Curated OER
1984 by George Orwell
Readers of Nineteen Eighty-Four engage in a close reading exercise that directs their focus to the key details Orwell provides in the opening paragraphs to introduce his dystopian society. The included worksheeet is divided into three...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Understanding the Greenhouse Effect
Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part lesson. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs in the...
Liberty High School
Science Department Lab Report Format
Make sure your scientists are reporting their work effectively by providing them with a reference for their lab reports. The first few pages of this resource detail each element of a lab report, and the last few pages provide an example...
Western Illinois University
Activities for Supporting Oral Language Development
Support young scholars' oral language development with the use of four early childhood activities. To reinforce proficiency, pupils read with an adult, play a game of telephone with their peers, put on a play with puppets or stuffed...
Curated OER
Insects A-Z!
Alphabet insects! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Get ready because your class is going to research insects that start with a specific letter of the alphabet. In small groups, they'll use the Internet and reference texts to locate...
Michigan State University
Gases Matter
Young scientists learn that seeing isn't necessarily believing when it comes to the states of matter. After performing a fun class demonstration that models the difference between solids, liquids, and gases, children complete a series of...
Novelinks
The Giver: Biopoem
The characters in Lois Lowry's The Giver are rich and complex as they weave their way through the plot. Examine the character traits of one chosen person with a biopoem, which enables learners to follow a poetic format in writing a...
Museum of Tolerance
Artifact Research Activity
Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is...
Reed Novel Studies
Runaway Ralph: Novel Study
Maybe the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Ralph, a mouse character in Runaway Ralph, thought that summer camp had to be better than dealing with his mother, uncle, and cousins. However, camp has its troubles, too. Worksheet...
Curated OER
Little Engine That Could Lesson Plan
Students retell the story The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify the various trains featured in the story, focusing on the descriptive words. Students then create their own...
Curated OER
Personal Pronouns
Students make a list of personal pronouns and their purposes. They use pronouns appropriately to enhance their writing and present their pieces of descriptive writings in front of the class. In addition, they utilize a variety of...
Curated OER
Ice Cream Toppings
Students explore the five senses. In this senses lesson, students use their senses to top their ice cream. Students compare and contrast the different toppings and write their observations, using descriptive words, in a notebook.
Curated OER
Adjective? What's an Adjective?
Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...
Curated OER
"The Selfish Crocodile"
Students participate in various shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Selfish Crocodile" by Faustin Charles. They identify descriptive words from the story, and write sentences describing how the crocodile...
Curated OER
Harry Hears!
Students explore ear anatomy and the sense of hearing. In this hearing lesson, students discuss the five senses and view a model of an ear. Students place cotton balls in their ears to simulate loss of hearing. Students use descriptive...
Curated OER
Exploring the Effects of Weather
Fifth graders brainstorm different types of extreme weather and their effects on the environment and share lists with class. They research the effects on the environment through the use of the World Wide Web, Microsoft Encarta, and...
Curated OER
A Statistical Study of the Letters of the Alphabet
Students gather appropriate information for simple statistical analysis. Then they will calculate probability working with a piece of literature that makes this lesson ideal for teaching across the whole curriculum.
Curated OER
"Inside Parts of a Computer Project" WebQuest
Students participate in a role play situation in which they act as a private investigator to determine the parts found inside a computer. They complete web based research. They create a slide show that describes inner workings of a...
Scholastic
Selecting Favorite Poems From Historical Poets
Here is a poetry lesson that begins with a free-association activity focused on the word voice. Learners each sit alone for a moment and make sounds that express how they are currently feeling, and then turn to their partners to share...
Curated OER
Hispanic World - Spain
Take your class on an electronic field trip to Spain! Visit Cordoba or Barcelona, and run with the bulls (virtually) in Pamplona. Groups search the Internet to find sites that permit them to explore the original Spanish-speaking country....
Curated OER
Showing not telling writing
How do good writers exhibit emotion in their work without using an emotion word (angry, sad, happy, etc.)? This plan offers learners model texts that describe an emotion without using an emotion word. A well-formatted writing activity is...
Bright Hub Education
"Where the Red Fern Grows": A Lesson on Love and Devotion
Where the Read Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls is rich with themes relating to love and family. Help your class to understand these themes with the series of reading activities included in this unit outline. Readers can keep a journal to...
Curated OER
Reading Strategies: Main Idea
Identify the main idea and the supporting details of a story in a literacy resource from Discovery Education. Complete with procedures, vocabulary, and assessment activities, this is a great way for pupils to practice their outlining...
Curated OER
Metaphors
Metaphors open doors to descriptive language for your poets. They read the poem "What is the Sun" and record all the metaphors they find. Then, scholars change one of them to a simile. After answering two more comprehension...