Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tornado Brainstorming

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
While the focus of this lesson is on writing about tornadoes, any topic could be substituted. The lesson provides a well-thought out overview of the writing process. Learners come up with a thesis statement, supporting  details, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day in the Life of a Homeless Person

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine a day from the point of view of a homeless person. They listen to and discuss two stories, identify ways to help homeless people, watch a Reading Rainbow video, and write an essay.
Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

Artifact Research Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critic's Choice

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders read three to five genres and choose one as a favorite. They write an essay persuading the class to read the genre. This lesson serves as a nice introduction to different styles of literature.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cause and Effect: Light Clusters and Geography

For Students 3rd - 6th
After viewing a map of lights at night over a variety of geographic formations, young topographers connect the location of light clusters to geographic features that encourage human settlement. They list causes and effects of large...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Indian Story Bag

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students use an object to tell an interesting story from their lives. They write and present a short story about an interesting episode from their life and gather objects in a story bag, which illustrates their story to the class.
Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

Oral History Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using "Four-Square"

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders use a four-square graphic organizer to help a third grade writer organize thoughts and clarify thinking to write a simple expository paragraph, a workshop summary paragraph.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Venerable Inventors

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students discuss important historic inventors and read their biographical information.  In this world history lesson, students describe Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison, and Guglielmo Marconi using vocabulary terms used in their text....
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Let's Eat: An Expository Slideshow Presentation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Students will write a three-paragraph essay explaining the steps necessary to follow a recipe and then present and serve the recipe to their classmates.
Unit Plan
Beacon Learning Center

Beacon Learning Center: Trailblazing Introductions

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
This tutorial focuses on the introduction for an expository essay or research paper. It states the purpose of an introduction, what should be included, and ways to begin.
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Changes [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
"Chicago Changes" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how Chicago changed from a small town to a large city. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining...
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: A Guide to Expository Writing

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart will help guide the teacher and students through an expository writing prompt. Develop the essay directly on the flipchart and model writing for your class.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2.a
Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: Responding to Comparison/contrast: Compare/contrast Essay [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
This PDF instructional activity focuses on writing a comparison/contrast essay, which is a great format for helping students think deeply about two ideas or concepts with multiple similarities and differences. This type of essay has...