Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Main Idea in Informational Text

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather Proverbs

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Define and write proverbs! Learners define proverbs, use the Internet to find weather-related proverbs, and talk with their parents to learn other proverbs. There's a well-structured worksheet included here. 
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Webcams in the Classroom: Animal Inquiry and Observation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Boost observational skills with an inquiry-based lesson that takes scholars on a virtual field trip. With help from webcams, learners observe animals in a zoo or aquarium. Observations go into a journal and a discussion is held to review...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Self-Monitoring Strategies and Vocabulary Games

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Middle and high schoolers identify how to discover a word's meaning by exploring context clues and any pictures, diagrams, photographs, and charts that might be included. They continue this process with other examples and locate one on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Spelldown" by Becky Mushko

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sequencing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consider how cause and effect translate into sequencing in literary works. In this sequencing lesson, students read non-fiction passages about Eleanor Roosevelt and Clara Barton. Students complete graphic organizers based on...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Creating a Psychology News Wiki

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
If you're searching for a way to keep your class informed of current psychology news, this ongoing assignment is both educational and engaging. Class members locate and read a psychology article of interest, write a psychological...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tell a Ton of Tall Tales

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Elementary schoolers read many tall tales. They create their own tall tale about a specific event of their choosing. They must act the part of the author. This well-designed lesson takes three class sessions to complete, and is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding Your Story: Helping Students Begin Their Memoir

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars write their memoir. In this memoir lesson, students study the differences between an autobiography and a memoir. Young scholars construct an outline as the basis for their memoir.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Adding to Cascading Consequences and Stakeholders: Hunter-Gatherer Food Chain

For Teachers 8th Standards
Could the hunter-gatherer food chain feed everyone in the United States? To consider the question, pupils use their research and add to the Cascading Consequences chart based on Michael Pollan's hunter-gatherer food chain from The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crazy Critters are Figuratively Fantastic

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders use creatures created from their imaginations to practice hyperbole, simile, metaphor, and alliteration in association with creative writing. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide their writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Logical is Garfield?

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders analyze comics found in the newspaper for samples of logical, emotional, and ethical appeal. They write a paragraph for each selected comic strip explaining how the comic strip represents the use of logic, emotions, or ethics.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desert Drama

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elaborating the Main Idea, Using Supporting Details

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Main Idea in Informational Text

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Readers identify main ideas and supporting details using informational texts. In this literacy lesson plan, they make predictions and read the text to find the main ideas. They use a table diagram to define the main idea and supporting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Extemporaneous Speeches

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers perform the six steps of writing an extemporaneous speech including, choosing a topic, researching, writing, practicing delivering and processing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

George Winter

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Who is George Winter? Learners review knowledge of George Winter, an artist who captured images of the Trail of Tears. They distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources and determine the reliability of a document....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Land and the Water

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letter of Complaint

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students write letters of complaint. In this written communication lesson, students use the active voice to compose letters of complaint to selected audiences. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inventing and Presenting Unit 1: Analyzing Nonfiction and Inventing Solutions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read about and identify patterns in the invention process. Students discuss and write about information learned from research. Students compile a list of problems, choose one, write a problem statement, and compile a list of at...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Read an article about the migration of our ancestors and write a paragraph. Pupils paraphrase and summarize to restate the information found in a nonfiction text. They write a shortened version of the reading to demonstrate the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Invented English Anyway?

For Teachers 7th - 9th
In these English lesson plans, young scholars use video, the Internet and non-fiction essays to research the history of the English language. They write a short research paper and design a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their findings.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leapin' Landmarks: Locating 10 man-made landmarks around the world

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders engage in a lesson which addresses their curiosity about some of the outstanding people-made landmarks of the world. They explore the geographical themes of location and place through literature.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Tale of Two Schools

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners create different photographs using photographic techniques of camera angles, lighting, and composition. They write non-fiction stories about people they interview and create two school newsletters that portray a fictional...