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,...
Pulitzer Center
Exploring Downstream: Water Resources
The lack of clean water is a life-threatening plight for millions of people around the world. Through an extensive WebQuest, young environment or social studies classes compare our water availability to that of the cxitizens of Ethiopia,...
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
Different Types of Poetry
Provide pupils samples of different types of poems including haikus, narrative, nonsense, shape, and rhyming poems. In groups, class members read the poems, establish their general meaning, identify poetic devices, and rate the poems,...
Curated OER
Listening Comprehension: Retell Main Events of a Story
Story retell is a very important skill. Little learners use a story map and a previously heard story to walk through the retell and story sequencing process. They complete this activity as a whole class and then on their own.
Curated OER
Build Masters: Identifying Details
Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: I Am Planet Earth (Marzollo)
Explore the world's beauty with Jean Marzollo's colorful book I Am Planet Earth, the context of a vocabulary study focused on the following in-text words: globe, jungle, paddy, planet, and valley. Discuss the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Amazing Animals: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 4)
This packet, the second in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on amazing animals, contains exercises and activities designed for the ESL/ELD classroom.
Curated OER
All the World's a Stage
Is the circus a form of theater? Read "A City of Clowns? What Else Is New?" to sway your class that a circus, is indeed, a theatrical performance. Critical thinkers compare/contrast various forms of theater and identify what makes the...
Curated OER
Breaking up a Poem
Complete with a SMART board presentation and all necessary materials, this lesson plan guides seventh graders through the process of writing poems and utilizing line breaks. After reading through the presentation and different examples,...
Curated OER
Flowers for Algernon: RAFT
Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-lesson for a unit on Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon uses a RAFT activity, which prompts learners to write a letter to Charlie's doctors explaining why they...
Curated OER
Build Mastery: Prediction
What do you think will happen? Use a graphic organizer to help learners predict what will happen in a text. Consider modeling the chart using a familiar story, pretending you don't know what happens. Show scholars the book, explaining...
National Gardening Association
Migration Mishaps
Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Incredible Stories: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 3)
English language learners get extra help understanding the language and concepts in a thematic unit on fantasy and realism from a 40-page packet filled with activities, exercises, and tips.
Curated OER
Keywords: A Memorization Strategy
Here is a fabulous, five-page lesson plan on how keywords can help a reader with his/her reading comprehension. After a teacher-led discussion, pupils pair off with each other and work together to identify the main idea in a passage of...
Curated OER
Persuaded or Informed?
Give each learner a newspaper for this lesson plan! As a group, read select editorials and discuss them with your class. Are these articles informational or persuasive? Cut out select editorials and have learners identify the purpose of...
Curated OER
I Spy Poetry
Explore the components of rhythm and form through a reading of Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. After discussing Marzollo’s format, the class agrees upon a theme for a class book and topics that fit with that theme. Pupils write a poem,...
Curated OER
Jellybeans Up Your Nose
Jellybeans Up Your Nose, by Jeff Moss, prompts a discussion of responsible and irresponsible behaviors. After reading and discussing the poem, groups of fifth graders examine a Dr. Seuss-ism, from Geisel’s Seuss-isms, and report back to...
Curated OER
Vocabulary through Text
Explore word meanings. Sixth graders identify examples of words with affixes while listening to the story Paul Bunyan by Steven Kellogg. They participate in the game "Pass the Parts" and practice separating given words into their root...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Heroes: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 5)
This packet of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on heroes, contains lessons, exercises, and activities specifically designed for ELD/ESL learners.
Food Project
Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
A series of hands-on, outdoor activities increase understanding of agricultural terms, soil management, pest control, and more. Plan ahead for this one as it requires a number of supplies and could be messy. Activities include...
Curated OER
Sexual Exploitation, Day 3: Continuum of Sexual Touch
A sensitive topic to teach, but definitely a topic that needs to be discussed. The more aware your high schoolers are of sexual exploitation, the better they will be able to handle such situations. Read the case studies to set the stage,...
Curated OER
Sexual Exploitation, Day 4: Assault Strategies
A delicate topic is the focus of this lesson. Discuss what people can do to reduce the risk of sexual assault, as well as what a person should do if he or she is sexually assaulted. This is not any easy topic to discuss in a classroom,...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas
You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider." Learners will act, write, move, count,...