Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein
Contrary to popular belief, the monster's name in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not Frankenstein. A teacher's guide for the novel helps readers make sense of key details in the text, define vocabulary words, and discuss prominent...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Over the Hill
Can you hear me from there? Pupils determine the place to build a cell tower on a hill. The class uses constraints and creates a scale drawing on a coordinate system to calculate the exact location of the base of the cell tower.
Curated OER
Zooming In, Zooming Out
Students develop their writing skills. In this writing instructional activity, students play a word game to help them formulate a plan to write descriptions of people or objects using descriptive words.
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Vivid Words
In this descriptive words activity, students read the vivid words and their definitions in the word box. Students then write a word from the word box that correctly completes each sentence.
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Picture This
Students, after explaining the famous quote, "A picture is worth a thousand words," supply the missing words to a wordless story by Mercer Mayer called "A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog." They brainstorm the setting, plot, descriptive words,...
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Strong Verb Image Makers
Learners use description language to clarify ideas and create vivid images in an essay focusing of strong verbs. They discuss weak verbs and explore that the better image the words create, the better the reader understands the text.
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Play with Words: Rhymes & Verse
Learners listen to poems and rhymes, clap out syllables, and sing along with familiar tunes. They use puppets and crafts to help recall and retell favorite poems, and craft their own poems.
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Uncommon Heroes of Today
Learners create a photo-biography of someone they consider a real life hero. In this character sketch lesson, students define a hero and identify heroic characteristics in short stories. Learners use descriptive words to...
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Ice Cream Toppings
Students explore the five senses. In this senses instructional activity, students use their senses to top their ice cream. Students compare and contrast the different toppings and write their observations, using descriptive words, in a...
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The Grapevine-Teaching Storytelling to English Language Learners
Students participate in a game designed to aid in storytelling. They spread a rumor to each member of their team using information found in the accompanying worksheets. Students earn points when they report their rumor correctly. ...
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Eggs-tra Special Sounds
Students explore different sounds. In this sound instructional activity, students participate in an egg hunt. The eggs are filled with different materials and hid around the room. Students find the eggs and chart the different sounds...
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Adjective? What's an Adjective?
Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...
Curated OER
Underwater Descriptive Detectives
First graders utilize descriptive words to convey ideas in writing. After hearing the story, 'Rainbow Fish,' students create their own fish books. The books contain original writing and illustrations.
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"The Selfish Crocodile"
Students participate in various shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Selfish Crocodile" by Faustin Charles. They identify descriptive words from the story, and write sentences describing how the crocodile...
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Little Engine That Could Lesson Plan
Students retell the story The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify the various trains featured in the story, focusing on the descriptive words. Students then create their own...
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Counting Sentences' Words
Explore language arts by completing a worksheet with class. They read the story Owl Moon and discuss the rhythm of the writing and how action verbs are used appropriately. Then complete a writing worksheet which discusses writing...
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Speak Write! Understanding the Hidden Meaning of Words
Students investigate connotation and denotation as a basis for greater examining of language. They identify the literal meaning of words and explore the greater implications and impact of word usage.
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Problem Solving Strategy for Multi-step Math Problems
Third graders analyze mathematical word problems and interpret the words into mathematical equations. Individuals demonstrate their knowledge of the order of operations both verbally and through written expression.
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Combining Syllables to Form 2- and 3-Syllable Words
Students practice combining consonant-vowel-consonant sounds to form words. They read closed and silent "e" syllables. Students construct two-syllable words. They arrange syllables to form three and four syllable words.
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Heroic Vocabulary: Using Decoding Strategies and Thesaurus
Develop the decoding skills of your middle and high schoolers. Scholars participate in a classroom activity that requires them to decode a word with a prefix and suffix. They apply the skill of breaking the word into parts of meaning as...
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Solve Time and Money Word Problems in Everyday Life
Fourth graders solve real life problems involving time and money. They write their own math word problems. Students use addition, subtraction, multiplication and fractions to solve math problems.
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Getting the Word Out
Discuss and generate blogs in this technology lesson. Middle and high schoolers explore examples of blogs and create their own blogs. Use this lesson throughout the year to reinforce concepts from your language arts class (or any class)....
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Understanding Stage Design: Using Visual Elements to Provide Information to an Audience
Students study about theatrical design by developing environments for improvised and scripted scenes. They develop focused ideas for an environment using visual elements.
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Teaching Grammar in Context: Using Sentence Combining to Teach Subordination
Reinforce sentence styles with this lesson, which prompts young grammarians to build complex and compound-complex sentence structures. They respond to non-print text and identify subordinators as parts of speech procedure. They spell...