Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Word Tree - Bonsai or Banyan
What fun! As part of a vocabulary exercise designed for Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida readers create word trees with the trunk representing the root word and the branches representing prefixes that can be added to the...
Curated OER
Homophones
Here is a terrific lesson on teaching homophones to your upper graders! In it, homophone word cards and homophone bingo cards, which are embedded in the lesson, are used in a game format which reinforces this important part of speech....
Curated OER
The Insurgency In Iraq: A Quandary for the U.S.
Students read articles, conduct Internet research and participate in a mock debate to explore the pros and cons of withdrawing from Iraq or remaining in conflict with the insurgency. They consider the difficulties of consensus building...
Curated OER
Abigail Adams: Integrating Social Studies and Language Arts
Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams instructional activity, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced...
Curated OER
Preliminary information
Students develop reading strategies: inferring meaning from context. They work together in order to negotiate the meaning of the various vocabulary items. Students predict the personality of the main character in each of the books.
Curated OER
Eating Healthy
Students review healthy eating habits, and demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
Curated OER
Teaching Imagery with Gary Paulsen
Students read excerpts from memoirs written by Gary Paulsen as examples of how to write a narrative piece. They identify figurative language used and then they write a memoir of their own that contains imagery and figurative language.
Curated OER
Reading Partners
Students participate in several activities using a reading partner. They plan and organize reading meetings with their partner, and then review story elements by retelling the stories orally. The partners question each other and make...
Curated OER
Using Authentic Literary Text With Advanced Learners
Students practice reading for the gist of a text, improving reading speed, and fostering interest in reading authentic texts. They explore the use of figurative language.
Curated OER
Fever 1793: Anticipation Guide
Introduce the themes of Fever 1793 and determine your class members’ level of background knowledge with an anticipation guide for Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel about the yellow fever epidemic that swept Philadelphia. For each prompt,...
Curated OER
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the Novel
Students are introduced to Chinua Achebe's first novel and to his views on the role of the writer in his or her society. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the related lesson Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
Curated OER
Dandelion Wine: Questioning Strategy
Readers of Dandelion Wine work in groups to develop questions on four levels (right there, think and search, the author and you, and on my own) about Chapter 34 of Ray Bradbury's reflection on the joys of summer. Groups jigsaw and...
Curated OER
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Read All About It!
Develop an online newspaper covering the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The class publishes their newspaper on the school's Web site and analyze both primary and secondary sources.
EngageNY
Using Informational Text Features and Learning Freaky Frog Vocabulary
What kind of text features help children build a strong vocabulary? Class members use text features such as headers to unpack new vocabulary words. They create vocabulary journals in which they will write what they think the definition...
Scholastic
Abe Lincoln Remembers Lesson Plan
Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...
Teaching Tolerance
Where We Stand
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Academics learn strategies to share their opinions and agree or disagree with others in a respectful manner. The resource provides scenarios to help individuals form opinions and share them with...
EngageNY
Organizing an Opinion, Reasons, and Evidence: Text 2 for Each Expert Group
The proof is in the reading. Using the informative resource, scholars read a second article about either Althea Gibson or Roberto Clemente. As they read, they continue adding reasons and evidence to their graphic organizers to show how...
EngageNY
Using Effective Search Terms: Researching Screen Time
The proof is in the reading. Scholars read an article, "Attached to Technology and Paying the Price," and answer text-dependent questions. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of screen...
EngageNY
Analyzing, Comparing, Sharing: Modern Voices
What do modern voices sound like? Scholars explore the topic, reading two concrete poems from John Grandit's Blue Lipstick and analyzing them using a graphic organizer. Next, they read a third poem and work with partners to look for...
EngageNY
Organizing an Opinion, Reasons, and Evidence: Text 1 for Each Expert Group
Working in small groups, scholars continue reading an informational text about either Roberto Clemente or Althea Gibson. As they read, pupils create graphic organizers in their journals to help map their ideas logically.
EngageNY
Organizing an Opinion, Reasons, and Evidence: Expert Group Text 3
Let's race to the finish line. Scholars read an informational text about a chosen athlete. While reading, they add evidence and reasons to a graphic organizer to support their opinions about how their athlete broke barriers.
K20 LEARN
No Imitations, Please! Avoiding Plagiarism
With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...
Health Smart Virginia
How the Namuhs Learned to Be Content with Who They Are
Ninth graders consider how perceived standards of beauty influence body image as well as the relationship between body image and eating disorders. The class brainstorms traits the media presents as beauty standards for males and females,...
EngageNY
Studying Conflicting Interpretations: Perspectives on Plessy v. Ferguson: Part 2
The Plessy v. Ferguson case was influential in establishing segregation in the United States. Scholars continue reading the court's decision in the case, seeking to understand the key reasons the court came to its decision. Pupils also...