EngageNY
Close Reading: Louie’s Change of Heart
Scholars read additional pages in Unbroken to discover more about Louie's character. Readers use turn-and-talk strategies to discuss character traits that describe Louie. They then answer text-dependent questions and cite evidence to...
EngageNY
Key Incidents Reveal Aspects of Character: Survival at Sea (Pages 114-168)
Learn from experience. As part of their study of Unbroken, scholars use a turn-and-talk strategy to discuss Louie's experiences and the presence of God while he is lost at sea. They then read quotes from the text and infer what the words...
Curated OER
Beginning, Middle or End
Second graders work with a partner. For this library skills lesson, 2nd graders watch a demonstration on how to find a word in a dictionary. Students practice finding words in the dictionary with a partner.
Curated OER
Down the Knoll Without the Water
Students use a thesaurus to find synonyms for selected words in fairy tales.
Curated OER
Rooting One's Way To Meaning
Students use a thesaurus on the internet to explore the meanings of Greek and Latin roots. They find definitions of given words, draw a concept map for root words, and write four synonyms for each word. Students discover how Latin and...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Revising and Publishing
Dictionaries, thesauruses, word walls, oh my! Pupils use several resources to revise their position papers to include appropriate vocabulary. Then, after peer editing, scholars write the final drafts of their essays and self-assess using...
Curated OER
Cite Your Sites
What information would you find in an almanac that you would not find in an atlas? What is the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus? Using a Cite Your Sites worksheet on which they record their observations, groups participate...
Curated OER
Vocabulary - Unfolding Meaning
Learners use the dictionary and thesaurus and are able to explain a definition in their own words.
Curated OER
The Couplet
Students create the sounds of a thunderstorm with a symphony of body percussion to compose a couplet about rain using Microsoft word to publish. They are introduced to rhyming dictionaries and thesauruses and use Internet sources for...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Match for SMARTBoard
Second graders practice vocabulary using the interactive whiteboard. In this vocabulary match lesson, 2nd graders review vocabulary words, take turns revealing a word or definition, and then identify the match. Students utilize a...
Curated OER
What's Your Reference
In this reference material worksheet, students choose the correct reference for each question given. Students discover the differences in the materials found in the dictionary, the almanac, the atlas, the newspaper, and the thesaurus.
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
Vocabulary Development
What is a root word? What is a prefix? Suffix? Use these questions to spark a discussion amongst your language art learners. Then, start by writing the word irresistible on the board and have teams of learners attempt to create new words...
Curated OER
Communicating about Our World through Informal Writing
Fifth graders review their writing for repetition of words at the beginning of the sentence. In this informal writing lesson, 5th graders share examples of sentence beginnings. Students use a thesaurus to find antonyms and synonyms.
Curated OER
Fourth Grade Language: Research Process
In this review of fourth grade resource usage worksheet students answer questions about guide words, library database, resources for specific information, parts of a book, and dictionary usage. Students answer 10 questions.
Curated OER
Writing with Vivid Verbs
Students find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson plan, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Students then practice rewriting sentences using vivid...
Curated OER
Being a Good Detective
Students examine a variety of reference resources when seeking information. They discuss atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, online search engines for the Internet, and online library card catalogs. They complete a...
Beacon Learning Center
Power Words
Using words can create a power struggle! Using antonyms and synonyms can create a Power Words game! Check out this activity that teachers your class the difference between the two and how to use a thesaurus.
Curated OER
Learning Words
Students listen to Jane Yolen's, All Those Secrets of the World. They engage in activities to find word meanings without using a dictionary. They practice using a vocabulary mapping handout.
Curated OER
Dragonwings
Middle schoolers engage in a lesson that is concerned with the literature study of Dragonwings. They write about the story from the perspective of a reader that is well informed towards the last chapters. Students also find target...
Curated OER
Encyclopedia Introduction
Second graders demonstrate how to use reference materials. In this library media lesson, 2nd graders are introduced to the encyclopedia and are shown how to use the encyclopedia as a reference. Students use encyclopedias to complete a...
Curated OER
Synonyms: Say It Again!
Learners discuss and learn synonyms. In this synonyms lesson, students use a thesaurus to look up synonyms for the given list of words.
Curated OER
Where to Look for the USA?
Fifth graders, in groups, explore the the type of reference sources are needed to answer a question. Each group identifies where the material was located, and the teacher records the guess.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Text-Dependent and Short Answer Questions: Excerpts from “A Limited Supply”
There's no such thing as an unlimited resource. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment by reading A Limited
Supply. They answer text-dependent questions and complete a graphic organizer about key terms in the text.