Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Analysis, Analogy Basketball
Give grammar instruction a boost with a basketball-themed game all about analogies! Working in pairs, learners quiz each other's analogy knowledge testing how many they can complete and earn the most points.
Curated OER
SciPod Studies
Have fun preparing a science podcast. After reviewing vocabulary, learners record audio files to create science vocabulary podcasts for particular units of study. A clever way to incorporate technology.
Skyscraper Museum
Building a Skyscraper
Creating buildings that reach hundreds of feet into the sky is no easy task. The third instructional activity in this series begins with four activities that engage young architects in exploring the major challenges that are faced when...
Curated OER
Writing Newsletters!
A reading of Gail Gibbons’ Deadline! leads to a discussion of the differences between newspapers and newsletters. Class members then choose a favorite topic and create the front page for their own newsletter.
Skyscraper Museum
Changes in a City Over Time
Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final lesson in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings made of Wall...
Curated OER
Butterflies Fly!
Chopin was a lovely composer who played the piano masterfully. Third graders are introduced to Chopin, his piano sounds, triple meter, music patterns, movement, and the waltz. They listen to his music while hearing the story Butterflies...
Curated OER
Lesson Mystery: The Game is Afoot
Learners enter and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and hard-boiled detectives in this unit on mysteries. They review and analyze the ""Whodunit Requirements" and the "Mystery Contract" that accompany this lesson. Each student...
Curated OER
Fluency Passages, 3rd Grade
What would it be like to travel in a covered wagon? Learn about the life of a pioneer with a short informational reading passage. Kids read four paragraphs about traveling in a covered wagon and how it is different than traveling today,...
Curated OER
Tattling and Correcting Cards and Panels
When is it okay to correct others and report their mistakes? Here you'll find a tattling and correcting game in which learners draw cards describing a variety of infraction scenarios, and then ask questions to determine whether it is...
Curated OER
Survey Says...
Young statisticians collect, organize, and present data to illustrate responses to a survey question. They write and conduct the survey. They finish by presenting the results in the form of a graph.
Curated OER
Ages in Stages: An Exploration of the Life Cycle based on Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Human Development
Examine Erikson's chart on the various stages one goes through growing up. Individually, they write a paper on whether or not they fit into those categories and how they are different today. In groups, for each stage they role play the...
Curated OER
What's Mongolia Really Like?
Students discover the people of Mongolia. In this social studies lesson, students look at the Mongolian nomadic culture by reading a letter written by a member of the Peace Corps. They describe the different types of communities found in...
All Things PLC
Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts
Considering creating a Profession Learning Community at your school? Here's a seven-page glossary of key terms and concepts, everything from action orientation and adaptive to values and vision, that all members should know to...
Curated OER
Special Accommodations
This accommodations template provides a checklist of special accommodations that may be required for special needs learners in six areas: attention, academic, behavior, testing, speech/language, and OT/PT. Space is also provided for...
Curated OER
Creating a Wild Family Album
Third graders choose an animal to research and create a portfolio about that animal that includes information from at least three resources, a graphic organizer, maps, food webs, and captioned pictures.
Curated OER
Testing... Testing...
Students demonstrate critical- and creative-thinking skills to develop test questions. They write clear test questions or statements using correct grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.
Curated OER
Presenting Your Case
Pupils write letter from historical figure's point of view using proper letter writing conventions, write about two props/artifacts that are representative of their subject's life, and use Internet resources to gather images to use in...
Curated OER
Appliqué Bedcover
Students examine the process of creating patriotic American appliqué designs. They research American patriotic appliqué quilts, list American symbols, and design and create their own paper appliqué designs.
Curated OER
Lines Of Connection
We need the help of your history detectives! After giving them a set of questions to answer, reading groups must create their own timeline of the events. Then, as a class, have each group present their timelines. What is different? Why...
Curated OER
Basic Visual Language
Students gain knowledge of the basics of visual communication. They are introduced to the three fundamental elements of visual language. Those are: camera angle, lighting, and compositions. Students video each other from different angles...
Curated OER
The Week That Was
Students complete a weekly writing assignment that documents their writing progress throughout the year. Each week, students write a paragraph in response to a prompt or a synopsis of the week's events.
Curated OER
The Alphabet Garden
Third graders transplant, tend and observe a plant for each letter of the alphabet in a school garden. They work individually to research and select a plant that will grow in their local climate. Students then care for and observe the...
Curated OER
Combining Sentences Using Plural Possessive Nouns
Does your pupils’ writing present the probability that they need practice with the plural possessive? Help is here! Learners combine pairs of sentences using a plural possessive noun. An answer key is provided.