Curated OER
Whodunit?
Students bring in a variety of books to be approved for reading outside of class and then complete a book review on each one approved. They remember to include a description of the setting and characters, plot summary and a conclusion in...
Curated OER
Monster Plants Storia Teaching Guide
Who wouldn't want to read a book about monster plants? Get those kids into informational texts with an engaging topic, like meat eating plants! You'll use the teaching guide to provide structured practice as your class reads to...
Curated OER
Mapping Out the Story
Discuss the reading comprehension strategy of summarization with your elementary schoolers! They read a chapter from their social studies textbook, Regions Near and Far, and create a map, or word web, for the chapter. They identify...
Curated OER
Creative Story Writing
Young scholars recognize predictable patterns in literature. They use the selected pattern to create their own writing using the same type of literary pattern. The new writing is proofread by other students and the editing is done until...
Curated OER
Multimedia Book Reports
Pupils read a chapter book of 100-200 pages in length. They create a story map and multimedia book report. Pupils review the elements of a story map such as: characters, setting, problem, important events, solution, etc.) Students...
Curated OER
Using Compare and Contrast to Write in Science
Fifth graders investigate and compare the behavior of magnetism using magnets. In this physics lesson, 5th graders write about the similarities and differences of a variety of magnet types.
Scholastic
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Practice sequencing events using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem about the famous revolutionary hero. Learners read Revere's own account of the event, and compare/contrast the two texts using a t-chart. Finally, they imagine...
Curated OER
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss
Students create and write mini books. In this Dr. Seuss lesson, students bring in their favorite Dr. Seuss book, share why it is their favorite with the class and write a paragraph explaining why they like it. Students create mini...
Curated OER
A Light in the Storm
Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising - Anticipation Guide
Learn about Mexican culture while simultaneously strengthening reading, writing and computer skills. In order to get the most out of Esperanza Rising, pupils should have prior knowledge of Mexican culture. Therefore, there are links to a...
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Chinese Zodiac
Fifth graders identify the basic elements of a narrative story, such as the beginning, middle, and the end; to analyze the character traits in the story to write a summary using the 5 Ws and How chart included; through sample stories...
Avi Writer
The Cross of Lead, At the Edge of the World, and The End of Time
A fan of Ari's Crispin trilogy? Here is a packet that contains study guides for all three Crispin novels: The Cross of Lead, At the Edge of the World, and The End of Time.
Curated OER
Holes Comprehension Companion
Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and make...
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
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
Summarization Mapping
Students observe and demonstrate the strategy of summarizing the main idea. They discuss six rules of summarizing, and observe the teacher summarizing the first chapter of the novel "The Incredible Journey." Students then read chapter...
Curated OER
Reading to Learn: How Do We Sum That Up?
Students explore the topic of summarizing. They read the book, Dolphins at Daybreak, to practice summarizing. They determine what information is important and choose sentences to summarize the passages they read. They write a summary...
Curated OER
The Magic Box
Students use their visual-spatial intelligence to describe imagined boxes. A complete sequence of opening the imagined box and visualizing its contents is performed. Students write a summary of what they "saw" in their imagination.
Curated OER
Summing it all Up...In Your Own Words
Young scholars observe and demonstrate the steps to identifying the main ideas of a text. They listen to the teacher read a paragraph and model the steps of summarizing the main idea. Students then independently read a different...
Curated OER
Can you Summarize?
Students write summaries of non-fiction articles in this lesson. They read the article silently and then pick out the main points. Students list the main events as a whole class activity, and then they individually write a summary of...
Curated OER
Mapping Out Summarization
Students summarize a selected piece of text using a a six step process. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a selected piece of nonfiction text. They write a summary paragraph using the six step process...
Curated OER
Summarization
Students summarize a selected piece of text using the five Ws. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a selected piece of nonfiction text. They write a summary paragraph using a process outlined by the instructor.
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
Exploring the History of Canyon De Chelly: The Navajos
Students are introduced to the novel Sing Down The Moon written by Scott O'Dell. Throughout the book, after each chapter is read, class discussions and journal writing is incorporated into the unit.