Bermingham City Schools
Opinion Writing
It's no secret that children can be very opinionated, but rather than fight against this natural tendency, embrace it with this primary grade writing project. After a shared reading of a children's book about persuasion, young learners...
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Our Dinopals with WordArt
Elementary schoolers use the writing process steps to write a descriptive paragraph about a fictional dinosaur. Using a tech tool lesson, they create a graphic title for the paragraph. A nice blending of technology with "old-fashioned"...
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Writing Process
Introduce primary graders to the writing process. After reviewing the steps, they practice using the process by writing a book report. Before writing the draft, they complete a graphic organizer. The completed draft is reviewed by peers....
Student Handouts
Process Steps
A straightforward graphic organizer is a great way to outline steps for any subject. Kids fill out 10 steps to describe a process or brainstorm writing, with small arrows indicating that one step leads to the next.
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Writing with Writers
Students participate in Writing with Writer's, a step-by-step set of directions aimed at improving different genres of student writing. They identify the characteristics of different genres and follow a specified writing process to...
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Daily Lesson Plan for the Struggling Writer and Speller
Special educators know that it isn't all about the lesson plan, but rather the strategies and practices you choose to use. Here are a set of research-based practices and tips you can use to inform your choices when teaching learners who...
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Learning to Interview
An authentic and engaging way to practice literacy skills, this lesson calls for young language arts pupils to conduct interviews with classmates and family members. First, pupils watch as the teacher models the interview process with a...
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Ice Cream Toppings
Students explore the five senses. In this senses instructional activity, students use their senses to top their ice cream. Students compare and contrast the different toppings and write their observations, using descriptive words, in a...
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Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
Students discuss the differences between a storybook and an information book. Students use various materials found in nature to make a nature collage. Students make a nature dictionary using pictures and their own definitions from the...
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Using a Graphic Organizer to Research a Question
Is Pluto still a planet? Using this popular question, kids are introduced to graphic organizers as a writing tool. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how to use them and work together with a partner to research whether Pluto is a...
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Monster Descriptions
Monsters take center stage! Elementary schoolers are assigned to write a descriptive paragraph by a toy company to help in designing a new monster for their toy line. One student composes the paragraph, another uses that to create a...
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Build Mastery: Prediction
What do you think will happen? Use a graphic organizer to help learners predict what will happen in a text. Consider modeling the chart using a familiar story, pretending you don't know what happens. Show scholars the book, explaining...
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Eating Your Words!
First graders study how to complete activities in sequential steps. They participate in various activities describing each step needed to complete the tasks. They work in pairs to type the list of steps necessary in making a sandwich. ...
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There's a Monster in My Classroom
Students work in groups making drawing of monsters and then given written instructions to students in another class about how to draw the same monster. After the drawings are complete, they share with other students using an iSight...
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Our Illuminated Alphabet
Students examine artwork and create their own. For this writing and illustrating lesson, students view illuminated letters from the Getty Museum's collection and discuss art vocabulary. Students examine the visual elements in the...
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Oh, Baby!
Learners explore one's goals and dreams using a combination of research and imagination. They produce a web site that portrays a vision of one's future. They plan, conduct and write up an informal journalistic interview.
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Feast For 10
Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Feast For 10" by Cathryn Falwell. They read the book and follow the recipe for pumpkin pie from the story. Students then write about their cooking experience, describe the...
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What I Dream For:
Students investigate about the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., watching video clips from unitedstreaming. They identify ways that they can help make Martin Luther's dream of peace a reality. Pupils identify contributions that...
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Sum It Up!!!
Students main goal of reading is comprehension. They encounter one main strategy of summarization. They comprehend that summarization is the process of finding the most important information from a reading. Students must follow several...
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Carrot Seed Lesson Plan
Students create a seed museum. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify various seeds and the plants the seeds will grow into. Students write a description of the plant, illustrate the plant and create a seed museum in...
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The Magic Box
Learners 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.
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Spelling Word Flashcards
First graders draw pictures of spelling words. In this spelling lesson, 1st graders create flashcards by drawing a picture of each of the spelling words on one side and writing the actual word on the other side.
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Gingerbread/Candy Houses
Students compare and contrast different versions of "Hansel and Gretel" and "The Gingerbread Boy". Using a software program, they color a gingerbread house design of their choice. Based on the house, they write thier own story making...
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Delicious Descriptive Adjectives
Students write out recipes with different adjectives then share them with the class.