Students identify the types of transformations in their lives. As a class, they determine the ones they have control over and which ones they do not. They practice solving problems in math and oral communication that they are faced with...

Fifth graders develop compositions on self-selected topics. They choose a topic based upon their ability. Individual pupils earn points for each activity completed. Students use descriptive writing as they support their composition...

Fifth graders analyze a nursery rhyme to explore the writing process. In this writing process instructional activity, 5th graders recite Humpty Dumpty and chart the plot of the story. Students select their own nursery rhyme and write a...

Students investigate the elements found in a media image. The image is used to compose a descriptive paragraph. They exchange papers to discuss the writing and make changes using constructive criticism. Students also make connections...

Students review the concept of silent reading. Through modeling and guided practice, they explore five steps/rules of summarizing. In groups, they read an article and then, using the summarization rules and skills, write an effective...

Students one main goal when reading is to comprehend, and one strategy to improve reading comprehension is summarization. As students begin reading expository texts, it is vital for them to be able to pick out and summarize the main...

Students investigate dog breeds and write a short story from a dog's perspective. In this dog research and writing lesson, students watch the film, "Dog: The Early Years. They apply critical thinking skills to determine which type of dog...

Learners explore biology by researching birds in class. In this raven identification lesson, students utilize the Internet to identify the anatomy, habits and habitat of ravens. Learners write descriptive paragraphs about ravens and read...

Students write a descriptive paragraph. In this writing lesson, students define elaboration and discuss the characteristics of an elaborate paragraph. Students write a paragraph that contains vivid adjectives, strong verbs and exact nouns.

Students explore the topic of summarizing. They read the book, Dolphins at Daybreak, to practice summarizing. They determine what information is important and choose sentences to summarize the passages they read. They write a summary...

Students create a layered book about the information they learn about the Western region of the United States. In this Western states lesson plan, students create a book about the land, economy, and culture.

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...

Students write a paragraph, make lists, draw, and brainstorm things about themselves, their goals, and their past. In this all about me lesson plan, students recall information about themselves, and interview others in order to write...

Students recognize predictable patterns in literature. They use the selected pattern to create their own writing using the same type of literary pattern. The new writing is proofread by other students and the editing is done until the...

In this landmarks worksheet, students circle the correct letter for the location of each landmark and write about one of the landmarks. Students complete 10 multiple choice questions and 1 writing prompt.

Students brainstorm animals with unusual characteristics such as a giraffe with a short neck or a zebra without stripes. They write paragraphs about their animals and work in peer editing groups to refine their stories.

Students examine the steps of summarizing text. They silently read an article, then read and discuss the steps to summarizing a passage. Students then write a summary of the article they read, and as a class discuss the main idea,...

Learners discover police procedures by filling out crime reports.  In this government lesson, students discuss the benefits of historical reports pertaining to criminals and victims.  Learners listen to an officer of the law...

Students participate in a cultural exchange program with a Native American school in Winnebago, Nebraska. They conduct research on a variety of Native American tribes, prepare a presentation that represents the culture of their school...

Students choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...

Students revise a recent draft of writing to make the content more specific. They trace their hands on a large sheet of paper. Students, in the palms of their traced hand print, write in the general topic of the writing draft. On the...

Learners work in groups to paraphrase an article.  In this paraphrasing lesson plan, each group is assigned a paragraph to paraphrase in one sentence.  Other groups critique the sentences to make sure each is...

Fifth graders explore communication by analyzing manners. In this social skills activity, 5th graders review the different forms of communication and how to present yourself in a phone conversation, face to face meeting, e-mail, etc....

Students practice reading a text and summarizing it for their classmates. As a class, they are introduced to various ways of summerizing material and use them to summarize two articles. They are asked questions to reinforce what they...