Curated OER
Simply Speaking
Emerging orators distinguish between effective and ineffective public speaking strategies. They read a text that fits in with a Native Americans unit and speak about the text with both ineffective and effective volume, tone, phrasing,...
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Speak Up
Bring back some of your favorite kids for this lesson. Emerging speakers observe older learners making effective and ineffective oral presentations. They discuss each presentation and then prepare a speech of their own to deliver to the...
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Practice Makes Perfect
And the consensus says...Teach your class to use peer feedback to refine public speaking skills. They cut out a magazine picture and develop an oral story about it to present to the class. They share several meaningful objects with the...
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Speak Up for Recycling
Are you looking for ways to enhance a persuasive writing or speech unit? Use this instructional activity to prompt your young writers to investigate a school recycling program. After conducting research, they present a persuasive,...
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Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
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Direct Express
Although the game cards are not posted at this time, you could easily create some to put this plan into action. Simply write a few starting lines from different speeches on each index card, and have learners guess if the speaker's intent...
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Express Yourself
Youngsters practice retelling a part of their favorite Native American tale to a small group of their peers. Peer partners assess each others performances. To keep comments positive and constructive, consider giving your class sentence...
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Be An Expert
Part of a series of lessons about bring Native American stories into the classroom, this plan suggests having kids research and take notes on one group of Native Americans and then complete a project that they present to the class. Pull...
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Listen To Me!
Young learners need practice speaking comfortably in front of others. Post a list of oral speaking tips on the board during this unit. Over a week-long period, they create a story from their interview sheet and present it to the class....
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Patriotic Symbols of the United States
Young historians take a close look at the most famous patriotic symbols of the United States and determine what they actually stand for. Symbols such as Uncle Sam, The Statue of Liberty, The Bald Eagle, and The Liberty Bell are studied....
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Stage a Debate: A Primer for Teachers (Lincoln-Douglas Debate Format)
For a comprehensive overview of debate styles and formats, look at this resource. It details the Lincoln-Douglas debate format (one-to-one debate with specific, timed rounds of points, cross-examination, and rebuttals). You can also find...
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Nine Planets
What are characteristics of a planet? With this plan, learners investigate the characteristics of the planets in our solar system. They gather research of the nine planets by using the Internet and other research tools. Then they create...
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Ancient Egypt
Pupils complete a series of activities to discover life in ancient Egypt. They create want ads for pyramid workers, design vocabulary flash cards and dictionaries, and research famous Egyptians. They also research the "Curse of the...
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Decision Making: Who Was Right?
Help your class explore the question "Is it ever right to disobey a law?" With a strong base of knowledge about the Civil War, anti-slavery movement, and Underground Railroad, your class explores civil disobedience in Marshall, Michigan...
American Forest Foundation
Who Speaks for the Trees?
Help young conservationists appreciate the important role that trees play in ecosystems around the world with this collection of six engaging activities. From a shared reading and class discussion of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, to in an depth...
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Learning from the Past: A New Approach
Young scholars research nonprofit organizations. As they research, they learn how those living in the colonial period formed community organizations to provide for the common good of their society. Each pupil chooses one organization to...
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Read All About it
Learners create and publish a newspaper that reflects and explains pioneer and medieval societies. They become newspaper writers for a specific time period. They adopt a holistic approach to exploring community life in medieval and...
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Classroom Capers: Creating a Magazine
Fourth graders build language skills in the context of creating a classroom magzine. They participate in activities which help students communitcate ideas and information for a variety of purposes and for specific audiences using the...
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Is That Legal? A Case of Acid Rain
Develop an environmental case study! Elementary learners discover how a case study is used as an analysis tool. The goal of this activity is to show pupils how techniques of persuasion (including background, supporting evidence,...
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Hometown Heroes
Transform studying about veterans in a textbook to personal interviews with veterans in the community. Four varying lesson plans make up an entire unit or individualized learning based on your class's needs. Exercises include researching...
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Social Studies: Regions of the United States
Third graders create Powerpoint presentations of various geographic regions of the United States. They focus on the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions. Students combine their individual slides into a class presentation.
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Show And Tell
Have you ever saved your money to buy something you really wanted? Elementary schoolers share how they saved their money for things they wanted, and they bring in one or two items that they bought with their personal savings.
Scholastic
Awesome Adaptations
Engaged learners discover how an owl beak works and how animals adapt to their environment. This task is part one of a three-part series.
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Module: Self Awareness
Get your scholars ready for the workplace! This is a comprehensive plan that will really prompt a big picture approach to career planning. Learners consider whether or not school is a real job, and how well it prepares them for the...