National Council of Teachers of English
Writing Acrostic Poems with Thematically Related Texts in the Content Areas
Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem.
Curated OER
-Body in Motion - Axial and Locomotor
Students practice increasing their movement and dance vocabulary through axial motion and locomotor step skill-building. They work with a partner and create and perform short sequences utilizing the vocabulary their practicing. Each...
Curated OER
Making a Quilt
Students use vocabulary to describe the quilt making process. For this quilting lesson, students collect needed materials, sequence the steps for quilting and create an original peace quilt. Students write about their quilts.
Curated OER
Novel Guide for My Brother Sam is Dead
Fifth graders explore the effects of war. In this American Revolution lesson plan, 5th graders read My Brother Sam is Dead and complete the provided comprehension, characterization, and vocabulary activities
Curated OER
Writing
Students practice word processing skills while writing Haiku and diamonte poems. In this poetry computer lesson, students choose from a group of rainforest animals and write about their animal. Students write a narrative story. ...
Curated OER
Introduction to "The Secret School"
Fourth graders read The Secret School and define vocabulary in the text. In this Secret School activity, 4th graders recognize difficult text and are able to comprehend its meaning and answer questions.
Curated OER
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Third graders read Beverly Cleary's book "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" and then complete a series of extension activities. Students explore cause and effect, sequencing, related websites, grammar lessons and comparison skills.
Curated OER
Food Chain: what's for dinner?
Fourth graders identify where foods came from and sequence a food chain. In this food chain instructional activity, 4th graders define vocabulary related to food chains and order a food chain. Students follow the energy of a food chain....
Curated OER
“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help the...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: Text-Dependent Questions and Storyboard Draft: “You Can Do a Graphic Novel” Excerpt
Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...
Curated OER
Intermediate Guided Reading Lesson Plan for: Corn is Maize The Gift of the Indians
A lovely guided reading lesson awaits you and your students. They read the book,Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians, by Aliki, summarize the important events of the story, and describe how corn has helped develop culture in America.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Cricket's Supper
Interested in a special folktale to read with your class? Then this lesson might be for you. Readers will build an understanding of the food chain while creating a storyboard that includes the characters, setting, and plot of the story....
EngageNY
Writing a First Draft: Accessing Books Around the World Informative Paragraph
Supervise the final drafting of a well-organized paragraph by following the steps outlined in this plan. Using the included sample paragraph as a model, class members brainstorm criteria for quality work and then compose their paragraphs...
Curated OER
The Spider's Life Cycle
Students see that spiders have a life cycle, and reproduce by laying many eggs. We can count by ones, twos, fives, or as many as we want. They make two lists of animals on a chart.
Curated OER
Playground Greenup
Students document changes in the playground vegetation during the year by making drawings or taking digital photographs of grass, trees, bushes, weeds, and other vegetation. They study how the color of vegetation changes during different...
Curated OER
Planning a Road Trip!
Students generate plans for a fictitious road trip. For this time management lesson, students investigate the most effective way to travel the country arriving at specific cities. Students create their plans based on time and distance.
Scholastic
A Tale to Tell!
A creative spin occurs when one pupil acts as author Ann M. Martin. Using a Q & A at the back of her book A Dog's Life, other classmates ask the "author" questions. They discuss the reasons why they know the book is from a...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Informational Writing: Lesson 2 of 5
Introduce expository writing to your elementary learners. Young authors write a three-paragraph informational paper using the steps of the writing process. They follow guided lessons to experience each of five steps. Included are tons of...
For the Teachers
Cause and Effect Matrix
Study cause and effect in both literature and informational text with a lesson designed for several different reading levels. After kids review the concept of cause and effect, they read an article or story and note the causes and...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Create a Summary from an Expository Text
Children can learn to analyze expository or informational texts at nearly any age. This scaffolded and scripted resource provides teachers with the support needed to facilitate a thoughtful instructional activity on summarizing...
Curated OER
What Did You Do?
English learners practice using the past tense by participating in a time description activity. They identify the differences between verbs when they are used to describe current events or past events. Learners answer questions using...
Curated OER
Moby Dick Puppetry
Such an ambitious lesson! Third graders with special needs listen to an audio recording of the novel, Moby Dick. They stop often to discuss each of the main characters and analyze their actions in the story. They then make puppets of one...
Curated OER
Santa Claus Around the World
Learn about the legend of Santa Claus around the world in ESL holiday plan. In it, learners explore the many ways that Santa Claus is depicted in cultures around the world. There are some excellent masters included in the plan that help...
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Elements of Music—How do Composers Plan?
The introduction to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and the finale of his Symphony No. 4 provide young musicians with an opportunity to investigate the music elements composers employ to develop the themes they want to create. They compare the...