Curated OER
Narrative Writing
A perfect nonfiction writing activity for the beginning of the year, the Life Line helps you get to know your pupils better and helps the children get to know one another. Later in the year the Star of the Week writing activity...
Curated OER
My Family Crest
Students design a detailed drawing of their family crest. They incorporate imagery that's relevant to their family's life. Students consider the variety os shapes for the family crest- circles, ellipses, and triangles. They represent...
Curated OER
Reading the Coyote School News: Lives of Ranchers in Southern Arizona
Fourth graders examine the effects of Mexican-American ranching on life today.
Curated OER
Building Vocabulary Quadrant Charts
This clever language arts lesson invites pupils to read verses of poetry, then construct vocabulary quadrants on index cards. The cards are divided up into 4 sections: Word, Meaning, Opposite, Example. They choose a difficult word from...
Curated OER
Maus: Problematic Situation Strategy
Do people really need “a newer, bigger Holocaust” in order to change? Or is it possible that by making text-to-self connections to the stories of others people that they can change? In order to connect to Art Spiegelman’s Maus, class...
Curated OER
Prince Ibrahima
Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...
Curated OER
School-Home Links: Compound Words #2
Provide elementary learners additional practice with compound words. First they identify the two independent words used to create a compound word, and then they search for examples in their daily life. Where can you read or hear compound...
Curated OER
Find the Shapes in a Picture
Use coloring to remind young learners that geometry is all around them! A simple image of a house, sun, and tree becomes the format for several basic shapes. The instructions direct scholars to trace and color each shape using a...
Curated OER
Definition Poems
“Hope is a tissue, wiping away your problems and fears.” Use a Definition Poem Web worksheet to model for your class how to craft a free verse poem based on an emotion. After brainstorming topics, groups use the sheet to make comparisons...
DePaul University
Settlement
Early settlers in the American Midwest experienced constant struggle. This reading passage describes for young learners the hardships of homesteaders as they journeyed west and sought to start a new life. When finished, students identify...
Curated OER
Cycles of Life
Students begin their study of insect life cycles by listening to a read aloud of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They learn the vocabulary of metamorphosis including egg, larva, pupa, chrysalis, and adult. They observe actual...
Curated OER
Remembering Waiting
Students draw a pastel drawing and compose a narrative of when they had to wait for something. In this pastel drawing lesson plan, students study and discuss the pastel drawing Waiting by Edgar Degas, discuss the story it tells, and...
Curated OER
Proper Perspective
Students consider what makes a famous painting realistic, then examine a theoretical debate about how Renaissance masters created their true-to-life images. They create their own realistic drawings.
Curated OER
The Murals of Diego Rivera
Students examine the life and work of Diego Rivera. As a class, they discuss the importance of his murals and compare them to other murals from Philadelphia. To end the lesson, they draw a picture of a person based on a newspaper human...
Education World
My Pumpkin Story
Have young pumpkin carvers use technology to create a unique pumpkin face and write a short story about the special characteristics of their pumpkin.
Curated OER
Celebration Scene
Art often captures an event or emotion from a specific time and place in history. Explore Painting of Bear and Sun Dances with your class to study how dance and celebrations were important aspects of Native American life. After...
Poetry Class
Tackling Climate Change
Get your kids thinking about climate change with a series of activities that include creating a ditty box poem for the planet, a poem that identifies concepts or objects they would want to preserve.
Baylor College
Comparing Sizes of Microorganisms
Kids compare what printed text looks like with the naked eye and under magnification. They discuss the extremely small scale that must be used to measure the size. They learn about the micrometer unit, then draw scale models of a variety...
National Woman's History Museum
How Do We Remember and Honor the Contributions of Women in Public Space?
Public art, especially monuments and memorials, are designed to celebrate and honor those who have made significant contributions to a community or even an entire nation. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to consider who is represented...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: “How Do You Get Through Hard Times?” Chalk Talk
Hold a discussion in writing about coping strategies to prepare your pupils for reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman. After journaling, pupils come up in an organized fashion and write...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Core Analysis Frame: Poetry
Dig deep into any piece of poetry with a set of analysis questions. Ponder the content, form, and language of poetry and provide some question for critique. The first two pages include general questions, and the remainder of the document...
United K12
Jan Brett Author Study
Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study.
Curated OER
Ocean Scale Drawing
Students explain how to make pictures larger using a grid system by transferring scales images from 1/2 -1 inch to 6 inches - 1 foot. They create life-size scale drawings of ocean life studied in class using a grid system.
Curated OER
Signs of Everyday Life
Middle schoolers examine how Keith Haring used signs in his artwork and explore signs in everyday life. They list the signs they see during the day, and invent a new way to sign their name as a tag or picture-sign.