Curated OER
Summertime Travel
Third graders write about a summer event they participated in. For this paragraph writing lesson, the teacher models how to write about a place they have visited. Students then write their own paragraphs. Students will point out on...
Curated OER
Writing Strategies: Descriptive Words
Students discover the importance of using descriptive words in good writing. They brainstorm words to describe elephants and dogs then watch a video that describes different items. Each student writes a paragraph using descriptive words...
Curated OER
Learning to Analyze Characters
Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters. In this character writing activity, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen....
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Oral Language in Mathematics
Third graders examine fractions by descriptively writing about them. For this number sense lesson, 3rd graders read number sentences and compare fractions based on their size. Students explain fractions to a friend by writing a friendly...
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Who Will Help?
Students analyze the characters in the book The Little Red Hen. In this character study lesson, students discuss the behavior of the characters and write about positive ways to work together for a common goal.
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Let's Learn About Numbers
First graders participate in a variety of drill and practice activities as they study numbers. They play with numbers, write about numbers and have opportunities to manipulate and match up numerals, number words, and sets of objects.
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Creative Writing: Haiku
Haikus by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki are used as models for a brief lecture on the importance of poetry in Japan's history and the structure of this poetic form. Students then go on a nature walk, record impressions, and return to the...
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Running Out of Time: Letter to a Character
Once your learners have a firm handle on the characters in Running Out of Time, invite them to write letters to chosen characters about the events of the novel. Pupils then share with others who wrote to the same character.
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Plagarism and Crediting Sources
Before the lesson begins, the teacher writes a paragraph about a favorite toy from his/her childhood. The paragraph is read to the class, and each of the sentences are closely looked at for details and support of the topic sentence....
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A Happy Time
Second graders listen to stories about feelings and identify their own feelings during certain times of their lives. In this a happy time lesson, 2nd graders explore writing elements as a way to communicate with a variety of audiences...
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Welcome to the First Day of School!
Classmates participate in a variety of getting-to-know-you activities for the first day of school. They make resolutions, become detectives about their fellow classmates, learn about each other by playing switch, and make...
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Dear Presidential Diary
Middle schoolers discover how a president spends the day. In this presidential history lesson, students research primary sources in order to write their own diaries for presidents that include suggestions of laws, managing personnel,...
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The Inner Voice: Writing as a Tool to Control Anger in the Classroom
Third graders write about their feelings and thought for 10 minutes. They color an image that corresponds with their feeling and present their feeling poster. They write about their thoughts and daily feelings to help them reflect and...
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Failure-Proof Writing: Assignments for the Student Who Can't/Won't Write
Pupils with learning disabilities are introduced to the techniques of proper writing. After completing a warm up, they practice writing about what they saw to determine where they are at in the process. In groups, they complete a set...
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Student Autobiography: An Approach Through Journal Writing
Students write about an ordinary, everyday happening such as riding in the family car, preparing for school in the morning, doing the wash, shooting a foul shot or sitting in English class. They look at how he/she spends time during the...
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Hands are for Helping (Responsible Personal Conduct)
Youngster learn the importance of cooperation and sharing through a fun art project! Following a brief introductory discussion in which the class brainstorms how they can use their hands to share, youngster get divided into pairs to...
The New York Times
Making Do: Learning and Growing Through Adversity
What is it that makes people keep going when they face challenges in life? Ask your class to consider this question in relation to their own experiences and as they read material from The New York Times. Using personal experiences...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: My Robot and Me
Robots and their interactions with their human counterparts are the catalyst for a fun writing instructional activity. First, the class brainstorms what they'd like to have their personal robot do or be capable of. Then, they each write...
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The Lightning Thief: During Reading Strategy
After reading up to page 371 of Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, get insight into how Percy felt making a major decision through active discussion strategies that enable both academic...
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Travel Diary
Darwin kept a travel diary as he voyaged to South America, noting the politics, geography, cultures, animals, and interesting facts he encountered. Your class will do the same. Each student chooses a country to research and keep a five...
Smithsonian Institution
Trait Tracker
Help mice beat the odds with an exciting activity about traits. Biologists discover the role of diet and other factors on animal traits by participating in a simulation activity. Teams collect and evaluate data to understand how certain...
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The Great Gatsby Historical Background Using Multi-Genre Research Project
Before beginning F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, create a historical context of the Roaring 20s with this lesson. Set up a gallery walk with the provided PowerPoint, which features 10 topics related to the 1920s. Then begin...
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From Light to Dark and Back
Experiment with light and dark in a series of interactive activities that lead up to reading and writing poetry. Class members have the opportunity to observe their feelings while sitting in the light and dark and to play with shadow...
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Set a Poem to Music
Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...