Common Sense Media
Cyberbullying: Be Upstanding
Peers discuss cyberbullying and how they can defend their friends that may be bullied online and offline. They discover the value in showing empathy for those who have been cyberbullied. Class members then generate multiple...
Common Sense Media
Identifying High-Quality Sites
Use a Huffington Post article focused on false pictures of Hurricane Sandy to launch a discussion about the reliability of online information. Groups compare and contrast how print and broadcast media regulate...
Curated OER
Fruit or Vegetable?
Watermelon is a vegetable? A tomato is a fruit? Believe it or not, this debate is decades old. Groups examine rulings by the US Supreme Court, the USDA, and state statutes before developing their own criteria to use when labeling...
Curated OER
Harvest the Wind
Wind is a natural resource available around the world. Help your pupils appreciate the power and importance of wind by researching wind farms, making pinwheels, and designing windmills.
Curated OER
Identifying Symbols
Identify symbols within text and explain what they mean. Sixth graders examine Home of the Brave and identify recurring pictures in the text and discuss what they mean. They then choose a symbol from the text and explain what it...
Curated OER
Lesson One: Characterizing Philanthropic People
Familiarize your class with philanthropy and involve individuals in philanthropic activities. First, determine the traits of philanthropic people. Class members attach sticky notes with character traits written on them to each side of at...
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...
Curated OER
CDV, CDV, What's a CDV?
Introduce your class to the Core Democratic Values. The instructional activity focuses on defining the Core Democratic Values and related terms. Small groups look up terms and present a song based on the information they've found. After...
Other
Ljl Seminars: Using Overhead Transparencies
Here are some tips and rules to be aware of when using overhead transparencies.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Understanding Content Through Photography
This lesson plan is designed to assist learners making self-text-world connections through multimedia presentations. This plan includes a student guide for writing the reflection scripts as well as a detailed instructional plan.
Beacon Learning Center
Beacon Learning Center: Trailblazing Introductions
This tutorial focuses on the introduction for an expository essay or research paper. It states the purpose of an introduction, what should be included, and ways to begin.
Harvard University
Harvard College Writing Center: Developing a Thesis
Superbly written explanation of thesis development. Use the links on the right to work through the writing process.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Introductions
This tutorial focuses on introductions; it lists and explains three common components of introductions: motivator, thesis, and blueprint. It provides a sample introduction with commentary showing each of the parts. It discusses the...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Revising Thesis and Topic Sentences
This tutorial focuses on revising the thesis and topic sentences using two videos and two slideshows. The first video discusses a 3-step revising process for making sure the thesis fits the paper; the second video focuses on what...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Topic Sentences
This slideshow lesson focuses on topic sentences; it defines them, gives the characteristics of effective topic sentences, tells what they are NOT, discusses how to create them, and provides examples of effective topic sentences.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Topic Sentences: Map Your Way to Writing One
This tutorial on writing topic sentences includes 2 videos, 2 slide shows, and an audio clip. The first YouTube video explains the 4 parts of a topic sentence and tells where topic sentences belong. The 2 slide shows focus on the MAP...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: I Just Got Assigned a Paper, Now What?
This lesson focuses on what to do after being assigned a paper; it provides the basic steps to writing a paper: brainstorm topics, organize your thoughts (Venn diagrams, tree diagram examples), conduct preliminary research, create a...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Write an Expository And/or Procedural Text (English 6 Writing)
You will learn how to write an expository/procedural text with a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices, transitions, appropriate facts, and details.
Buck Institute
Buck Institute for Education: 6 8 Presentation Rubric (Ccss Aligned)
[Free Registration/Login Required] This rubric helps teachers guide students in grades 6-8 in making effective presentations in a project, and it can be used to assess their performance. Alignment with CCSS is not noted. It describes an...
iCivics
I Civics: Persuasive Writing
In this library of mini-lessons, students will learn how to "argue on paper" or write persuasive essays using a fictional case about a school dress code rule against band t-shirts.
Other
Interactivity Foundation: Guidebook for Student Centered Classroom Discussions
This downloadable guide includes strategies and best practices for supporting student-centered classroom discussions.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Alliterative Insects
In this lesson students develop a story about an insect while utilizing previously written sentences with strong word choice.
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: The Wacky "I Will Not" Chalkboard
Students can use this writing idea from the book Wacky We-Search Reports by Barry Lane to demonstrate understanding in any content area. Students use the idea of writing "I will not " sentences to show their knowledge of various...
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Research Topic Ideas
A comprehensive and in-depth list of possible topics and ideas for research papers from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.