Reed Novel Studies
Redwall: Novel Study
Many dream of a place of refuge to escape from the harsh world. That is exactly what Redwall is for the creatures of the forest. Redwall is a fantasy novel that tells of the trouble that comes to a quiet and peaceful forest....
Curated OER
Poetry In Song
Investigate poetry and song lyrics with your class. They will identify poetic elements in their favorite modern music. Then they will play their song choice aloud for their classmates.
EngageNY
Getting to Know Esperanza (Chapter 2: “Las Uvas/Grapes”)
Delve into Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan with close reading and evidence-based, text-dependent questions. Part of a unit series, this well-sequenced, Common Core designed instructional activity draws on material from the...
EngageNY
Gathering Evidence and Drafting a Two-Voice Poem (Chapter 13: "Los Duraznos/Peaches")
Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...
EngageNY
Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...
Berkshire Museum
Adopt a Schoolyard Tree
Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...
Curated OER
Play Ball: A Major League Review Game
Apply the game of baseball to a fun review activity. Pupils earn a "base" for each subject question that they answer correctly. This activity can be modified and used for any subject area, including math, social studies, and language arts.
Curated OER
Picturing Text
Learners, through observation and discussion about the Coffin of Djed Mut, make connections between hieroglyphs and the English writing system. They create their own visual story using symbols that represent words.
California Academy of Science
Poetic Reflections
Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...
Classics for Kids
"Mars" from The Planets
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...
Curated OER
Creatasaurus
Upper elementary children still are intrigued by dinosaurs. Here is a dinosaur lesson that is geared toward their age group! The learners consider a list of prefixes and suffixes. Using the list, they can analyze the names of their...
Tech Museum of Innovation
Energy at Play
Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some...
Illustrative Mathematics
Grass Seedlings
Plants never grow at the same rate, and that is the antithesis for this word problem involving multiplication of fractions. On the activity, Raul notices that Pablo's seedlings are 1 1/2 times as tall, and Celina's seedlings are 3/4 as...
Curated OER
Flora and Fauna as Figures of Speech
Students view artwork in manuscript pages depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing, such as those found in the Mira calligraphiae monumenta in the Getty Museum.
Curated OER
Name That Phrase
Students identify the American language, how it has changed and effected culture, and become familiar with idioms. In this American language lesson, students study the eight parts of speech, identify literal and figurative speech, study...
Curated OER
Cleopatra
Students explore, analyze and study Abstraction through an ancient Greek sculpture and then create a self-portrait utilizing geometric shapes. They actively seek how to connect the past to the present through the medium of sculpture via...
Curated OER
Lincoln Meets Gates
Students research historical figures and create presentations for their research using technology tools. In this historical figures lesson, students use the provided links to research historical figures in America. Students then use...
Curated OER
Proportion of the Human Form
Young scholars discover proportions of the Human Body. In this anatomy lesson plan, students create replicas of the Human body using nothing but paper and glue. Young scholars share their creations with the entire class.
Curated OER
Biography
Students choose a historical figure in which they research their life. They are to write their biography. They should take the written version and transform it into a video which tells the person's life. They share their presentations...
Curated OER
Introducation to Vocabulary for a Lesson about Communities
Students practice using new vocabulary they learn about communities. In this communities vocabulary lesson plan, students use synonyms, context clues, and relevant content to unlock the meaning of new vocabulary words.
Curated OER
American Idols
Students design a biographical web for a famous American figure. They identify key research questions and organize information as a prewriting strategy. This can be done individually or as a class, depending on your needs and students.
Curated OER
Editing and Revision Made Easy
Fifth graders use computer to correct mistakes in written sentences.
Curated OER
Anagram Family Time
Students unscramble four anagrams by spelling the words correctly and then they figure out what the words have in common. They participate in this activity as a whole class, in pairs, or individually with spelling or vocabulary words.
Curated OER
YANG AND THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR
Students perform a web scavenger hunt to find information about the author of the book, YANG THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR. They develop an understanding of how writers use personal experience to add voice to their writing.