Joel Michel Studies
The Swiss Family Robinson: Novel Study
What items would most people want to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island? Using the novel study for The Swiss Family Robinson, scholars attempt to answer the question from their own perspectives. They also explore...
Curated OER
Summer Activities
Students work together in groups and pretend they are stranded on a desert island. In this desert island lesson plan, students write messages in a bottle, work together to give compliments, and talk about their feelings.
Curated OER
Hatchet: Before Strategy- Problematic Situation
If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...
Curated OER
Message in a Bottle
Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...
Curated OER
Authority Figures
First graders simulate that they have been stranded on a desert island. They are not going to be rescued and they have to figure out who is in charge, form a government, and how many levels of leadership there needs to be.
Curated OER
I Am A Rock, I Am An Island: Describing Landforms and Bodies of Water
Students identify common landforms and bodies of water from descriptions of distinguishing features. In this landforms and bodies of water lesson plan, students describe the features they see in the pictures given to them.
Curated OER
A Message in a Bottle
Pupils create an imaginary tale of travel and adventure. They explain who they are, where they were going when they got stranded, where they left from, and how they were traveling. They place their stories in bottles and set them afloat.
Curated OER
Places in My World
Second graders explore where they are located on the globe. In this maps and globes lesson, 2nd graders use a map to show where they live and show the cardinal directions. Students identify characteristics of mountains, flat land,...
Curated OER
Kid Maps: Reading and Creating Maps with Human Characteristics
Young scholars look at maps. In this map lesson, students listen to the book My Map Book by Sara Fanelli and they see the difference between human characteristics (buildings, etc.) and natural characteristics (rivers, etc.). They create...