EngageNY
Close Reading: Paragraphs 1–5 of “Water Is Life”
Be more specific. Scholars take a look at domain-specific vocabulary by discussing an anchor chart. They then look at vocabulary words recorded from paragraphs one through five in Water of Life. After analyzing the vocabulary used in the...
Curated OER
Fantastic Journeys
Students design an amusement park attraction based on a fantastic journey from literature, film, or their own imaginations. Each design team must submit a formal proposal. The proposal should include: a two- or three-dimensional visual...
Curated OER
Determining Importance
Students hone their skills at identifying the principle story in a work of art and text. Through discussion, students assess the central and supporting stories of a work of art that is characterized by multiple layers of action and meaning.
Curated OER
Beware the Ides of March
Sixth graders pretend to be the oracle warning Caesar about March 15th. They write a letter to Julius Caesar warning him of the consequences of going to the Senate building on March 15th. Students identify three causes and effects that...
Curated OER
Introduction to Symbolism
Your young readers might know that the stars on the American flag symbolize the fifty states, but what symbols best represent who your students are as people? Use this SMART board presentation to guide learners through an activity about...
Curated OER
Be Your Own Chief Editor
The value of this punctuation and grammar lesson plan is in the SMART board presentation, which takes pupils through the proofreading process. It would be a good way to introduce the idea of proofreading in your class before beginning a...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Illustrating Text
Ideas like this are highly effective for helping build better reading comprehension. The class listens to an excerpt from a grade-appropriate text, and they discuss what clues or words helped them visualize the scene. They then read a...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Fishbowl Discussion
Is it worth it? Scholars complete the end of unit assessment by participating in a fishbowl discussion to consider if the benefits of DDT outweigh the consequences. They reflect on their discussions by completing an exit ticket.
Curated OER
Halloween Tales
At the beginning of this Halloween lesson, learners generate a list of spooky characters and words that they will use when creating their original stories. Teams of 3-4 members create the stories together. The lesson includes a handy...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Making Dances From Stories
After reading a short story, learners will create dances that show homophones and verbs. Their dance sequences involve three verbs and transition movements in between each verb. Tip: Have the class dance out the sequence of events from...
School District of Palm Beach County
Framed Paragraphs characterization, problem and solution, symbolism, conflict
Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...
Curated OER
"User Friendly" Cause and Effect
Bring literature to life with your SMART board and this literary analysis lesson. While reading "User Friendly" by T. Ernesto Bethancourt (from the Holt Elements of Literature textbook by Kylene Beers), have your class discuss the theme...
Curated OER
Conflict Resolution Lesson Plan
What is a bully? Romeo and Juliet's Act 3 Scene 1 gives eighth and ninth graders the perfect opportunity to explore bullying. After doing some Internet research on bullying characteristics, groups reenact the scene to decide who is the...
Museum of Disability
A Picture Book of Helen Keller
Teach your class about Helen Keller and her accomplishments with a reading comprehension lesson based on A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David A. Adler. As individuals read, they answer discussion questions about Helen Keller and the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Let’s Count!: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Challenge young scholars with a counting-themed series of activities. Your counters will write invitations to a feast, create books about dinner parties and animals, design posters, draw pictures of their favorite peaceful places, and...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Down on the Farm: Challenge Activities (Theme 8)
Down on the Farm is the theme of this series of challenge activities. Extend your scholars' learning experience with engaging activities such as designing a farm, creating collages, writing poems and to-do lists, and playing dominoes.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Wheels Go Around: Challenge Activities (Theme 7)
Wheels go around is the theme of this series of challenge activities. Extend learning of making predictions and the reading comprehension skill, cause and effect, through grand conversations, poster designing, and writing books.
K5 Learning
Landforms
Valleys, mountains, and plateaus are just a few geographic landforms on our Earth. Read about these types and more in a brief landform passage. After reading, learners respond to six short answer comprehension questions.
Curated OER
Latin Roots Cern, Jur, Leg: Fill in the Blanks Quiz
MyVocabulary.com features three levels of words for each root; this fill-in-the-blanks quiz contains a word bank of beginner vocabulary containing the roots cern/cer/cre, jur/jus, and leg. You can print it out, or your learners can take...
Curated OER
Adapting "List/Group/Label" to Literature
Need a prereading activity in line with the Common Core Standards for Language? Although designed for grades 11 and 12, the procedure detailed in this resource could be used with most grade levels. Prior to reading, select 20 – 25 words...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Crow Boy
There is a difference between actions, motives, and the appearance of a character in a narrative text. Fourth graders explore character analysis through the dramatic arts. They create a series of movements, tableaus, and pantomimes to...
Curated OER
Natural Gas: An American Treasure
Do your fourth graders need extra practice with evaluating fact and opinion? An informative resource provides two reading passages in which learners distinguish sentences as fact or as opinion. Additionally, they determine how the...
Ontario
Critical Literacy—Media Texts
Media texts convey both overt and implied messages. As part of their study of media, class members analyze the language, form, techniques, and aesthetics in a variety of media texts.
EngageNY
Reading and Talking with Peers: A Carousel of Photos and Texts about Frogs
Frogs are the theme of a lesson plan that challenges scholars to examine photographs, read informational texts, then ask and answer questions. Scholars work collaboratelively as they rotate through stations, discuss their observations,...