Curated OER
Writing with Colorful Adjectives
Students use colorful adjectives when using their response journals responding to the book The Sign of the Beaver. In this adjectives lesson plan, students also correct a paragraph that has 10 incorrect adjective forms.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast a Cookie and a Cracker
Learners write an essay comparing and contrasting two like items. In this informative writing lesson, students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast a cracker and an Oreo cookie. Learners write an informative five paragraph essay on...
Curated OER
It's Your Birthday! Expository Writing Unit 2
Students create an expository essay. In this writing lesson Students are assigned a country and must conduct research surrounding a historic event that occurred in that country at the time of their birth.
Curated OER
Quick Writes
Students write on a variety of topics, maximize creative and expository writing skills, develop focused writing, organize ideas, incorporate detail in writing, and exhibit varied and precise word choice.
Curated OER
Disasters - Where, When, Why
Fourth graders research natural disasters that have occurred in the US in the 20th Century. They create a computer database of the disasters and write a paragraph with the information.
Curated OER
Mock Trial Preparation
Students work together to help prepare for a mock trial presentation. As a class, they identify and discuss each part of a trial and participate in a mini-demonstration to help visualize the steps. After completion, they write a...
Curated OER
Studies of the Ancient World
Sixth graders, after taking a pretest, write a paragraph describing the difference between Athens and Sparta and write an article about the ancient Phoenicians, describing their contributions to world history. They compare democracy in...
Curated OER
Accentuate the Expositive: Unit 2 Expository Writing
Students analyze narrative passages in order to improve their writing skills. In this narrative writing lesson plan students use the same style of writing that they have analyzed in their own narrative passage.
Curated OER
Determining Main Idea and Supporting Details-Wild in the City
Students discuss the main idea of a story. In this writing process lesson, students use a video about parakeets as a tool to find the main idea of a story. After viewing the video, they engage in a discussion about...
Curated OER
A Song for Today - Lesson 3
High schoolers analyze musical and topical elements in popular songs and compose song as a classroom effort. They write a short paragraph evaluating the effectiveness of the song in conveying the message of the lyrics.
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird
Students participate in a layered curriculum unit in order to give them opportunities to master objectives. Students pick the activities and this allows a differentiated lesson plan to occur with many opportunities for assessment.
Curated OER
Culture Universals Lesson Plan
Students perform research on specific cultures. They write a short paragraph on each of the universals and explain how each universal relates to their home culture.
Curated OER
1, 2, 3...A Summary
Students summarize a piece of nonfiction text. After reviewing the correct way to gather the important information needed to summarize, students independently read a nonfiction article. They write a summary paragraph using the process...
Curated OER
Writing with Style: Six Traits of Good Writers
Fourth graders listen as the teacher reads a picture book that emphasized word choice. They discuss words and how word choice impacts a piece of writing. Students view various passages on the overhead, and highlight adjectives and verbs...
Curated OER
Songs That Bring Us Together
Students listen to the song, Get Together, and discuss the theme. They list topics that bring people together, write the lyrics to and sing a class song, and write a paragraph about message songs.
Curated OER
Responding to Literature: James and the Giant Peach
Fifth grade reader/writers create an alternate ending to an episode in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach in which our protagonist "loses" the chance to magically solve all his problems. Prompts students not only to write creatively...
Curated OER
What's Proper?
Learners practice using capital letters for proper nouns and adjectives. They play a matching game with word cards and correct paragraphs with incorrect capitalization, and edit their work with a partner.
C3 Teachers
Reparations: Why Are Reparations Controversial?
To understand why the topic of reparations is controversial, young scholars gather background information by reading articles, watching videos, and examining cases where reparations were made. Learners consider the lasting repercussions...
Curated OER
Freedom for the Chilean Miners
Have your class read this seven paragraph article about Chilean miners who were trapped and freed from a mine. There are five comprehension questions, a verb-to-noun matching exercise, a role-play suggestion, and a creative writing task...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Lord of the Flies Unit
How does a society influence and shape individuals? Class members ponder this essential question as they read Lord of the Flies, as well as primary source materials about the historical background of the novel. As a...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 3: King Arthur and the Round Table
Over four weeks, fourth graders study King Arthur and the Round Table, retold by Alice M. Hadfield. Fifteen lessons take pupils through each chapter, complete word work, and the writing process to draft paragraphs, sentences, dialogue,...
Curated OER
¡Cha cha en Chihuahua!
Can you name all of the Mexican states? Most Americans can't, even though Mexico is our close neighbor. Encourage your Spanish learners to research a Mexican state and create a comprehensive PowerPoint to share the newly acquired...
American Documentary
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Plea Bargains
The outcome of 90 percent of criminal cases in the US is determined by plea bargains. Clips from the documentary Better This World create the backdrop for an investigation of the benefits and drawbacks of the plea bargaining process....
Curated OER
Understanding Connotation
Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," which is available online, is used in the language lesson presented here. Middle schoolers read through the text for comprehension. Then, they reread the first paragraph and identify all the words with...