Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Grandfather's Journey (Say)
Read Allen Say's classic tale Grandfather's Journey as scholars expand their vocabulary in context (note: this strategy could be done with any text). Wondering what words they will learn here? Although you could easily include...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Have You Seen Bugs? (Oppenheim)
Are your scholars interested in bugs? Get future entomologists excited about vocabulary through Joanne Oppenheim's colorful book Have You Seen Bugs? They use the informational text (although this strategy is useful for any book) to...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Make Way for Ducklings (McCloskey)
Use the Caldecott Award-winning book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it) to guide budding readers through vocabulary in context. Although the...
Curated OER
Thesaurus Power
Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...
EngageNY
Speech Writing: Identifying Criteria for a High Quality Conclusion
Learning is never-ending. Scholars learn about effective conclusions as they continue watching a video of an opinion speech. After analyzing the speech's conclusion, they work in small groups to write an ending for their own speeches.
Curated OER
Order! Order!
Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this lesson, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story, receive different...
Curated OER
Beach Poetry
Familiarize young analysts with the relationship between words, meaning, and visual images. They consider the relationship between the painting Beach Poetry and the poem Sandpaper. They compose and illustrate an original a...
K20 LEARN
Slay the Slang! Summarizing Informational Texts
Middle schoolers get hip to the jive with a lesson about slang. They closely examine examples of slang and use context clues to infer the meaning of the terms. Groups read and summarize an article about a teacher who created a Gen Z...
ReadWriteThink
Captioning the Civil Rights Movement: Reading the Images, Writing the Words
Scholars boost their knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement with a lesson that challenges writers, readers, and historians to analyze primary sources and caption their observations. By way of reading, writing, discussion, independently,...
Curated OER
The Lightning Thief: Vocabulary Strategy
Take an in-depth look into the vocabulary from the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. With a list of words to choose from, scholars discover the definition, origin, stories associated with...
Curated OER
From Photo to Printed Word: Getting Second-Graders to Write
Use photographs to entice your children to write! In this digital storytelling lesson, students study the functions of digital cameras. They review their sentence-writing skills, then take digital photos and write sentences that describe...
Curated OER
No More Accordion-Style Teaching - Addressing Different Learning Styles
There are ways to address different learning styles in the classroom that can be motivating for all students.
Curated OER
Debates on Persuasive Language That Extend Outside of Class
There is no better sight to see than a classroom full of eager young adults, hands raised high, eager to jump into a class discussion. Get your class identifying and discussing rhetorical strategies and then debating long into the night...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Insects Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology explores the world of bees, wasps, beetles, termites, ants, fireflies, and more. Scholars listen to stories and discuss topics and practice word work. Extension opportunities keep the learning going in and out of...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 1: Memoir - Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is the focus of a unit designed for fourth graders. Scholars begin each lesson with a warm-up, then listen to a read-aloud of a section of the book. Pupils complete word work,...
Core Knowledge Foundation
The Human Body—Building Blocks and Nutrition Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology explores the human body. Over three weeks, second graders listen to and discuss texts related to the cells, tissue, organs, digestive system, excretory system, nutrients, and a balanced diet. Learners practice word...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 2: Early American Civilizations
Fifth graders explore early American civilizations in a four-week ELA unit. Every lesson offers an opportunity to read and discuss a selected passage followed by word work that covers vocabulary, grammar, and morphology. Learners write...
Curated OER
How Do You Learn Best?
In this learning styles learning exercise, students, with a partner, take a quiz on how they learn best and discuss what intelligences and multiple intelligences mean.
Curated OER
Speak Vocabulary Strategy
A scarlet letter “V” stands for a desktop teaching vocabulary activity designed for Speak. Prior to reading Laurie Hales Anderson’s young adult novel, individuals sign up for a word, design a handout that illustrates the word, includes...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Strategy Instructional Routine: Maus I and II
Pogrom, schlepped, meshuga. Kapo, reich, Wehrmacht. As part of a unit study of Maus I and II, readers use a list-group-label (LGL) strategy for vocabulary drawn from Art Spiegelman's famous graphic novels. The focus of the activity is...
Novelinks
Words by Heart: Level 3 Writing Assignment
Get in touch with the emotional side of writing by reading Words By Heart. The writing assignment helps learners make personal connections with the text and hone their writing skills by exploring a time that they had to forgive...
Curated OER
Word Problems Dealing with Ratio and Proportion
Mindful middle-schoolers read and solve a number of word problems. Learners copy and discuss what they believe their strategies are in solving each problem. They also write their findings and share with the rest of the class.
All Things PLC
Professional Learning Community Manual
Although designed for a specific learning community, much can be gleaned from this manual about how to set up a learning community and the responsibilities for the various members.
Curated OER
Using Counting-on Strategy for Purchasing
Intended for learners with autism and developmental disabilities, this lesson uses the strategy of counting-on to enhance independent shopping skills. Learners will practice counting on to the next dollar value in order to purchase items...