Achievement Strategies
ACT College Readiness Standards
Here is a template offering a comprehensive outline of ACT skill categories, what standards are expected to be mastered, and blank spaces for you to include how you plan to address those standards within your curriculum.
Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
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Parts of a Friendly Letter
The art of writing a letter has not been lost to email and texting! Teach kids how to format a friendly letter with a presentation about the parts of a letter, as well as prompting them to write a letter about their favorite holiday.
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Solving Linear Inequalities
Walk the class through the steps of how to evaluate linear inequalities in one variable and graph the solution set. Define and discuss key vocabulary terms, then have individuals work problems of varying difficulty. Included are word...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Concept Mapping Fuels
After reading an article, "Fuels for Everything," collaborative groups create a concept map poster of the transportation and non-transportation fuels. This makes a strong introduction to the different types of fuels used for transportion...
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Patriotic Symbols of the United States
Young historians take a close look at the most famous patriotic symbols of the United States and determine what they actually stand for. Symbols such as Uncle Sam, The Statue of Liberty, The Bald Eagle, and The Liberty Bell are studied....
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Fraction Problem Solving Process
Help your charges solve a variety of fraction and skip counting problems using a problem solving process. As a class they work through a fraction problem step-by-step, and discuss a real-life connection to the problem. Students then play...
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Play Ball: A Major League Review Game
Apply the game of baseball to a fun review activity. Pupils earn a "base" for each subject question that they answer correctly. This activity can be modified and used for any subject area, including math, social studies, and language arts.
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The Last Word: Using Critical Thinking and Analysis to Reach a Decision
Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...
Curated OER
Get in Shape with Geometry
Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This instructional activity is chock full of good teaching ideas on the...
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Rooting One's Way to Meaning
Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...
Cornell University
Metamorphosis
Looking for an insect unit that addresses multiple skill strategies? Young entomologists explore multiple life cycles of insects that go through metamorphosis. The brainteasers and mobile activity spark learner interest before guiding...
Cornell University
Insect Anatomy
Young entomologists discover insect anatomy in a very detailed unit plan. Offering background information for teachers about various insects, class members explore the differences between bugs and insects—and yes, there are many...
Curated OER
Where is Flat Stanley?
Students create a story map of the basic elements and significant events of the book Flat Stanley. Students brainstorm places they would like to visit if they had been flattened and then, write about an imagined experience. Students...
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Grammar Quest
Young scholars participate in an activity that helps them to explain parts of speech and distinguish between them. They also use different locomotor skills in a variety of ways.
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Representing Quadratics
Students represent quadratic equations using different methods. In this algebra instructional activity, students solve quadratics using substitution, elimination and graphing. They relate quadratics to the real world.
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Families and Neighborhoods
Students build their own neighborhood. In this lesson on community, students are introduced to books about families and neighborhoods. As a class, the students create their own neighborhood, elect a leader for their neighborhood and...
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A Map Mystery
First graders solve a mystery by following map clues. In this map clues lesson plan, 1st graders follow a computer program called Neighborhood Map Machine. In this program, it gives students directional and spatial clues in order to...
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An Awareness of Light Made Simply Fun
Learners with sensory perception issues discover the properties of light through a series of excellent hands on activities. They look at beams of lights in a darkened room; use a kaleidoscope and optical illusions as they experience the...
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A Taste of France: Le Fromage
Students in a French class examine the customs related to eating food. In groups, they use the internet to visit a variety of websites to discover how to properly eat cheese, how it is made and what role it plays in meals. they also...
Curated OER
Guess What I Came From
First graders examine items made from plants. In this plant lesson, 1st graders read Plants Feed on Sunlight and view a PowerPoint presentation regarding plant growth. Students examine products that are made from plants and draw pictures...
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Can you Follow Me? Conventions
Use the present tense to create written assignments. Critical thinkers take a passage written in past or future tense and rewrite it in present tense. They then write a set of instructions in present tense.
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Alphabet Organizer
Students practice organizing their vocabulary words in an online organizer tool. In this vocabulary lesson, students read a text and take notes. Additionally, students organize their vocabulary words into an online "Alphabet Organizer"...
Curated OER
Environmental Studies: The Power of Wind
Investigate the prospect of wind as a renewable resource. Second and third graders make a pinwheel, answer critical thinking questions, and then attempt to use wind power to wind string. I would be more apt to use this lesson in a 1st or...