Curated OER
The French in Texas
Fourth graders use Internet to examine early French exploration and settlement in Texas, and write journal entries from point of view of 17th Century French settler, French or Spanish explorer, or Native American whose land was taken.
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Grown-ups at Play
Students realize that adults entertain themselves at work and in their private lives and that much of adult play, like children's play, is part of adults' folklife and that they play in various folk groups. They consider the elite,...
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Teams in the Field
Students conduct team interviews outside the classroom, either within the school or beyond, as part of a fieldwork project. They use reasoning skills as they formulate questions, plan, predict, hypothesize, and speculate about the...
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Go, West, Pack Light!
Students investigate the hardships related to pioneer life and the Wagon Train. They listen to an excerpt from the book "Little House on the Prairie," and discuss the hardships faced by pioneers travelling west. In small groups...
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Stories of the Wrights' Flight
Learners examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.
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Majestic Murals
Albert Bierstadt is a highly celebrated artist who was able to capture the beauty of the American landscape. The class will first learn how Bierstadt explored America during the 1800s and painted the majestic countryside. Then, they will...
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Pack your Parfleche!
Imagine you are a Plains Indian, a nomad getting ready to follow a herd of buffalo. Now imagine what you would have to pack for your trip. Little ones examine images of a traditional parfleche (packing box), and then create packing lists...
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What Kind of Vessel Are You?
This is a strange question; but what kind of vessel would you be and why? After examining images of a large Inca jug, the class sets to writing a creative narrative that answers that very interesting question. They start by researching...
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Learning About Tint and Shade - Van Gogh
Young scholars paint a picture inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night, using various tones of the color blue. Students journal their thoughts and feelings about the painting and then analyzing a few questions given. Young scholars title...
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The French in Texas
Fourth graders gain a broad understanding of early French exploration and settlement in Texas. They access websites imbedded in this plan. Using their notes, 4th graders work alone or with a partner to create an illustrated journal with...
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Types of Popular Music
Students listen to different types of music, such as bluegrass, rap and blues. They identify different styles of music and musical instruments. They discuss how the music reflects culture.
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Just "Who" are the Three Little Pigs?
Fourth graders use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast various versions of the story The Three Little Pigs. They write a Cinquain, and then act out their version of the Three Little Pigs in a skit.
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Readers Theatre using an Indonesian folktale
Students read a short play based on the Indonesian folktale Cicak and Kancil and complete related activities.
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The Seasonal Round and The Cycle of Life
Learners identify important dates in the life of the school and the community through reserach and interviewing. They identify important dates in the state and nation and research various holidays and special occasions. Students design...
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Acadie -- Alive and Well!
Pupils examine the culture of Acadian through the paintings of Robert Harris. Using the internet, they read examples of Acadian history through primary source documents. As a class, they continue to share stories orally by pretending to...
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Cool School Tools
Students outline several objects such as glue bottles, large paint brushes, scissors, etc. They add a few details to each object such as labels, handles, etc. and then draw two vertical lines and two horizontal lines across the page.
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Parts of a Whole
Fourth graders explore fractions through the analysis of various paintings. They view and discuss paintings by Picasso and Seurat, discuss the fractional examples in the paintings, and create a bar graph.
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Teaching the Language of Thinking
Use explicit instruction of academic language to strengthen student comprehension
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It's All Greek and Latin to Me!
Give your pupils a skill they can use for life by introducing the use and comprehension of Latin and Greek root words.
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ABC Big Book
Young scholars create a book with each page representing a letter in the alphabet.
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Sole People
Explore the African American inventor Jan Ernst Matzeliger and create a "sole" painting.
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Leaf Stencil Design
Students design a pattern from a single shape and use overlapping to create color blends. They experiment with the effects of using a stencil.
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Carbondale: The Biography of a Coal Town
Students use a brief history of the growth and decline of the anthracite region in the state to create a photograph and map "peak shaped" time line. They practice map and photo analysis strategies to "read" photographs and maps.
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Making Paper
Students make paper from recycled paper. The student estimates, counts, and measures he amount of paper consumed in a classroom daily. They discover that if we use too much paper, it fills up landfills. Some activities they are doing...