Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Strategy 3: Using Graphic Organizers Implementation Guide
Whether or not you are new to using graphic organizers with informational or expository text, the materials in this guide will prove useful.
Student Handouts
Five-paragraph Essay Organizer
Some learners just feel more comfortable with very explicit directions. The directions on this template for a five-paragraph essay are very explicit and detail the content and order of each paragraph to be crafted. Color coding reveals...
Curated OER
Analyzing Relationships
Fifth graders analyze the relationships among characters in a story. In this language arts instructional activity, 5th graders read Maniac Magee and discuss how the relationships between the characters change throughout the story.
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Graphic Organizer
Help young readers align character relationships in an activity for Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. After kids discuss the characters and how they relate to each other, they use index cards and a graphic organizer to outline the...
Curated OER
What A Tangled Web We Weave
Learners of many ages discuss how all organisms rely on other organisms for their survival. They construct a food web and energy pyramids, and write an informative essay about the food web that they have designed.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 2
Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...
Curated OER
Can You Get the Signal?
What is a signal word? Recognizing these words is an important step in both reading and writing formal text. Review a list of signal words (provided and organized into specific categories), and then have your class play a game to...
Curated OER
Food Web in the Bay
Sixth graders study the food web in a bay. In this food web lesson, 6th graders investigate the SAV- submerged aquatic vegetation of a bay including their predators, and how the organisms eat, have proper living space and water. They...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
Students examine the Japanese writing form of Haibun. They identify the elements of Japanese prose and poetry, analyze a haibun for writing devices, complete a graphic organizer, and compose an original haibun as a form of journal keeping.
Curated OER
Kalahari Explorations
Students explore world geography by completing graphic organizers and researching the Internet. In this Kalahari desert lesson, students identify the geographic location, weather and creation of the Kalahari desert. Students define a...
Curated OER
Naming New Species
Young scholars explore science of taxonomy and the Five Kingdoms of life,
categorize organisms into Kingdoms, and create multi-media presentations illustrating knowledge of a Kingdom. They collect data and related pictures on the...
Curated OER
Literary Analysis of Theme
Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...
Curated OER
Using Cinderella Stories to Study Venn Diagrams
Seventh graders read Cinderella stories and complete graphic organizers for the various versions. In this story analysis lesson, 7th graders read versions of the story Cinderella. Students organize the story's information using a variety...
Macmillan Education
A Wrinkle in Time Discussion and Activity Guide
As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...
University of North Carolina
Communication Studies
A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....
Curated OER
Molecular Approaches to Evolution
Students examine the molecular studies of organisms that have led to a new era in their understanding of speciation and evolutionary relationships. Students study the allelic frequency of genes controlling specific molecules and assess...
Curated OER
Animals, Animals, Everywhere
Fourth graders participate in a variety of activities dealing with animal characteristics and classifications in this multi-task lesson. They use graphic organizers, make booklets, and make models.
K12 Reader
Hide and Seek
Why do certain animals look the way they do? It could be because they have developed camouflage. Kids can read up on camouflage and mimicry and then respond to five questions related to the content of the passage.
Curated OER
Choose Your Defense: Spines, Vomit and Camouflage
Students investigate defensive mechanisms of insects and organisms. In this biology activity, students draw imaginary caterpillars as well as imaginary parasites that will harm the caterpillar. Students utilize the Internet...
Curated OER
Rainforest Alliance: Biodiversity
Fifth graders compare biodiversity in their neighborhood and in the rainforest. In this biodiversity lesson, 5th graders read stories and gather information about the diversity of life found in their area and in the rainforest. As a...
Curated OER
Creation Mythology
Students construct a map from geographic data and explain relationships found in the information. Students identify ancient beliefs and customs through Hawaiian creation myths while comparing similarities and differences and appreciating...
Curated OER
Time Management
Students are taken through the design process to develop a system of time management for themselves and others. They practice participating in a critique of other students' time schedules and modify and improve their initial time...
Field Museum
The Case of Darwin's Finches
One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...
Green Education Foundation
How Loud is Too Loud?
Ever wonder how loud a sound has to be to cause damage? Young scientists explore sound properties by researching decibel levels. They discuss how sound is perceived by our ears and our brains and why it can cause negative health effects...