Montana State University
One Mountain, Many Cultures
Americans may think of Mount Everest as a region dedicated to adventurous hikers, but many cultures have flourished there! Learners read informative books, watch videos, participate in classroom discussion, analyze folk tales, and...
Penguin Books
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Young Readers Edition
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...
Curated OER
Beary Necessary Rules
Young pupils learn about classroom rules as they also practice active reading strategies and reading comprehension skills. This lesson begins with a thorough reading of the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. As the...
Curated OER
Reinvigorate Your Vocabulary
Eighth graders participate in a variety of activities to examine the meanings and roots of word derivatives and the meanings of words. Using context clues, they determine the meanings of words omitted from a passage and complete a prefix...
Newspaper in Education
Lesson 10: Studying Content-Specific Language
Stanchion, spar, spinnaker. Right wing, sweeper, hip check. Every subject has specialized vocabulary. Here’s a fun way to introduce your learners to this jargon. Provide class groups with newspapers and have them search pre-selected...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: 2008 Presidential Primaries
Take a trip back in time with this political cartoon analysis worksheet, which has scholars reading background information on the heated 2008 primary campaign to help them approach two political cartoons. Three talking points (or writing...
Curated OER
Practicing Letters a and b
Start out your alphabet practice right using this phonics and printing worksheet. Pre-readers begin by tracing and printing lowercase letters a and b and adding them to an incomplete alphabet at the bottom. They connect...
Curated OER
Vowel Sounds: O
This worksheet focuses on the medial vowel sound o. Pre-readers complete two tasks to practice the short o sound. They draw a line from the letter o to pictures that contain the medial /o/ sound. They then, fill in six cvc words with the...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Black Bear Cub (Lind)
Kids love reading stories! There are many opportunities to learn new words in context as budding readers listen to Alan Lind's story Black Bear Cub. They focus on seven nature-related vocabulary terms: cub, den, forage, lure,...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey)
Take your budding readers on a literary trip to pick blueberries as they learn vocabulary from Robert McClosky's book, Blueberries for Sal. By pre-teaching the words pupils are prepared to raise their hands when they hear...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: I Love You the Purplest (Joosse)
Use Barbara Joosse's heartwarming story I Love You the Purplest (which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it) to practice vocabulary in context with emerging readers. This sensory text is an excellent opportunity to...
Macmillan Education
Changing Your Mindset
Why do some people achieve their goals and persevere despite the setbacks they face? This question is the focus of this life skills lesson, which includes worksheets, discussion, and collaborative activities on developing a growth mindset.
Curated OER
Mississippi Trial, 1955: Vocabulary Strategy (Acquisition)
Readers of Mississippi Trial, 1955 engage in a desktop teaching activity and teach other class members the meaning of a word from Christopher Crowe's novel using an embellished illustration of their word.
Capo Beach Calvary
The Messiah Is Born
Use this simple nativity lesson in pre-kindergarten through third grade to familiarize children with Bible verses by way of a hands-on learning activity and coloring page.
Lemos and Crane
Homophobic Bullying
Discuss homophobia and bullying with a collaborative and supportive lesson. Class members engage in a series of activities focused on the ways bullies use physical, verbal, mental and emotional, sexual, and cyber tactics to spread...
Orlando Shakes
The Importance of Being Earnest: Study Guide
Historically, members of the upper class provide plenty of fodder for comedic writers. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception, and a study guide for the classic play discusses some of the Victorian social...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Planning The Two Voice Poem
Scholars build background knowledge to understand the life and work of the union leader and labor organizer César Chávez. As they read teacher-selected resources, they complete a Building Background Knowledge worksheet and engage in...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 15
What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...
Curated OER
Pen Pal Project
Second graders write letters to a pen pal in proper letter form. For this writing lesson, 2nd graders discuss why they would write to a pen pal, brainstorm the elements that should appear in their letters, then write the letters. To...
Curated OER
Let the Pictures Tell the Story: Presenting a Point of View
Ninth graders examine the process of writing a newspaper article that presents a point of view. They read various newspaper articles, analyze methods of persuasive writing, interpret and create editorial cartoons, and write an editorial.
Curated OER
World without Trees Composition
Fourth graders write a composition on what they think the world would be like without trees. They brainstorm ideas of what they think the world would be like treeless, and creative a story. A rubric is distributed to the students which...
Curated OER
Bein' With You This Way
Pupils complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Bein' With You This Way. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have discussions,...
Curated OER
An American Childhood
Students discuss themes found in the story. In this language arts instructional activity, students brainstorm words associated with childhood and categorize the words they came up with. While reading students locate a passage related to...
Curated OER
Tattercoats
Students read the English folktale, "Tattercoats," identify basic literary terms, and respond to writing prompts. They compare and contrast with another Cinderella story version and create a graphic response to the story.