Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
National Wildlife Federation
Massive Migrations
Turn your students into flocks of migratory birds for this fun lesson on animal migration. Prior to the activity, the teacher creates four different migration routes in the classroom or any available open space, labeling nesting...
State University of New York
Going Back in Time Using “George Washington’s Socks”
After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing: The Role of Religion in Colonial America
Informative writing is emphasized in the standards. Help your learners reach that goal with the plan for paragraph writing outlined here. After reviewing the work from the day before and adding to their vocabulary notebooks, class...
EngageNY
Taking Notes Using a Graphic Organizer: Inferring About the Importance of Religion in Colonial America
Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...
EngageNY
Taking Notes Using a Graphic Organizer: Inferring About Work and Play in Colonial America
What was life like in colonial America? Follow this lesson plan and your pupils will find out what people in colonial times did for work and for fun. Ask learners to compare and contrast the two texts and explain what the reading helped...
EngageNY
Research: Identifying Categories for Our Research About the Wheelwright
Here is a fine lesson plan on reading and understanding expository text designed for 4th graders. With a partner, learners read a passage of text about a machine called a wheelright. This machine was commonly used in the colonial period....
Curated OER
Fact or Fantasy?
Are we alone in the universe? This brief informational text on extraterrestrial theory has been split into seven sections to help scholars practice note taking. They read the statements, underlining key words. Then, using the graphic...
Curated OER
Plants: Report Planner
Introduce your young learners to the basic research project. They explore plants using a three-page note-taking guide. On the first page, they write down things they would like to know about the topic and where they might look to find...
Curated OER
Decision Making: Who Was Right?
Help your class explore the question "Is it ever right to disobey a law?" With a strong base of knowledge about the Civil War, anti-slavery movement, and Underground Railroad, your class explores civil disobedience in Marshall, Michigan...
Student Handouts
Graphic Organizer: Reference Citations
Pupils practice researching sources and logging citation information with this graphic organizer. After posing a general topic, groups of students are asked to devise general questions about that topic, and to research sources that they...
HISTORY Channel
Westward Expansion of the United States
How did early American pioneers decide what to take with them on their journeys, and what was their traveling experience like? Here you'll find a collection of activities to help you explore Westward Expansion with your young learners.
Read Works
Writing a Research Report
Transfer information from an outline into a well-developed research report. Using an already-written outline, model how to write an introductory paragraph and a body paragraph. Work through the conclusion as a class before allowing time...
Curated OER
Creating and Outline From Research
Fourth graders develop 3 research questions about a topic they choose and categorize the information they have learned. In this research lesson plan, 4th graders use a variety of non fiction materials from the library.
Curated OER
Don't Fence Me In
Ensure that your class has a well-rounded understanding of new inventions, in this case barbed wired. Class members, after researching the history and development of barbed wire, assess its impact on cattle and the development of the...
Curated OER
Mr. Goldman's Good Idea
Shopping carts are a modern convenience that many people take for granted. Make sure your pupils do not fall into that category by completing the activities in this plan. There are ideas included for language arts, social studies, math,...
Read Works
Using Text Features to Find Information
If you are working on a research project, consider this resource. First, model how to use notes and text features to create an outline. Next, allow individuals to choose a topic and complete the same process that you showed them....
Alabama Learning Exchange
Men and Women of Space Exploration
Fourth graders research famous astronauts. In this space science instructional activity, 4th graders list famous astronauts and use reference materials and the Internet to write a report on them.
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Ocean Floor
Learners explore the ocean in this earth science lesson. They use the Internet to gather information on parts of the ocean including the beach, ocean floor, continental shelf, trenches, and the animals that inhabit these parts.
Curated OER
Ag In The Outfield
Young scholars explore baseball. This is a cross-curricular plan that includes math, history, and agriculture. Pupils use their five senses to observe the materials a baseball is made from and identify the agricultural products used. In...
Curated OER
Mighty Earth Movers
Note that although the publisher lists almost all of the Common Core standards for both math and language arts, you will most likely want to take the general topic and choose which area to focus on. Regarding math, pupils measure worms...
Curated OER
Just Lookin' For a Home
What is a boll weevil? Your class can find out that and more by following the activities included here. Pupils read an article, sing a boll weevil song, add to the song with their own original lyrics, illustrate the song, study the...