Curated OER
Bark, Meow, Purr, Snort - Oh, What a Voice!
Students brainstorm differences between dogs and cats. They discuss the elements that make a story effective and write a story with a beginning, middle and end in the voice of a cat or dog.
Curated OER
Say What? (A Murder Mystery)
Students practice their performance, expression, and logical thinking skills by asking questions and speaking in correct tones. They attempt to meet IEP requirements in these areas by presenting murder mystery clues using the appropriate...
Curated OER
We All Need Speed Limits
Students consider fluency and speed of reading. In this speed limits lesson, students discuss the importance of speed when reading and how the rate affects comprehension and listening skills. Teacher models think aloud as a strategy.
Curated OER
What's that Mammal?
Learning by example is always effective if it's paired with independent practice opportunities! Model good reading practices for your class. Learners listen to the teacher model examples of reading with voice, expression, and tone...
Curated OER
Singing: Mi, So, La
Little ones learn the tones mi, so, and la by singing an answer to a sung question. They play a name game to identify beat, then discuss songs with no beat. If there is time during this musical instruction lesson, they dance about the...
Curated OER
Singing: "I Mailed Myself to You"
Keeping a steady beat, singing soft, loud, and in unison - sounds like music class to me! First graders practice these skills while listening to the song, "I Mailed Myself to You" for Valentine's Day. This is a simple and age appropriate...
Curated OER
Reading Aloud
Reading aloud is a great way to engage learners in pacing and pronunciation! They practice using voice, pitch and intonation correctly. The teacher introduces the lesson by example, correctly stressing punctuation and using appropriate...
Curated OER
Hoops! There It Is!
Fifth graders view and discuss the use of voice in writing through the in-your-face, aggressive, powerful messages of the Nike advertisements and the book Hoops as examples of the intensity words can have and how voice is expressed. A...
National Humanities Center
Teaching Emily Dickinson: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
Three of Emily Dickinson's poems, "I like to see it," "Because I could not stop for Death," and "We grow accustomed to the Dark," provide instructors with an opportunity to model for class members how to use close reading strategies to...
Road to Grammar
Five Presentation Tips
Talking in front of others can be intimidating, especially when you aren't speaking in your native language. Put your English language learners at ease before a class presentation. They can follow these tips to give relaxed and effective...
Curated OER
Let's Be Emotion Detectors!
Students observe and demonstrate how to read with expression. They discuss the types of emotions and expressions to use while reading, and identify the appropriate punctuation for a variety of sentences. Students then write a sentence...
Curated OER
Real World English Pronunciation
Young scholars explore various verbal and nonverbal ways to improve their English pronunciation. They create a short biography and practice reading them with an English accent, using appropriate language, intonation, and body language.
Curated OER
Word Pairs
Fifth graders practice the trait of word choice and create a narrative writing with appropriate word choices. They work in pairs to write a story using as many word pairs from their imaginations as they can.
Curated OER
Making Polite Conversation
Young scholars become familiar with the polite forms of conversation that are used in this country. They role play making requests using polite forms. Students write an appropriate thank you not to a host or hostess. This lesson plan...
Curated OER
African American Voices
Students investigate the many forms of Haitian art. They compare the art of some different cultures, religions, countries, and philosophies. Students also read the biography of an artist to build context for a particular piece of...
Curated OER
Classroom Singing
Students sing a song performing rhythms accurately with a steady beat, pitches accurately with excellent intonation, and a clear, focused tone in this music lesson for the high school Choir class. The lesson includes grading rubric.
Curated OER
Basic Letter Response to a Writing Prompt
Students respond to a writing prompt using appropriate letter format. For this letter writing lesson, students discuss the format for letter writing and use the worksheet format to write the heading, inside address, and salutation....
Curated OER
Oh Shenandoah
Young scholars sing Oh Shenandoah with correct notes, diction, a characteristic choral tone, appropriate style and have an understanding of the history of the lyrics. The version of Oh Shenandoah is for an SSA choir and was arranged by...
Curated OER
First Things First
Fourth graders complete a narrative writing (focusing on voice) and an illustration about their earliest memory. After listening to a book that sets the stage, 4th graders work in small groups to brainstorm moments they can remember and...
Curated OER
Expression, Expression, Expression
Students read orally with expression in this lesson. They read sentences stressing different emotions with appropriate expression. The teacher models expressive vs. non-expressive reading, and they practice with a partner. Their...
Curated OER
Reading Express
Learners practice acquiring the skill of reading with expression and emotion. They read and interpret the story, "The Little Red Riding Book." Students read the story once without expression and emotion and then once with expression and...
Curated OER
A Case of Innovation
Young scholars use strategies to comprehend technical writing. They write reports with great detail, supporting material, and clear vocabulary. They incorporate source materials into their speaking and writing and use voice, tone, and...
Curated OER
Exploring Careers
The world is full of possibilities for your ELLs. Help them explore their career options with a lesson that incorporates Internet research and expository writing. Not only will they learn more about their careers of choice, but both...
Virginia Department of Education
Elaborating with Showing, Not Telling
This engaging activity is a great change of pace for the classroom. The activity starts with a simple message on the board “The teacher is angry.” The instructor is to stomp around, drop books and glare—anything to show anger. The...