Curated OER
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Third graders discuss the weather and how it changes during the different seasons. They listen to a read aloud of Judy Barrett's, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. They write and illustrate a news article about the weather that is found...
Scholastic
Summarizing: Using Hand Motions for Key Words or Points
Learning to summarize texts takes practice. Jump into the training ring and guide your learners through a summarizing practice session. The classic direct instructional practice of "I do, you do, we do" is used to help them identify key...
Curated OER
Self-Monitoring Strategies and Vocabulary Games
Teachers model self-monitering strategies for their high schoolers. They participate in games and artwork that help them increase their vocabulary. They also complete a crossword puzzle.
Curated OER
Unique Monique: Building a Community of Unique Individuals
Students recognize that each student is unique and has special talents. Students develop a puzzle piece that describes them and their particular talents. Students share their pieces and post on a bulletin board.
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 3 Day Lesson
Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: The Cycle of Addiction
Drug addiction, including prescription drug addiction, begins with a reason that's different for every user. High schoolers learn more about the reasons people begin abusing drugs with a set of videos and worksheets that discuss four...
Special Olympics
A World of Difference
Kids engage in a series of activities that ask them to consider differences and similarities in characteristics, both visible and invisible. With this new understanding, the class investigates the Special Olympics program and develops...
Curated OER
Sound/Story
Students combine creativity with the rigor of careful editing by adding music to their story. It forces them to focus on how they communicate the meaning of their story to the listener.
Curated OER
Noisy Nora, Studious Students: Story Elements
Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...
Curated OER
Acting Out Verbs
Learners act out verbs. In this verbs lesson, students identify and highlight the action words in a poem. As a class, the learners act out the verbs, reinforcing the idea that verbs are action words.
Curated OER
Star Spangled Banner: For Orchestra
Middle schoolers practice playing "The Star Spangled Banner" while focusing on phrasing. They work with the instructor to mark the lyrics and music, then play the song using the phrasing indicated. Several...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of this series of ESL lessons. Cover an array of topics such as where we live, different times of day, shapes, the city and the country, what we do for fun, jobs, and games, all while practicing how...
Curated OER
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse: Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes has composed a series of books in which Lilly the mouse is a main character. Third graders use illustrations and key details as they compare and contrast the books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and another...
Education Center
What a Team!
Use a worksheet about Officer Buckle and Gloria to show learners how listeners feel about each character. Though the resource itself only includes a summary of the story, the worksheet would be a good addition to a lesson about the...
Curated OER
Teaching Strategies For Main Idea Lessons
Main Idea Lesson Plans can help teachers make identifying the main idea of a passage a breeze.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
We Can Work It Out: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 7)
Listen, look, speak, and move are the routine steps of the English language development lessons found in a We Can Work It Out themed unit. Language proficiency is reinforced through picture cards, poems, and grand discussions about...
Curated OER
Character Analysis Lessons
Graphic organizers can be a great tool to help students understand character analysis.
Scholastic
Marijuana Facts
Can marijuana really hurt you? Three medical facts and three discussion questions prompt teenagers to consider the ramifications of using marijuana recreationally.
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
Tallying Local Species to Learn About Diversity
Using this thoroughly-written plan, you can have your junior ecologists exploring local biodiversity. They take a journal outdoors to tally the species that they see. An article is included along with comprehension questions. The author...
Charlesbridge
Under the Freedom Tree: A Readers Theater
Susan VanHecke's Under the Freedom Tree is transformed into a 12-part readers theatre script appropriate for a performance by upper-elementary classes.
Curated OER
Old Lady That Swallowed a Fly
Youngsters listen to the story, "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." After discussing the story, going over new vocabulary, and repeating the rhymes in the story, they study the parts of a fly. They finish by creating a fly on...
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,...
Curated OER
Flowers for Algernon: RAFT
Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-instructional activity 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...