Curated OER
Farewell to Manzanar
Examine human resilience across two texts with a detailed unit. Over the course of a week, learners will conduct a close reading of excerpts from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar. The resource includes clear procedures for reading and...
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Giving Tree Lesson
Students read and respond the book, The Giving Tree. In this literary unit, students listen to the story and discuss the story using Bloom's Taxonomy. Students write a letter of empathy to the tree and observe the changes the tree went...
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All About Me
Students write a paragraph, make lists, draw, and brainstorm things about themselves, their goals, and their past. In this all about me lesson plan, students recall information about themselves, and interview others in order to write...
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Writing Sentences
Second graders examine how to write complete sentences. In this writing lesson, 2nd graders discuss what makes a complete sentence, give oral examples, and write complete sentences.
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Narrative Writing--The Hobbit
Hobbits, dwarfs, wizards, trolls, and goblins. Readers track these fantastic creatures through J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit noting passages of character description and habitats. Using specific passages from the novel, class...
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Experience This!
What would you do if you had to go to school all day every day? Tillie tackles this problem in Sharon Creech’s A Fine, Fine School. After a discussion of how Tillie got the principal to change his ways, brainstorm with your class...
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Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
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Fairy Dictionary
Use artwork to illicit responses in a writing journal, and then present your class with the short list of key terms provided. Can your learners add any of their own key terms? Segue for a second, and read tales such as Peter Pan or...
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Food Labels in the Classroom
Students study the nutritional information on food labels and become familiar with the basic dietary needs of the human body. They write letters to food companies.
Channel Islands Film
Dark Water: Lesson Plan 1 - Grades 3-4
As part of their study of the history of the Channel Islands, class members craft an informational article to post on a bulletin board that features the Chumash ancestral tradition of tomol paddling.
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8th Grade Math Parallel and Transversal Lines
Eighth graders label and define geometrical lines and angles. They identify angles on the board as acute, obtuse, straight, or right. In groups, 8th graders build with masking tape on the wall a pair of parallel lines, and a transverse...
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Speak Write! Understanding the Hidden Meaning of Words
"Can the connotation of a word or phrase create bias or prejudice?" The activities in this SMART Board lesson are directed toward this question, which will be sure to incite lots of opinions and ideas. The SMART Board file guides them...
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How To Write a Social Studies Outline
One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...
Anti-Defamation League
Challenging Gender Role Stereotypes
Through thoughtful discussion and a read-aloud, scholars challenge gender role stereotypes. Pupils examine pictures and collaborate with their small groups to debunk stereotypes. They explain what gender role stereotypes they know of and...
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Let's Edit!
Learners in fourth grade pair up with students in second grade to edit writing convension.
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Historical Fiction- Thanksgiving
Students write a story. In this historical fiction lesson, students research how Thanksgiving began. Students write a fictional story where they are a main character of this time period.
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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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Summertime Travel
Third graders write about a summer event they participated in. In this paragraph writing instructional activity, the teacher models how to write about a place they have visited. Students then write their own paragraphs. Students...
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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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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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Humorous Story Featuring Clowns
Students write stories that feature funny clowns. In this creative writing lesson, students follow the outline for a story in order to write their own humorous story set at a circus.
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Perspective
Students explore the writing trait of voice. In this writing skills lesson plan, students read No, David! and discuss the author's use of voice. Students write a class version of the story called Yes, David! that incorporates an...
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Digital Storytelling
Sixth graders write a creative story and turn it into a digital storybook. In this digital storytelling lesson, 6th graders write a creative story, illustrate the story, and then use computer technology to turn their story and...
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Symbols of America
Third graders choose an American symbol and write a poem about it. In this American symbols lesson plan, 3rd graders view and discuss the purpose of some American symbols and then write at least 5 lines in a poem about it.