Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Writing a Topic & Concluding Paragraph for the Essay
This lesson is a final step towards supporting young scholars to practice writing an informative/explanatory paragraph conveying complex ideas and presenting information clearly and accurately. Second-grade students can usually write a...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: The Sum of Its Parts
Inspired by Julianna's understanding (from the novel Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen) that "A painting is more than the sum of its parts," students will describe a memorable place that evokes a certain feeling or emotion. Students will...
Other
Abrams Books: Picture Day Perfection: A Common Core State Standards Aligned
This activity and discussion guide uses the book "Picture Day Perfect" to teach multiple common core state standards for language arts. Included in this lesson plan are discussion questions, a craft project, printable worksheets, and an...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Revise and Revisit: Butterflies
Students will take a previously created paragraph and edit it to make it better by adding details, definitions, a topic sentence, or a closure to an informational paragraph. Resources include a PowerPoint presentation and pictures and...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Florida Center for Reading Research: Narr. Text Structure: Picture the Character
A lesson plan in which students read a narrative text and complete a graphic organizer to illustrate and write characteristics of one of the characters. Materials are included.
Utah Education Network
Uen: 2nd Grade Act. 11: Character Sketch
This lesson engages students in describing the main character from Patricia Palacco's book, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. Students will analyze a picture of the main character and the teacher will write all of the students'...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Draw a Story: Stepping From Pictures to Writing
Help young students move from drawing pictures into writing simple stories. Good plan for having students put pictures in sequential order and teaching them about sequential order.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian in Your Classroom: Introduction to the Nature Journal [Pdf]
Smithsonian in the Classroom presents "Introduction to the Nature Journal." Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which students will practice and develop their skills of writing observations and making hypotheses....
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian in Your Classroom: Introduction to the Nature Journal [Pdf]
Smithsonian in the Classroom presents "Introduction to the Nature Journal." Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which students will practice and develop their skills of writing observations and making hypotheses....
Other
Learning at the Primary Pond: 3 Effective Strategies for Teaching Revising
A literacy specialist shares three effective strategies for teaching students revising techniques. These include providing students with specific criteria and peer revision. Examples of resources used in a classroom lesson are pictured.
Other
Crayons and Cuties in Kindergarten: Launching Persuasive Writing in Kindergarten
A kindergarten teacher shares how she introduced persuasive writing in her classroom. After a discussion about "problems" that need to be fixed in their school, the class decided they wanted to write the principal a persuasive letter...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Digging Up Details on Worms: Using Science in an Inquiry Study
A lesson plan based on a study unit of earthworms, using the inquiry model to integrate scientific processes with literacy practices. Instruction plans, related resources, and standards are included.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Searching Informational Texts
Online lesson allows elementary students to use prior knowledge, make predictions, and perform research on the Internet. Labeled "The Frog Beyond the Fairy Tale Character," lesson challenges students to examine print and online texts...
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time
Exhibit on Ernest Hemingway includes images and detailed information on his early years, relationships with other authors, the Paris years, middle and later years, and his writings.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Go, Dog, Go!
Students will read the story and describe the picture details of the illustrations in relation to the text and write about one of the story events. "Go, Dog, Go!" contains illustrations that are very elaborate and crazy while the text is...
Other
Photo Captions and Cutlines
This site takes a detailed look at the importance of cutlines and captions. It makes a distinction, too, between the two terms. Explains how readers use news photographs and offers a checklist of information to include in captions and...
Utah Education Network
Uen: 1st Grade Act: 22: Retelling the Tiny Seed
This lesson engages students in story retelling to Eric Carle's book, The Tiny Seed. Students will participate in interactive storytelling as they write sentences and illustrate pictures about seed travel.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Introduction to Nature Journaling
In this activity, students will be introduced to nature journaling and discover the importance of detail accuracy in scientific drawings when used to observe and identify objects.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Ecology Questions and Activities [Pdf]
"Prairie Ecology Questions and Activities" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about prairie ecology the interdependence of its plants and animals. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Changing the Ecosystem: Q & a [Pdf]
"Changing the Ecosystem: Q & A" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how the loss of the prairie to farming and population growth impacts the ecosystem. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
School Express
Schoolexpress.com: Long and Short Vowel Worksheets
Teachers will find an assortment of detailed worksheets that engage students learning in vowels.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Native Americans Potawatomi [Pdf]
"Native Americans--Potawatomi" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about what the prairie looked like during each of the seasons when the Potawatomi lived there. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...