EngageNY
Taking Notes Using a Graphic Organizer: Inferring About Work and Play in Colonial America
What was life like in colonial America? Follow this lesson and your pupils will find out what people in colonial times did for work and for fun. Ask learners to compare and contrast the two texts and explain what the reading helped them...
EngageNY
Research: Identifying Categories for Our Research About the Wheelwright
Here is a fine instructional activity on reading and understanding expository text designed for 4th graders. With a partner, learners read a passage of text about a machine called a wheelright. This machine was commonly used in...
Curated OER
Fact or Fantasy?
Are we alone in the universe? This brief informational text on extraterrestrial theory has been split into seven sections to help scholars practice note taking. They read the statements, underlining key words. Then, using the graphic...
Curated OER
Plants: Report Planner
Introduce your young learners to the basic research project. They explore plants using a three-page note-taking guide. On the first page, they write down things they would like to know about the topic and where they might look to find...
Student Handouts
Graphic Organizer: Reference Citations
Pupils practice researching sources and logging citation information with this graphic organizer. After posing a general topic, groups of students are asked to devise general questions about that topic, and to research sources...
HISTORY Channel
Westward Expansion of the United States
How did early American pioneers decide what to take with them on their journeys, and what was their traveling experience like? Here you'll find a collection of activities to help you explore Westward Expansion with your young learners.
Read Works
Writing a Research Report
Transfer information from an outline into a well-developed research report. Using an already-written outline, model how to write an introductory paragraph and a body paragraph. Work through the conclusion as a class before allowing time...
Curated OER
Creating and Outline From Research
Fourth graders develop 3 research questions about a topic they choose and categorize the information they have learned. In this research lesson plan, 4th graders use a variety of non fiction materials from the library.
Curated OER
Don't Fence Me In
Ensure that your class has a well-rounded understanding of new inventions, in this case barbed wired. Class members, after researching the history and development of barbed wire, assess its impact on cattle and the development of the...
Curated OER
Mr. Goldman's Good Idea
Shopping carts are a modern convenience that many people take for granted. Make sure your pupils do not fall into that category by completing the activities in this plan. There are ideas included for language arts, social studies, math,...
Read Works
Using Text Features to Find Information
If you are working on a research project, consider this resource. First, model how to use notes and text features to create an outline. Next, allow individuals to choose a topic and complete the same process that you showed them....
Alabama Learning Exchange
Men and Women of Space Exploration
Fourth graders research famous astronauts. In this space science instructional activity, 4th graders list famous astronauts and use reference materials and the Internet to write a report on them.
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Ocean Floor
Learners explore the ocean in this earth science lesson. They use the Internet to gather information on parts of the ocean including the beach, ocean floor, continental shelf, trenches, and the animals that inhabit these parts.
Curated OER
Ag In The Outfield
Young scholars explore baseball. This is a cross-curricular plan that includes math, history, and agriculture. Pupils use their five senses to observe the materials a baseball is made from and identify the agricultural products used. In...
Curated OER
Mighty Earth Movers
Note that although the publisher lists almost all of the Common Core standards for both math and language arts, you will most likely want to take the general topic and choose which area to focus on. Regarding math, pupils measure worms...
Curated OER
Just Lookin' For a Home
What is a boll weevil? Your class can find out that and more by following the activities included here. Pupils read an article, sing a boll weevil song, add to the song with their own original lyrics, illustrate the song, study the...
Library of Congress
Loc: For Teachers: Classroom Materials Using Primary Sources
This excellent teacher resource features lessons that use primary source documents in an engaging way. Included are lesson plans created by teachers, themed resources, primary source sets, presentations and activities, and collections...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Personal Stories and Primary Sources
Students will explore the value of personal stories and first-hand accounts when exploring history, in this case, the events of the early twentieth century, which included World War I and the Great Depression. Through this five-unit...
Library of Congress
Loc: Collections, Guides and Bibliographies: Web Guides
This series of web guides serves as a collection of resources for research into a variety of areas including the performing arts, sports, government, law, art, American history, Women's history, African American history, literature and...
National Archives (UK)
The National Archives: Focus on Film
Should students believe everything they see on tv? The National Archives provides this resource for students to examine cinemas as an accurate source of history. Links to archived videos and activities are provided. RI.11-12.7 Eval...
abcteach
Abcteach: Biography Research Form [Pdf]
Good printable instructional activity that helps students complete biographical research.
Beacon Learning Center
Beacon Learning Center: If You've Seen One Source, You've Seen Them All. Right?
This is a tutorial teaching the difference between primary and secondary research sources. It provides specific examples and asks students to answer questions along the way. Java is required.
American Rhetoric
American Rhetoric: News and Information Index
This website is a news and information index that offers links to news sources, newspapers, magazines and journals, search engines, polling data, legal resources, and citation guides.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing With Scientists
After students investigate a topic through research, hypothesizing, observing, and experimentating, teachers can use this instructional activity to help their students prepare short science reports and publish them online. The Writing...