The value in this PowerPoint about the five-paragraph expository essay comes from the clear explanations and specific examples provided to illustrate each aspect; however, a complete, model essay is not included. Beware the typos!

Learn how to summarize by identifying main ideas and supporting details. Readers cross out unimportant information as they read through a text. Is it a random detail? Cross it out! They then draw a concept map, placing the main idea in...

Some of what we know about a character is directly stated. Some of what we know is inferred by events in the story. Character maps help primary learners recognize the difference. After modeling with a story your class has read, pupils...

Students practice comparing and ordering fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals. In this fractions, mixed numbers, and decimals lesson, students examine a decimal place value chart compared to a whole number place value chart. They...

Take a close look at homelessness with your learners.  In this character development lesson, young artists draw a large pair of sunglasses, adding their family and pictures representing their belongings and values on the left lens,...

The perfect resource for a beginning journalism teacher or someone designing a journalism unit, this activity prompts learners to write a newspaper article. It covers all aspects of the writing process, such as a guided warm-up...

Students discover how to classify things based on their similarities and differences. Students give the characteristics of insects and create a classification list. Given examples of various types of insects, students classify them...

What's the best way to start a story? Learners write a memoir using effective openings. They research the process and work through a list of hooks to use in their writing. They use at least two hooks to begin their personal memoir. A...

Explore the concept of yin and yang with this resource. On the first page, learners study a picture of George Bush. Then, have learners choose a character from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. After brainstorming adjectives and choosing...

Young scholars compare and contrast insects and arthropods, identifying characteristics of each. In groups, they sort pictures of arthropods into the five different classes of arthropods. They also sort pictures into insect and...

Using food as a manipulative is one of the best ways to incorporate hands-on learning in the classroom. This hands-on approach allows young mathematicians to compare, order, and identify fractions with the use of Twizzlers® and...

Students investigate fractions through interactive videos and hands-on activities and class made models.

Discuss different techniques for finding the area of a geometric shape, with a great visual guide. Using a real life example, learners calculate the area of a rectangle and a square. 

Students compare the evolution theories of Lamarck and Darwin. They use self-assessment and a video to increase their knowledge of evolution theories. They research questions and present them to the class.

By constructing a watershed model and identifying watershed features in it, they discover how water erosion changes the landscape. As with most watershed modeling activities, this one is costly in terms of time and materials. It is,...

Improving listening comprehension skills is the goal of this language arts lesson. Young readers listen to the story Two Greedy Bears, stopping to have discussions with a partner. They predict outcomes and make inferences based on...

In order to make evidence-based claims, one must be able to draw explicit information from text. From here, learners take that information, analyze the text to develop a deeper understanding, and connect with the information in order to...

Hop your way through a mathematical equation with your first grade class as they learn the idea of moving up and down the number line. Adding and subtracting like little frogs is an engaging and clever way to teach/reinforce this concept.

To wrap up your year of general chemistry, have lab groups compete in a tot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) competition. With their foundation in chemical nomenclature, stoichiometry, and gas laws, each group completes several...

Experienced chemistry technicians use then layer chromatography to discover how much of a free compound is left after each rinse cycle. Where this could obviously be used as a practice with chromatography technique, it can also be used...

Here is a phenomenal lesson on place value to the thousands place.  Learners construct numbers and identify the value of each digit, investigate building numbers using craft sticks and paper plates, and complete other meaningful...

This problem is sure to get your young mathematicians thinking. The idea sounds simple: one equation, solve it as many ways as you can. This is meant to get at a deeper understanding of solving quadratic equations, including some more...

Young scholars investigate and design various models of size and distance related to the solar system. They work together to build a solar system model. The models should focus on distance and scale. They don't include moons or...

Teachers turning into high schoolers? It's not Freaky Friday! It's a thoughtful workshop that teaches participants how to plan professional development for staff. Third in a 15-part series, the workshop provides a platform for the other...