Curated OER
Reading and Activity Suggestions for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Students learn about characterization techniques in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In this Adventures of Tom Sawyeractivity, students write a description of one character through the eyes of another character and identify scenes...
Curated OER
Celebrate Abe Lincoln: A Primary Timeline Activity
Learners explore the qualities possessed by Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students create a timeline of events that shows why Abraham Lincoln could overcome obstacles to be come President. Learners create a book and...
Curated OER
A Dollar Goes A Long Way
Investigate life along the Old Spanish Trail! They visit websites and identify the history and environment. They create journals, dramatic enactments, and maps to discover the role individuals played in society. They also explore the...
Curated OER
Lesson Four: Comparatives and Superlatives
Put on your best smile, or a least a better one, for this lesson on superlatives and comparatives. English language learners first fill out a graphic organizer by finding other people in the class who are taller than they are, shorter...
Curated OER
Developing a Topic for Writing Using an Idea Web
Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...
Curated OER
Whale Song Acrostic
What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.
Perkins School for the Blind
What Would You Do If...?
What would you do if...? That's a great question, and, when posed to learners with visual impairments, a question that can foster concept development and speaking and problem-solving skills that relate to real-life situations. The...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 2, Lesson 18
Macbeth describes life as a light and a candle, suggesting it is fleeting and meaningless. Using the resource, scholars engage in an evidence-based discussion and complete a Quick Write about Shakespeare's use of figurative language in...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 1
Here's a fresh approach to the dreaded personal narrative required by most college applications. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the anchor text for a unit that, through modeling and guided practice exercises, encourages the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
George Washington: The Precedent President
Everyone knows that George Washington was the first president, but do your scholars know why that was so important? The lesson plan, the third in a sequence of three, allows learners to understand how George Washington set a precedent...
Curated OER
Pancakes, Pancakes (Elementary, Science)
Read Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomi De Paola then participate in different activities which practice skills such as English language development, using non-standard measurement, fine motor skills, dramatic play, and using our five senses.
Curated OER
Folk Tales for ESL Students
Using the folk tale "The Man, The Boy, and The Donkey" (linked in the lesson) and a SMART board, teachers can help pupils access multiple skills. Reading the story allows learners to create a timeline of the sequence of events based on...
Curated OER
A Sentence for Life
What is a sentence? Second graders will explore the components of a sentence in the ten lessons of this unit. The subject, predicate, the process of proofreading, punctuation, and sentence sequence are analyzed in this unit. Handouts and...
Curated OER
Making Cranberry Bread
While the preparation for this lesson plan is extensive, the results are well worth the effort. Prior to the lesson plan, Xerox the pictures from Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, collect the ingredients for Cranberry...
Curated OER
Word Washer Vowels
Here is a perfect activity for all your kinesthetic learners. They practice long and short vowel discrimination as they hang out the paper articles of clothing on a clothes line. They each take turns pulling word clothes out of a pretend...
Curated OER
The Tell-Tale Heart
Readers listen and critically read fictional prose to answer prediction questions at designated stopping points, and then they give a summary of the short story. This lesson is ideal for English language learners developing English...
Curated OER
The Big Sneeze
Young scholars participate in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Big Sneeze" by Ruth Brown. They develop a list of farm vocabulary, sequence the events of the story on a graphic organizer, act out...
Curated OER
Heraldry and Biography
Help learners discover more about their backgrounds. This family history activity includes links to sites about heraldry and family names. Begin by sharing your family history with the class and then allow learners to do some internet...
Curated OER
How To...
Students create "how to" presentations using speech skills, the Inpsiration educational software, digital cameras, and iMovie (or similar presentation software) in this technology-based Language Arts lesson. The lesson includes possible...
Curated OER
Magical Creatures Land
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
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
Some Days Are Like That!
Second graders engage in an activity of reading a story and have a discussion about the story to measure comprehension. The use of a graphic organizer helps student retention because it is brain compatible for students.
Curated OER
Beginning and Ending Sounds - Lesson 1 of 2
Stamp, slap, and clap! Emergent readers demonstrate their awareness of the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds in spoken, short vowel, single-syllable words with a stamp/slap/clap activity. After identifying the letters and sounds of...
Curated OER
What's In a Noun: Grammar and Usage
Nine lessons in a grammar and usage unit provide endless opportunities for drill and practice. Topics include the four types of sentences, subject and predicates, nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs and prepositions, conjunctions...