vocabulary to enhance their understanding and use context clues to determine...
Curated OER
Comic Strip Context Clues
Second graders create dialogue for a comic strip using context clues to match the text to the pictures. They use comic blanks imbedded in this lesson plan. They write dialogue for each frame. Remind them to use the picture clues when...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: My Chinatown: One Year in Poems
Students explore tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary instructional activity, students work in small groups assessing the meaning of new vocabulary words. Students record vocabulary in a word journal or discovery chart.
Curated OER
Mesmerizing Multiple Meaning Riddles
Students write and illustrate riddles using context clues to define multiple meaning words that they compile into a book. They read the book, Miss Nelson Has a Field Day, and observe the many different multiple meaning words used in the...
Curated OER
Word Wonders
Pupils read passages and use phonics and context clues to self correct themselves while reading. In this reading lesson, students complete a worksheet which is embedded in the plan which has them choose the correct word to complete...
Curated OER
Reading for Meaning
Students answer questions to a worksheet called Connect with Cultural Connections in order to read for meaning. In this read for meaning lesson plan, students read and answer 5 comprehension questions.
Curated OER
The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?
Students analyze the Preamble of the Constitution and identify the historical context that led to its wording. They, in groups, interpret phrases from the Preamble, examine relevant court cases and create illustrations for their portion...
Curated OER
Making Words
Third graders spell words and define homophone. In this making words lesson plan, 3rd graders decipher words from letter strips in an effort to identify the "secret word". Students use a set of letters to spell different words.
Curated OER
Compound Words
First graders read newspaper articles and locate compound words. They break the words into two parts, then draw pictures of the two words.
Curated OER
New Vocabulary: The Ugly Duckling
The class hears the story of The Ugly Duckling to build vocabulary. They hear the story, then pull three to four vocabulary words from the text. The teacher then helps them use the context of each sentence to construct a meaning for each...
Prestwick House
Vocabulary Lesson
Vocabulary instruction works best when taught within a larger context. A vocabulary activity builds connections by using synonyms to help learn the meaning of new words. This helps connect the words to prior knowledge and give them context.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Clap Your Hands
Read Clap Your Hands to explore new vocabulary with your class. In this three-tiered vocabulary lesson plan, youngsters read the book and identify the plot, setting, and characters. They also define vocabulary terms from the book and...