Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...

In the tenth instructional activity of this unit, young scholars learn to categorize information as they continue researching their colonial trade. During guided practice, the teacher models how to read informational text slowly while...

What was life like in colonial America? Follow this lesson and your pupils will find out what people in colonial times did for work and for fun. Ask learners to compare and contrast the two texts and explain what the reading helped them...

This second instructional activity in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and...

The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...

The how and why of note taking is the focus of a four-page worksheet. Tips include how to take notes in class, how to prepare note cards for a speech, how to fill out note cards on readings, and where to keep notes. Whether distributed...

Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

Third graders get ready to take notes on a field trip.  In this notetaking lesson, 3rd graders take notes to remember what they've seen on a field trip. Students draw and analyze diagrams of what they have seen.  Students...

Note taking is an invaluable skill and requires practice. This lesson plan incorporates the Cornell Notes format, however the plan itself could be implemented to teach any style. The basic idea here is to use university lectures on...

Encourage your middle schoolers to interact with the text as they read. While reading "Three Skeleton Key," class members note predictions, define words and study their meanings, take notes on how the suspense builds, and jot down...

Building on the previous activity in this unit on colonial trade, the ninth activity has young experts continuing their research and writing summaries of the information they find. To begin, children participate in guided practice where...

Are we alone in the universe? This brief informational text on extraterrestrial theory has been split into seven sections to help scholars practice note taking. They read the statements, underlining key words. Then, using the graphic...

Flex those brain muscles! Scholars take a mid-unit assessment, conducting research to take notes about how a particular invention helped meet society's needs. To complete the test, they work on draft sketches for their graphic...

Two narrative excerpts tell the same story from different points of view. In the first excerpt (first person), sequencing words and phrases are bolded and learners write down what the bold type does. The second excerpt is in third...

Taking notes is the topic today. Kids learn why notes are taken, when they are useful, and how to pick out the most important information to make their notes functional. Several interesting examples of various note forms are shown, along...

Encourage your class to consider a beautiful short film about a boy named Theo who happens to be visually impaired. Over the course of the instructional activity, pupils work in pairs, discuss their ideas and the film as a class,...

Get the facts straight. Scholars complete their mid-unit assessment by reading a text, watching a video, and observing a picture about howler monkeys. They take notes about the facts they discover to use in future lessons.

How is a map a type of informational text? Class members view a world map of major rainforests, discussing its text features with a partner. Next, they take notes on key details from multiple texts about rainforests and write an...

Students practice essay skills. In this essay skills lesson, students select an essay subject and take notes for their topic. Students create a web for their essays. Students organize, write, revise, and publish their essays.

An assessment designed to examine scholars' reading comprehension skills takes place over three days. Starting with a read-aloud of My Five Senses by Aliki, learners then take notes and discuss their most memorable moments with...

I survived! Scholars read a firsthand account from a natural disaster survivor in the text Save Bella! They record the gist of the text in their journals and answer text-dependent questions. They then take notes to more deeply analyze...

In general, pupils are not allowed to write in school-issued books; however, they can write on a bookmark that you provide! Kids can take notes on the setting, characters, themes, and connections as they read a short story or novel.