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...

What a mess! Read about Lilly-Ann's birthday cupcake surprise and work on grammar skills at the same time. Four lengthy paragraphs provide kids with many opportunities to find and circle adverbs. They note the ways that adverbs come in...

Students write a story. In this historical fiction lesson, students research how Thanksgiving began. Students write a fictional story where they are a main character of this time period.

Explore the world of amazing mammals with your kids with special needs. Each child identifies one mammal from a previous lesson and writes a short paragraph on that mammal. This lesson states that it is intended for all levels, but not...

Everyone loves Arthur, the friendly aardvark! Emerging readers explore Arthur books by Marc Brown. They use the Internet to research Marc Brown and share information with their class. They work independently to conduct research and then...

It's no secret, writing is a lot more enjoyable when it's about something we care about. This simple exercise engages children in producing original writing, while allowing them to share their personal interest with others.

Find the main idea in an informational text with a versatile lesson. Three levels of differentiation help you implement the strategy in any age or class level, based on the ability and objectives of your learners.

Students participate in a class survey of their favorite activity to do in the snow and organize the results in a graph. They write a paragraph about the graph using language from a class-developed word web and include both an opening...

Read, discuss, and write short stories with your primary class. They read a short story and complete worksheets for the story. They also brainstorm ideas for a class story and choose an idea to write 3 ideas and then write the story as a...

Students investigate animals. In this animal research lesson, students choose an animal to research online and record facts from at least 3 types of resources. Students complete a webbing tool, write a paragraph, and use MS word or...

Students participate in a whole class shared writing activity. They create an original text while examining the thought process of writers.

Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...

It's a fact: kids love bugs! With this lesson, young learners explore reading informational texts and conducting research while learning about their favorite insects. Spark learners' interest by reading a book about one kind of bug and...

In this Greek alphabet lesson, pupils explore the Phoenician origins to the Greek alphabet. Learners compare Greek letters to current letters and write a paragraph about the life of students in ancient Greece. They also identify...

Students create a formula for a well-written news article. In this informative writing lesson plan, students share notes from a previous research lesson plan and identify why an outline is important. Students use an included worksheet to...

Learners research threats and enemies of the sea horse.  For this animal biology lesson, students use the Internet to find threats and enemies of sea horses and write a paragraph on their findings.  

Students differentiate between fruits and vegetables. They identify 20-25 common fruits and vegetables and utilize the Internet to gather and organize information about fruits and vegetables. Afterward, they create a new fruit and...

Young scholars investigate the features that were unique to certain dinosaurs. They analyze pictures of dinosaurs, conduct Internet research, use KidPix software to create an illustration of a new dinosaur, and write a paragraph about...

Show your young researchers how to find information, brainstorm a topic, map or outline their own stories, and create rough drafts. This lesson also shows learners how to peer edit, conference with the teacher, and write their final...

Second graders read and compare two versions of Cinderella. For this compare and contrast lesson, 2nd graders use a Venn Diagram to record comparisons between Cinder Edna and Cinderella. Students write a paragraph using those...

Second graders should be familiar with characters of a story and adjectives. The students should have some knowledge of Kidspiration. After reading a story, they will use Kidspiration and create a character web to describe a character in...

Students use punctuation and capitalization. In this grammar activity students use stop signs in the place of periods. Students cut out sentences and put stop signs in appropriate places. Students indicate capitalization where needed.

Who doesn't love ice cream? Make this delicious dessert with your class while learning about food preparation in the tenth lesson of this series. Teach about the importance of cleanliness and proper cooking techniques in order to avoid...

In the hustle and bustle of life in the classroom, it's easy for teachers to lose track of the standards they have taught, and those that still need to be addressed. This Common Core checklist provides educators with an easy-to-use...