Curated OER
Totally Us
Students create unique biographies. In this Totally Joe lesson plan, students read the James Howe book and then collaborate to write name biographies in small groups.
Curated OER
Folktale Unit: The Emperor and the Kite
Students read the story of The Emperor and the Kite examining new vocabulary and working on comprehension skills. They examine how to summarize the story after reading it.
Curated OER
Ten Cents a Word
Students recognize the importance of summarizing in this lesson. They "sum up" an article about monarch butterflies. Students practice writing summaries of the article charging themselves 10 cents/word. They try to write the least...
Curated OER
A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution
Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This instructional activity on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution in an interactive...
Curated OER
Writing in Math Class
Students brainstorm and discuss ways math is all around them, explain in writing how they solve math problems, describe mathematical ideas in writing, and create original story problems.
Curated OER
Meaty Words
Headlines from newspapers launch a discussion of image-rich, meaty words. Just as headline writers choose vivid vocabulary to attract readers, young writers develop headlines that capture the essence of a passage from a book they are...
Curated OER
Lyddie
Learners investigate the character trait of perseverance and how it is used to help a girl gain independence in a fictional story. The story also has them think about the value of relationships and then write reflectively about...
Curated OER
Trait Variations for Survival
Young learners examine how different traits could give one organism an advantage over another. In groups, they view two different organisms in different environments. To end the lesson, they complete a Venn Diagram on the two organisms...
Curated OER
Houdini Report
Students write a biography after thy have found facts from the Houdini website. They complete a report using the organizational trait. Students use the internet to complete their fact sheets on Houdini. They discuss organization and...
Curated OER
It's Raining Meatballs
Pupils participate in activities to determine their macro process and elaborative process abilities. During macro processes readers organize and summarize ideas as they read. They look at the big picture of the entire text as well as the...
Curated OER
Flight Formation: The V's Have It!
Read, revisit, and reflect. Older elementary learners summarize main idea 6using key details. They consider the V formation that birds fly in, summarize an informational text, and write critical thinking questions.
Curated OER
My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C.
Although this legislative process lesson is designed to accompany a specific text, it is valuable independently. Young learners participate in a picture walk (worksheet included) through My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View of Washington,...
Curated OER
That Sums It All Up!
Students review the concept of silent reading. They listen to a story and create a story map of what they hear. Then, they read their own story and map it the same way. This time, they use this story map to write a summary of what they...
Curated OER
Wonderful Westerns
For this book report worksheet, young scholars choose a novel about westerns to read and then completes six various assignments dealing with the novel of their choice.
Curated OER
Read and Get Smart
Use the class textbook to read a full story about Martin Luther King, Jr. The class writes facts about him and outlines his life, then they read the author and illustrator summaries at the end of the story. They compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Sato and the Elephants
Young scholars write a persuasive letter to the government of an African country that has elephants as a resource. Students research and debate the pros and cons of ivory use. Young scholars identify the value of ivory products versus...
Curated OER
Whale Is Stuck
Students engage in the process of problem solving with the help of children's literature story of how the whale was trapped and then freed. The story illustrates the power of teamwork and commitment. The students practice the skill of...
Curated OER
The Life And Times Of The Apple
Students engage in a study about the biology of apples that includes growth and reproduction. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students write a description of an apple brought to class by answering several questions....
Curated OER
The Faithful Friend
Students work in co-op groups to create a Reader's Theater production of the story. Students create a flow map that sequences the major events in the story. Students research the island of Martinique and create a travel brochure...
Curated OER
Autobiography - Student Trading Cards
Motivate your class with this lesson! Learners use the trading card format to create an autobiography. They are given a list of characteristics to list, write down what they would like to include on their trading card, and head to the...
Curated OER
Summarizing to Understand!
Students review the concept of silent reading. Through modeling and guided practice, they follow six given steps in summarizing a written passage. Then they read a passage independently and follow the same steps in summarizing the...
Curated OER
"Sum, Sum, Sum It Up!"
Learners are provided with a model of how to better comprehend text through using a summarization rubric which includes: deleting trivial information, deleting repeated information, substituting easy words for lists of items, adding a...
Curated OER
Break It Down!
Students practice the strategy of summarization in order to comprehend a text. They drill on how to delete unimportant information, repeated information and substitute easy terms for lists of items. Each student receives a copy of "The...
Curated OER
Cooperative Classroom Text Features Activities
Fifth graders examine text features and create a PowerPoint presentation. In this text features lesson, 5th graders go over Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures and text features before they choose one to include in a book and...