Curated OER
Legs in the Barn
Students listen to the problem being read. They then brainstorm possible approaches and are encouraged to plan ways of recording their work so that others examine what they have done and share their findings.
Curated OER
Virginian Contributors
Students examine the contributions of native Virginians to the United States. For each person, they read excerpts of a book about their contributions and organize the information in a chart. In groups, they become an expert on one of...
Curated OER
Fraction Trains
Students examine how multiples of the denominator indicate that a fraction can be renamed as a whole number, and convert improper fractions to mixed numbers. Independently they read examples, and complete a variety of problems on a...
Curated OER
Telling the Stories the Past Tells Us
Students create historical stories based on factual evidence. In this Telling the Stories the Past Tells Us lesson, students write historical stories using strategies such as characters, plot, setting, and voice. Students analyze several...
Curated OER
"O Captain! My Captain!"
Who was Walt Whitman, and what link does he have to president Abraham Lincoln? After Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" This poem and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" are the focus of...
Curated OER
The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version. This lesson includes several culminating project...
Curated OER
A Great Beginning
Check out this detailed resource for some beginning of the year activities. After examining examples, class members uses the computer lab to create a personal brochure enhanced with clip art or photos to introduce themselves to the...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Fabulous Fibonacci and His Nifty Numbers
Fibonacci numbers are not only found in the classroom but also in nature. Explore the concept of Fibonacci numbers through a series of lessons designed to gain insight into the mathematical reasoning behind the number pattern, and spark...
Curated OER
Here Comes Winter!
Learners investigate winter behaviors in animals. They describe winter and write about the characteristics of the season by drawing and labeling a winter picture. Students then conduct research on a chosen animal and create a chart. ...
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
Write a Harry Potter Script
Examine the technique of writing a script and complete a worksheet in which young writers summarize a favorite chapter in a Harry Potter book. They practice public speaking by acting out the summarization scenes for classmates. Handouts...
Curated OER
Telling Time to 5 Minutes
In this second grade lesson your class will practice telling time. The goal is to tell time to five minutes using an analog clock. Your young students count by 5 minute intervals and discuss elapsed time.
Curated OER
Animal Keynote Report
Learners produce a research project on an animal. Using the Internet, they find pictures and information about animals. They are also given a list of items that should be covered in their report, including the appearance of the animals,...
Curated OER
Author! Author!
Beverly Cleary is the fabulous author focused on, in this author study. Students conduct Internet Research in order to find out as much as they can about Ms. Cleary. They then use their findings and the Garageband program to create a...
Curated OER
Applying Phonetic Principles
Young readers develop their phonetic skills by using a nifty tool called a word pocket. They use the tool to help them organize individual letters that they have at their desks to spell entire words and to construct beginning and ending...
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
Curated OER
Past Imperfect: Examining Secondary Sources of the American Revolution
Ninth graders respond in essay form to the following writing prompt. Mel Gibson, star of The Patriot, is quoted as stating, "If one were to adhere to historical accuracy all the way, you'd probably have the most boring two hours on...
Curated OER
An Amazing Story
Students develop sequential stories to guide a partner through a computer-generated maze. In pairs they illustrate each place and character listed, build and print a maze, and write a class-generated story.
Curated OER
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Students explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...
Curated OER
Different Ways We Celebrate
Students examine a variety of ways that families celebrate winter holidays. They complete a graphic organizer comparing Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and write a five-sentence paragraph about one of the holidays discussed. Students...
Curated OER
Time Travel Writing Assignment using "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
Students examine the consequences of time travel through the analysis of the short story "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury. They watch a PowerPoint presentation, conduct Internet research on endangered ecosystems, and create a...
Curated OER
Edgar Allan Poe: an Author Unit
Eighth graders study the life and writing of Edgar Allan Poe in this unit of work.
Curated OER
Twelve Days of Christmas--Prediction, Estimation, Addition, Table and Chart
Scholars explore graphing. They will listen to and sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and estimate how many gifts were mentioned in the song. Then complete a data chart representing each gift given in the song. They also construct...