Curated OER
Clouds
Second graders construct the 3 types of clouds using cotton balls and write sentences describing them. In this clouds lesson plan, 2nd graders describe a cumulus, stratus, and cirrus cloud.
Curated OER
Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
Polk Bros Foundation
Meet the Nonfiction Main Idea Challenge
Help your class develop the ability to determine a main idea with a packet of materials that you can introduce and use over a period of time. The packet includes some information for the teacher and rationale for the exercises. There are...
EngageNY
Solution Sets to Simultaneous Equations (part 1)
How are systems related? Build on your pupils' previous knowledge of solving systems of equations by introducing systems of inequalities. Learners explore similarities between systems of equations and inequalities to make a strong...
Curated OER
Cause And Effect
Fourth graders read the book Stellaluna and cite sentences that show cause and effect in the story. In this cause and effect lesson plan, 4th graders also write sentences that show cause and effect in their own lives.
Curated OER
Walk on the Wild Side
Have your class practice alliteration using this lesson. Learners listen to stories with alliterative elements and create their own sentences illustrating this technique. The lesson is incomplete, but could be enhanced to provide a...
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Word Scramble
Practice vocabulary and key concepts in the basics of water conservation with a quick online fill-in-the-blank word scramble. Use the context of the sentence and the scrambled word to determine the correct word to complete the concept.
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing Instruction
Writing a paragraph from details found directly in a text is the central focus of this thorough and explicit lesson plan. Using the stories Nasreen's Secret School and Rain School, third graders are lead step-by-step through the basics...
Curated OER
Creating a Life Map
Students create their own life map in which they introduce themselves to each other by sharing what they are most proud of. They use a life map to expressive themselves creatively.
Curated OER
Unknown Frost Poem Discovered
What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Nasreen's Secret School: Discussions of Questions and Evidence
Third graders answer text-dependent questions of the story Nasreen's Secret School both independently and then collaboratively through using the carousel of questions strategy. This plan is the seventh instructional activity in a larger...
University of North Carolina
Verb Tenses
Twelve categories of verbs exist in the future tense, ranging from simple present to future perfect progressive, but only three have a place in academic writing. Those three tenses make up the content of an informational handout that...
Curated OER
What is The Main Idea
Students will investigate why comprehension is a major goal of reading. To comprehend the meaning of text, students must know certain strategies in order to be successful. Form a topic sentence that captures the meaning of a paragraph...
Virginia Department of Education
Maintaining Organization, Clarity, Central Idea, and Unity
Introduce and challenge the essay organization skills of your junior high writers with the paper reconstruction activity in this demonstration. Theydetermine what the word organization means, and discover the basic organizational...
Curated OER
What Did I Just Read?
Students summarize a chapter from the book, "Sarah Plain and Tall. After reviewing the the formation of a topic sentence, they independently read a chapter from the book. Students write a summary paragraph using the checklist outlined by...
Curated OER
Developing a Paragraph
In this paragraph worksheet, students read about the 3 parts of a paragraph, then cut out sentence strips and put them together, forming a topic sentence, details, and conclusion.
Curated OER
Slim Down to the Good Stuff by Summarizing
Pupils summarize a piece of literature using the technique "mapping" in this instructional activity. The technique involves 6 main steps: delete unimportant information, delete repeated information, substitute easy terms, add a series...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Narrating a Family Tradition
After examining a piece of art, scholars discuss what they see, paying close attention to details and space. A read-aloud introduces the topic of family traditions. Pupils interview their family members about a tradition in preparation...
Curated OER
The Glory That Was Greece
After finishing a unit on Greek history, it's important to test how much learners remember. This handout provides six different essay topics related to Greek History, influences, Athenian Democracy, or Alexander the Great. A rubric is...
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Arguing with Aristotle Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Introduce your classes to the Art of Rhetoric with a lesson that focuses on Aristotle's persuasive appeals and how they have been used, both ethically and unethically, to influence opinion.
Bermingham City Schools
Opinion Writing
It's no secret that children can be very opinionated, but rather than fight against this natural tendency, embrace it with this primary grade writing project. After a shared reading of a children's book about persuasion, young learners...
Curated OER
Organizing by Writing
Middle schoolers analyze how to use writing for generating and organizing their thoughts before communicating them. They use the questions on the first handout to organize a three-minute introduction of themselves to their small group....
Newspaper in Education
Lesson 10: Studying Content-Specific Language
Stanchion, spar, spinnaker. Right wing, sweeper, hip check. Every subject has specialized vocabulary. Here’s a fun way to introduce your learners to this jargon. Provide class groups with newspapers and have them search pre-selected...
Curated OER
Thesis Statements
At 32 slides, one would think this presentation on thesis statements is a bit too long, but it is the most important component of a well-written essay! Help your developing writers craft concise, interesting theses with this PowerPoint....