Curated OER
Who Did It?
Middle schoolers explore how forensic science is used in criminal investigations. They learn that for the next few days that are going to try to solve a crime that took place in the classroom. Students are given a story to read about the...
Curated OER
Personal Narrative Paragraphs: Class Quilt
Begin this activity by asking third graders to bring from home pieces of cloth that represent something important to them. (Have extras for students who need them.) They reflect on important events in their lives, compose narrative...
Curated OER
Casual Patterns in Ecosystems
Ecology explorers or beginning biologists view a time-lapse film of decaying strawberries. They discuss how decomposition occurs and what factors might affect the rate of decay. Alone, the lesson plan is lacking engaging attributes....
Curated OER
Extra, Extra Read all about E!
Students examine the letter 'e'. Through instruction and modeling they explore the sound the letter makes, how the letter is written, etc. They recite tongue twisters and use letterboxes to write 'e' words. They pick out short /e/ words...
Curated OER
Be a Detective - Is it a Letter or a Word?
Students identify and differentiate letters and words.
Curated OER
Be a Manners Detective
Students fill out a sticker chart and identify behaviors for completing nice manners. In this nice manners lesson plan, students discuss behaviors that are nice.
Curated OER
Hands-On Investigation!
Learners read, analyze, and solve a mystery using problem-solving skills. They explore the History Detective website, discuss the difference between clues and red herrings, complete a dot-to-dot sheet, take notes in a detective...
Curated OER
'Twasn't the Night Before Christmas
Students describe the elements that make up particular writers' styles. Small groups then choose an author, write something in his or her style, and invite other groups to play 'literary detective' in identifying whose style they have...
Curated OER
The Gingerbread Boy Comes Alive
Students make cut-out gingerbread cookies. After reading "The Gingerbread Boy", their cookies "disappear" and students must make predictions and draw conclusions about what happened to their cookies.
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
Fourth graders read the book Talkin' About Bessie and write a paragraph about the author's purpose. In this author's purpose lesson plan, 4th graders include examples from the story.
Curated OER
Learning about Maps and Colors
First graders discuss "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and his drawings. In this neighborhood geography lesson, 1st graders learn to detect and classify places on a map including their home. Students recognize their address as a specific...
Curated OER
Vision Of The Future
Students investigate ways in which new vision tests and technologies can be used to help detect and correct vision problems. They begin by reading the Times article, Software May Replace the Eye Chart on the Wall. They stage a medical...
Curated OER
Phytoplankton and Ocean Color
Fifth graders identify function of phytoplankton in the biospere by conducting experiments and simulations and reading for information. They detect the presence of phytoplankton in bodies of water by examining ocean in satellite images...
Curated OER
Playing And Writing Music Basics for the Guitar
Students view DVD "Greatest Guitar God Guide Video Primer," examine and demonstrate understanding of layout of fret board, practice basic fingering patterns, play simple melodies using E and B strings, write original melody, and practice...
Curated OER
Mystery Writing Lesson Plans
Introduce your class to the genre of mystery. Included is a vocabulary list, a rubric, and a sample mystery story called "Lethal Lesson." There are very limited directions on what to do with these resources, so you will need to plan some...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Twits Get the Shrinks
Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer the...
Curated OER
Word Detectives!
Students recognize the short vowel e in written and spoken language. Through matching activities, students discriminate the short vowel e from the long vowel o. They associate the phoneme with its letter representation and identify the...
Curated OER
Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
Curated OER
This is Your Rock, This is My Rock
Students study the identity of rocks and minerals that can be found in Utah. They examine the characteristics that identify the rocks and minerals by using a hand lens and write them down on an index card. They role play as detectives by...
Curated OER
Chocolate and Ice Cream Across the Curriculum
Sixth graders in a special education class discuss excerpts of two stories and read biographical information on the authors. In groups, they read the full text of both stories and try to solve the mystery as they read. They practice...
Curated OER
Jason's Gold: Chapter 9
Students collect details from chapter 9 of the book Jason's Gold and connect them back to the author's purpose of the book. In this details lesson plan, students listen to a read aloud where they discuss the details with the teacher as...
Curated OER
Car Adverts: Tell It Like It is
Students explore the strategies and bias that are sometimes used in advertising with a particular focus on automobile advertising. Working in groups, they read several car ads and discuss the bias, opinion and stereotyping in the ads as...
Curated OER
O, Do You Know?
Students identify the short /o/ sound in this lesson. They discover that the "o" is shaped like a magnifying glass, and are "detectives" looking for the /o/ sound in words. They listen to "No, David!" and identify the short /o/ sound...
Curated OER
Abra-kadabra-kazam /a//a//a/, POOF!
First graders discover that each letter of the alphabet has a sound then detect the /a/ sound represented by the letter a. They pretend to be magicians and say, "Abra-kadabra-kazam! POOF!" emphasizing the /a/ sound and then repeat an /a/...