Students organize facts about Harriet Tubman. For this writing lesson, students research Harriet Tubman, sort facts about her into two categories, and use the information they have found to write about her life in complete paragraphs.

Second graders work in groups to gather information from a factual paragraph on the topic of ants. They demonstrate taking notes by selecting 3 or 4 important key words in each sentence and write it on a note card to compile summary...

Second graders research the Solar System using the Internet to complete questions. They sing The Planet Song and study the names of the planets using an acrostic poem. They write descriptive paragraphs with a partner with whom they check...

High schoolers read a series of statements made by students about the hazards and benefits of various foods. They distinguish the "facts: from "opinions" in the dialogue, summarize the facts in a short paragraph, and write an essay...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently they...

Students explore four Native American tribes from Nevada. In this Native American history instructional activity, students identify and generate important corresponding attributes of the Southern Paiute, Northern Paiute, Washoe, and...

Second graders study the criteria for biographies and the vocabulary that is specific person and time. They take notes, write e-mail and gather information on a famous person.

Students summarize a selected piece of nonfiction text as a group. After reviewing the instructors preferred method for summarizing information by identifying the main idea and supporting details, groups write a summary paragraph of a...

The class reads several newspaper articles and analyze them for purpose, style, tone, length and organization. They interview each other about important events in their lives and write journalistic articles.

Students discover how to summarize content knowledge from varied resources in creating a presentation. They learn about the relationships between human beings and their environment as they reflect upon the challenges of big-wave surfing.

What makes a speech effective? Middle schoolers critique a speech for content and presentation. They view a video of a middle school student presenting an informational speech, They outline the content of the speech and critique the...

Fourth graders explore the history of the Richfield Springs area through a guest speaker, historical pictures and postcards, and narratives from various histories of the area.

Students examine the devastation floods may cause. In this current events lesson, students analyze a photograph of a flood scene to determine what was taking place when the photograph was taken. Students respond to the provided...

Students read two different articles which present the scientific issue of asthma, the causes, and the rising rates in our society. Students read for facts and examine whether or not the scientists have a political point of view....

Students develop a rubric or scoring guide to assess newpaper articles. They rate the story and write the reasons for the rating. An Essay Scoring Guide is attached for reference.

Fourth graders examine the contributions made by famous Americans during the American Revolution. They conduct research using a variety of resources, and create an informational page in the form of "Incredible Books" to contribute to a...

Learners summarize a piece of literature using the technique "mapping" in this lesson. The technique involves 6 main steps: delete unimportant information, delete repeated information, substitute easy terms, add a series of event with...

Fifth graders research fast food options and write an essay on the topic. In this fast food lesson, 5th graders pretend they are a babysitter and research fast food restaurant options to eat at while they are baby-sitting. Students write...

Students view a PBS Nature program about big-wave surfing and participate in a class discussion about their experiences with surfing, body boarding, or body surfing. Students create a drawing based on a reading and post their art around...

Students review how Ben and Jerry's ice cream is made to begin the lesson. Using the internet, they view a timeline on the history of the company. They use a software program to make an ice cream cone and color the ice cream as they...