EngageNY
Close Reading and Gathering Evidence from Frightful’s Mountain and “Welcome Back”
Where did the falcons go? Scholars read the article Welcome Back which describes the disappearance of falcons due to the use of pesticides. During a second read, learners annotate the text by marking unfamiliar words and facts about...
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Reading a Comparison-Contrast Essay
Turn your passive readers into active readers with an engaging lesson on reading informational text. Focused on compare and contrast structured essays, the activity prompts elementary learners to jot down questions and think-aloud...
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Shakespeare: Henry V - Writing Task
Pairs of pupils choose a person who they consider to be a hero. They research that person, develop a speech, and deliver it to the class in hopes of persuading them that this person really is a hero. A vote is taken after the...
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Who Wrote That?
Scholars creatively respond to writing prompts. They respond to writing prompts that reveal clues regarding their personalities and then use the prompts written in class to guess the prompts that belong to their classmates.
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Main Idea
What could you pack for a trip if you don't know the destination? After writing a list of items they would want to bring, fourth graders learn that the "trip" is to the South Pole - revealing the need to understand all available...
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Collaborative Editing
With the use of an online editing site, budding authors revise their writing. This is a creative way to have your class practice essay revision. Instead of being a tedious process, editing and revising can be fun.
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The Week That Was
Young scholars complete a weekly writing assignment that documents their writing progress throughout the year. Each week, students write a paragraph in response to a prompt or a synopsis of the week's events.
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Present Simple Verb and Comprehension Worksheet
For this verb form and comprehension worksheet, students fill in 25 blanks with the correct verb forms in 2 paragraphs. They read 2 short paragraphs and answer 23 short answer questions based on their comprehension of the reading.
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Using Aphorisms to Help Dealing with People
Here's a formal plan for what many effective teachers already do: Provide a week's worth of aphorisms and have learners choose one to write about in their journals each day. They reflect on the meaning of each aphorism and project how it...
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Beacons of Light
Young scholars research Internet sites for lighthouses. In this lighthouses lesson, students learn facts about lighthouses in the United States. Young scholars complete a related worksheet and share their information with the class.
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Compare and Contrast Art
Practice the skill of compare and contrast. First, show learners the different pairs of artwork in the project packet (included). Then, each learner chooses one of the pairs and finds the similarities and differences between the...
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What's the Big Idea?
Students choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...
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Don't Forget to Say Thanks
Students practice descriptive writing in a thank-you note format. In this descriptive writing lesson plan, students read the example letter and analyze the corrections in the letter. Students read the example thank you notes and focus on...
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Why the Grinch Stole Christmas
Students write paragraphs highlighting reasons why the Grinch may have stolen Christmas.
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My Name Is Me!
Students write about themselves. In this personal writing activity, students write their name vertically down a sheet of paper and think of a self descriptive word that matches each letter of their name. Students write a descriptive...
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Formula for a Well-Written Newspaper Article
Students create a formula for a well-written news article. In this informative writing lesson, students share notes from a previous research lesson and identify why an outline is important. Students use an included worksheet to develop...
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Compare and Contrast a Cookie and a Cracker
Students write an essay comparing and contrasting two like items. In this informative writing lesson, students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast a cracker and an Oreo cookie. Students write an informative five paragraph essay on...
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Learning About Hurricanes
Learners write a research paper on hurricanes. For this weather lesson, students use a science text book to write down facts about hurricanes on note cards and then outline their essay. Learners use the outline to create an organized essay.
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Easy Essays Step 2
Third graders write essays after participating in mini-lessons that encourage better writing. They write using the model of a skeleton to which they add the muscles.
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Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Stories
Learners read literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing the main characters in the two stories. In this character analysis lesson, students read the stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil. Learners...
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Team Stories
Students work together to write stories. Each one uses creative thinking skills to compose the beginning, middle, or end of a story. The writing skills help the brain to begin to think in new ways to develop the artistic parts of thinking.
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The Verbal Sketch
Students use perspective observation sketches to understand verbal description. In this subjective writing activity, students practice writing subjective conversations using the cartoon worksheets.
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What Does Christmas Mean to Me?
Students write an essay entitled "What Does Christmas Mean to Me?" In this writing lesson, students express their feelings about Christmas in an essay. Students discuss ways they have given to others during the Christmas season, then...