Curated OER
Role Play Debate
Suggested topics for a role play debate include school uniforms and culpability for drunk driving, but any issue of interest to your class will work. What are the hot issues in your community or on the news right now? Class members...
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Aesop's Fables
Examine the fables of Aesop with your class. Pupils identify the morals of fables and role-play a scene from their favorite fable of Aesop. Additionally, they compose letters to a favorite character in the fable. Learners role-play again...
Curated OER
Inner Circle/Outer Circle Debate Strategy
Arranged in facing concentric circles, half the class discusses an issue. The other half of the class takes notes which are then used to fuel a class discussion and to prepare editorial opinions on the topic at hand. So much emphasis is...
Curated OER
My Alphabetical Autobiography
Design a pictorial autobiography using the letters of the alphabet. For each letter, writers select visual images that represent life events and interests. Younger writers add words or sentences of explanation while older writers narrate...
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Reading Strategies: Main Idea
Identify the main idea and the supporting details of a story in a literacy resource from Discovery Education. Complete with procedures, vocabulary, and assessment activities, this is a great way for pupils to practice their outlining...
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Parts of Speech Slide Show
Review the parts of speech. English Langugae Learners use KidPix to create a paint picture for nouns, verbs, and adjectives. They use the KidPix slideshow tool to construct a slideshow of their work.
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Tell Me That You Love Me 5-7-5
Students listen to several examples of Haiku poetry and discuss the strict format. Then students create and edit their own Haiku poems and enhance them with ink designs.
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Eating Up Idioms
Ah, food idioms! Now that sounds tasty. Class members read and discuss various food-related idioms, create an illustration of a food-related idiom, and develop a class book or bulletin board to celebrate figurative language and National...
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Spelling Detective
Put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and become a spelling detective! Scholars hunt down the spelling errors in a short passage of a high-interest current events text. Here is a great way to develop editing and reading skills.
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Creating an Interesting Setting
In this setting worksheet, students fill out a chart for seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting, and hearing in a setting. Students complete 20 boxes total in the chart.
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March Madness Poetry Tournmament
Students are exposed to a variety of poems, know elements of poetry, analyze poems, and make decisions by voting. They also share their own thoughts and opinions and listen to and respect the thoughts of their classmates as well. 64...
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Spelling Clue Race
Pupils decode clues in order to correctly spell words. They find clues hidden in the classroom to review for their spelling test. Perhaps this isn't the most effective way to review, but it is creative, so it's likely to capture the...
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Spell, Shoot, Score!
Games are great ways to motivate. The class is split into two teams; each team earns points by correctly spelling given words. To score bonus points, teams get to shoot baskets with a small ball. Tip: This game could be used to reinforce...
Lesson Planet
New Books for Black History Month
Suggested books to help students better understand African American history.
Curated OER
Flat Stanley Travels to U.S. Regions
Fourth Graders read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. In the story a bulletin board flattens the main character. He is then sent in an envelope to a friend in California. During a fantasy genre language arts unit, groups of students...
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Keeping Yourself Organized During Writer's Workshop
Writer's Workshop can be a wonderful way to develop a classroom of authors.
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You Too Can Haiku
Learners conduct Internet research and explain the history of Haiku. After listening and reading various examples of Haiku, students use their own vocabulary and practice their math skills to determine the correct number of syllables...
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Help Others on Boxing Day
Students discover Boxing Day and participate in an activity about giving to people in need. They collect canned goods and/or clothing to give to those in need and decorate boxes for the donated goods.
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You do! We do! We all Scream for Haiku!
Haikus offer a way to explore new ideas for teaching poetry, science, and math.
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A Creative Way of Reporting on Books
By using creative ways to complete book reports, like using cereal boxes, you can motivate students.
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Book Buddies
Students read a book and share a book review with an e-mail book buddy once a month. They word process the review, copy and paste into the e-mail for sharing.
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Vocabulary Dictionary Drill
Investigate vocabulary terms related to communities. First your class generates a list of vocabulary terms related to the study of communities. Working in small groups, they compete in a dictionary drill to discover the meaning of the...
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Tall Tales
Students are provided with an opportunity to explore not only the interface but also the variety of scenery and objects available on the program. Younger students may require additional teacher assistance during the computer activity.