Illinois State Board of Education
Common Core Teaching and Learning Strategies
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library, whether or not your school has adopted the Common Core. Designed for middle and high school language arts classes, the packet is packed with teaching tips, materials,...
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Science Summaries are the Bomb!
Fifth graders read a dissection article and complete close reading activities for the text. In this reading skills lesson, 5th graders read an interactive frog dissection article in teams. Student teams complete a KWL chart and...
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Finding the Good Stuff in What We Read
Students work to develop comprehension strategies. They focus on three rules for summarizing: getting rid of extra information, organizing, and finding the main idea. Through modeling and then guided practice, they apply these rules ...
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Science in the News
Students explore science in the news through articles, magazines, and internet news sites. They select articles, read them and summarize them to identify the audience that would care about their topics. As they present their articles...
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Round Robin Post-It Review
Learners of all ages participate in a unique review activity. They work in a small group setting on individual review questions designed by the teacher. Each individual answers a key review question on a notecard or sticky note and...
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Life Science: Plant Life Cycles
Practice defining words that have to do with plant life cycles. The list included here is mainly for structural units, but could be used to review their relevance and the process of the life cycle.
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Rain
First graders practice oral and silent reading using beginning comprehension and decoding strategies. In this guided reading instructional activity, 1st graders take a picture walk and make plot predictions prior to reading the...
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"The Buzz About Honeybees"
In this reading comprehension worksheet, young scholars read an article on, "The Buzz About Honeybees", and then answer 10 short answer reading comprehension questions.
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Simple Machines Stations!
Fourth graders investigate the principles and uses of an inclined plane, screw, and wedge and identify examples of simple machines. They rotate through three experiment stations, complete a worksheet for each station, and read a handout...
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Oklahoma Stone Soup
Learners discover the history of the Oklahoma Territory and what foods cowboys used to eat while on the move. In this culinary activity, students read the ingredients to Oklahoma Stone Soup and prepare them in a crock pot over the...
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The Gift of Life - Day 2: "Cell & Organelle Time to Tell" and "World in Color" (Chapters 2-4)
Students complete a cell biology lesson and a color lesson based on The Giver. In this biology and reading comprehension lesson set, students examine cells using microscopes. They look at the organelles and listen to How Much is a...
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Night of the Twister
Pupils use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Pupils complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the story...
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Spiders
Students read books and make art projects dealing with spiders. In this spiders lesson plan, students learn about the different characteristics of spiders through listening, answering questions, and making spiders.
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SciPod Studies
Have fun preparing a science podcast. After reviewing vocabulary, learners record audio files to create science vocabulary podcasts for particular units of study. A clever way to incorporate technology.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Here is a good lesson on butterflies and caterpillars. After listening to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, young learners put cards that depict the life cycle of a butterfly in the correct order. There are some good ideas for center...
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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...
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Astronauts Build Space Station Addition
Students read a story called Astronauts Finish Building Space Station Addition and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions about it. In this space station lesson plan, students respond to literature by answering questions,...
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Vocabulary: Types of Ecosystems
Pupils practice using vocabulary words from life science. They will investigate the ecosystem and the terms that are associated with it. In addition, they will complete a fill-in-the-blank exam using the vocabulary words.
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The Mastodon Kill
Using the book Bandits, Bears, and Backaches, learners develop an understanding of the pre-history of Arkansas. They follow the trail ofthe giants mastodons and paleo Indians who lived there long ago. The emphasis on this lesson is on...
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Great Picture Books to Teach Social Studies for Grade K-3
Every class enjoys reading new books at the beginning of a unit. Use this resource to identify a variety of books for kindergarten to third grade that can be used to complement social studies standards. The books can kindle learners'...
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Phineas Gage: Assessment Strategy
Close up your study of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a letter-writing assignment. Pupils prepare by journaling and sharing with a partner. They then compose letters that focus on a big idea from the...
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Ready-Set-Tech: When a Volcano Erupts
Wouldn't it be a blast to uncover the science behind volcanic eruptions? Explore, research, and examine the nature of volcanoes with three fun hands-on projects kids will love. First the class takes to the Internet to research volcanoes....
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Make a Mission
Students discuss the terms exploration and technology. They read about the MESSENGER, Mission to Mercury, and answer questions. Next, they design and plan the technology for a space mission using an online interactive activity.
Rainforest Alliance
Colombia Biodiversity
How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading...