Curated OER
Reinvigorate Your Vocabulary
Eighth graders participate in a variety of activities to examine the meanings and roots of word derivatives and the meanings of words. Using context clues, they determine the meanings of words omitted from a passage and complete a prefix...
Curated OER
Using Context
Teams practice decoding and using context strategies to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. After verifying the meanings of words through the use of dictionaries, the Internet, thesauruses, and other sources, learners write the...
Judicial Learning Center
Law and the Rule of Law
We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Development
What is a root word? What is a prefix? Suffix? Use these questions to spark a discussion amongst your language art learners. Then, start by writing the word irresistible on the board and have teams of learners attempt to create new words...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Dictionary Drill
Investigate vocabulary terms related to communities. First your class generates a list of vocabulary terms related to the study of communities. Working in small groups, they compete in a dictionary drill to discover the meaning of the...
Curated OER
How To Use the Internet To Make Student Glossaries
Students use an internet dictionary to produce a glossary of words related to a particular subject area being studied. They choose the correct meaning of the word for their glossary, based on it's relationship to the subject matter being...
EngageNY
Resource Materials and Gathering Information: Reading Another “Choice” Text from the Research Folder
Look it up. Scholars use a dictionary and thesaurus to verify the meaning of the research vocabulary words they defined in the previous activity. They then use sticky notes to write a synonym for each word. Finally, individuals choose a...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions, Main Ideas, and Key Vocabulary about the Bullfrog
As your 3rd grade class finishes reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the eighth lesson plan of this unit helps readers from an understanding of the very specific information on the final page of the book. As with the entire unit,...
Curated OER
Nouns in a Story
Young scholars, assessing a variety of formatting tools with Microsoft Word, utilize a bank of vocabulary words to make a personal dictionary of nouns. They classify nouns for people, places, things and ideas and separate them into...
Curated OER
Spanish Influence on the Caribbean Islands
Students participate in a discussion about the Spanish influence on the Caribbean islands. They define the Spanish words in the book, Isla, and respond to a question about cultural influences in a response journal.
Curated OER
Locate Key Information in Nonfiction Text
Interpret nonfiction text with your class. Readers use key information found in nonfiction text to answer questions and problem solve. They utilize the chapter headings, diagrams, glossary, maps, and captions as well as the table of...
Curated OER
"Pray, Why Speakest Thou Thusly?"
Examine popular language and slang and how they have changed over the course of American history. Conduct Internet research, use an online interactive Colonial House website to translate 17th century language into 21st century language,...
Curated OER
Definition Expedition
Students study about three ways to define a term in technical writing, search the Web for scientific text, then copy and paste sections into a Word document. Finally, they use the highlighter feature of Word to highlight examples of...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Context Clues
Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. In this context clues instructional activity, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories...
Curated OER
Waste Management
Learners explore the topic of waste management. They define key vocabulary words, take a pre-quiz, complete a questionnaire, evaluate their own waste reduction habits, and write a short summary.
Curated OER
Dichotomous Keys
Students define the word dichotomous and explain why a dichotomous key is a useful tool in identifying different species. Then they look up words they are unfamiliar with or mollusk reference books so students can
learn the names of...
Curated OER
Oceans and Coasts
Young scholars explore the topic of marine pollution. They define key vocabulary words, list examples of marine pollution, complete a true/false handout, read an article, and participate in a class discussion.
Judicial Learning Center
Civil Rights and Equal Protection
Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...
Curated OER
Awesome Spelling
Students are introduced to spelling words as a whole class by viewing a PowerPoint. They spell the word, repeat and spell the word again as a whole class. Pupils create a sentence orally using the list of words. Students work in small...
Curated OER
Fall Similes and Metaphors
Learners interpret what a similies and metaphors are. They give examples of similies and metaphors. Pupils write different similies and metaphors using fall or autumn descriptive words. Students base their comparisons on facts, once they...
Curated OER
Explaining the Bill of Rights
Young scholars define the terms Bill of Rights and amendment. They successfully explain the meaning of each amendment of the Bill of Rights. Students work together in cooperative groups.
Curated OER
The Poet's Message-"The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes
Students analyze the poem, "The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes to gain a greater experience of how poets use language to create meaning, influence thinking and thus become pioneers of change in American society. They work on the...
Curated OER
Complete Metamorphosis
Young scholars use a map and colored pins to plot the migration path of Monarch butterflies. They use data found at the Journey North website. Commas are also used in the activity to show how they are put in a series of words using...
Curated OER
Like, Wow
Students read Hamlet. They read again and hunt for a word that appears 4 times. They identify the word "like" and define it. Volunteers act out the scene and they discuss the uses of the word like. They discuss the senses and reality in...