iCivics
Mini-Lesson: Midterm Elections
Find out the differences between presidential and midterm elections with an informative resource. Pupils discuss the importance of midterms to the presidency and how midterms affect the balance of government branches. They also fill out...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Character Changes Lesson and iPad Assignment
Round, flat, static, dynamic. As part of a characterization study, scholars review the different types of characters and create a slide show demonstrating how a dynamic character in a story they have read changes throughout the tale.
EngageNY
Rereading and Close Reading: Communism, “The Vietnam Wars,” and “Last Respects” (Pages 85 and 86)
What might a papaya symbolize? Using the resource, scholars look for examples of symbolism in the novel Inside Out & Back Again. They also participate in a silent discussion called a Chalk Talk, writing their responses to a...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
A Mini lesson on Semicolons
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-activity on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how...
Apple State University
Friendly Letter Mini-Lesson
This mini-lesson plan about informal letter writing is packed with a lot of information about writing a friendly letter. Class members begin by working in pairs to answer questions after reviewing letter models. Then, take part in a...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon a Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 4
How did the environment and natural resources found on the Channel islands influence the culture of the Chumash? Archaeology meets technology in an activity designed for middle schoolers. After viewing West of The West's documentary Once...
Curated OER
Jim Murphy, The Great Fire - Grade 6
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...
iCivics
Mini-Lesson: Presidential Succession
Who is in line for the presidency? Learners research the line of succession in the executive branch. They analyze the role the cabinet plays in a situation where the president and vice president are not able to serve. Along the way,...
Scholastic
Test-Taking Strategies for Three Subject Areas
Sometimes a test page loaded with text can make a student's face go blank. Help them decipher what a text question is asking with a series of tips focused on reading comprehension, vocabulary, and language arts mechanics.
Literacy Connects
Activities to Build Phonological Awareness
Begin your reading program each day with a mini lesson on phonological awareness using these engaging activities listed in the resource. Young ones will enjoy word families, clapping and counting syllables, identifying single sounds and...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 17: Novel, Take 2
It's all about using peer resources in this writing process lesson, which includes a fantastic novel revision worksheet packet. Learners have read a partner's story draft the night before, and groups have a "lightning round of praise"...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places their story...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #15 - Solar-Powered Electrolysis of Water and the Hydrogen Economy
An outstanding instructional activity awaits your physics fledglings! After reading about how hydrogen can act as an energy carrier, they examine the electrolysis of water using solar power. They test the gases produced for flammability...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson # 12 - Calibration Curve for a Radiation Meter
Scientists need to have mastered algebraic slope-intercept concepts in order for this lesson to be effective. They will measure and graph solar panel output as a function of the amount of radiation striking it, discovering that there is...
Teacher's Corner
Hey Batter, Wake Up!
Does jet lag affect a baseball team's performance in games? Read about how a baseball team's chance of winning a game can be affected by traveling over one, two, and three time zones. Readers then respond to five short answer questions...
EngageNY
Writing: Drafting Body Paragraphs and Revising for Language
Begin the drafting phase of the writing process with a lesson plan focused on logically writing three body paragraphs. Then, revise the writing to make it more formal after a teacher-directed mini-lesson plan. Each paragraph highlights...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Exploring Text with the iMovie Application
Get your class going on one of the final assessments for a unit on short stories by introducing iMovie and its main features. In this tenth lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils take some time to explore iMovie before conducting an...
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.
Curated OER
Combining with Participial Phrases
Combine participial phrases and creative writing with this lesson, which is equally helpful for writing skills and conventions. After a mini-lesson on participial phrases and reading the picture book Dancing in the Wings, pupils use a...
Scholastic
Alpha Tales: The Pig's Picnic (Letter P)
Penny, Polly, and Peter are planning a picnic but end up pigging out instead in this fun printable book. Including dozens of p-words and amusing illustrations, this is a great resource for teaching emergent readers about the sound...
Curated OER
Because of Winn-Dixie
Readers analyze an excerpt from Kate DiCamillo's novel Because of Winn-Dixie. They read silently, and then hear it read aloud. Definitions for underlined vocabulary words are in the margin, and other potentially difficult words are in...
Curated OER
Analyzing Atmosphere: Macbeth Murder Scene and Dagger Speech
Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act II, Scenes I and II) lacks explicit details of the murder of King Duncan, yet the author creates an atmosphere that allows us to visualize the event. Readers interpret the "Dagger Speech" by writing stage...
Curated OER
Theme
A study of Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If," launches a lesson plan about theme. Class members read Kipling's poem and poems by other seventh graders to identify the themes.
ReadWriteThink
Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...