Curated OER
Sarah, Plain and Tall - Intro to Literature Circle jobs
Learners read a book with each student having a specific job for the class. In this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...
Curated OER
Summing Up SuperCroc
Students read an article in a magazine about crocodiles silently, remembering not to make a sound, and trying hard to understand what the author is trying to tell them. They then write down some important facts they have read on a piece...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Miss Spider's New Car
Students read Miss Spider's New Car by David Kirk. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of spiders. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library connections.
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Duke Ellington
Students read Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the life of the 20th century composer. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and...
Curated OER
Should Populations in an Ecosystem be Restricted?
Fourth graders experiment to determine how overpopulation effects ecosystems specifically plants. In this ecosystem instructional activity, 4th graders conduct an ecosystems experiment after listening to Claire Daniel's, Ecosystems. They...
Curated OER
Let's Go Fact Fishing!
Students work in pairs to research animals in the ocean. They use the Internet, encyclopedias, and resource books to complete an information sheet with a photo of the animal and three facts. They present their mini-reports to the class.
Curated OER
Summarizing: James and the Giant Peach
Text marking and a T-chart format to distinguish important information from trivia help elementary readers summarize effectively. Encouraging readers to construct a chapter summary from paragraph-level topic sentences is another sound...
Curated OER
Heroes and Heroines of the Underground Railroad System (UGRR)
Fourth graders choose one leader, either Tubman or Coffin, and write a persuasive summary paragraph that explains why the leader displays the character traits of a hero/heroine in the UGRR
Curated OER
Rain Forests
Students watch a PowerPoint presentation about the layers of the rainforest. They create a paper rainforest in the classroom. They take notes from the presentation and write a paragraph to include in a layer book. They create a...
Curated OER
Buildings, Buildings Everywhere
Students gain awareness of shapes in architecture by creating a painting of their school and writing a reflective summary of their study of architecture.
Curated OER
Rules, Rules, Rules
Fourth graders create their classroom rules. For this Mayflower Compact lesson, 4th graders listen to the Plymouth story and learn about the Mayflower Compact. Students analyze the Mayflower Compact and create a class compact...
Curated OER
Natives of Indiana
Fourth graders participate in discussions about the Native Peoples who inhabited what is now Indiana. In this Native American lesson, 4th graders discuss the social and cultural structures of these Native Americans. They locate the...
Curated OER
KWL Chart and Background Article
Students discuss an ecosystem. In this coral reef lesson, students fill in their own KWL chart and contribute ideas to a whole class KWL chart. They read an article as a class to spark ideas for facts they can add to the "K" part of the...
Curated OER
Plot/Story Problem/Resolution
Students analyze the plot, problem, and resolution of a story. For this story analysis lesson, students read stories and fill out graphic organizers about the plot, story problems, and resolution.
Curated OER
Summarizing is Fun with Flat Stanley!
Young scholars read the book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown. Through modeling and guided practice, as a class, they complete a story map and 1-paragraph summary of the first chapter in the book. Then, in groups, they follow the same...
Curated OER
The Map of Summarization
Students review the concept of silent reading. Through modeling and guided practice, they follow six given steps in summarizing a chapter from "Charlotte's Web." Then they follow the same steps in summarizing the next chapter on their own.
Curated OER
Summarizing and Mapping for Comprehension
Students practice summarization in order to increase their comprehension of non-fiction text. They read and summarize passages by finding the main ideas in passages from a Social Studies textbook. After silently reading the passage they...
Curated OER
The American's Creed
Students explore the meaning of the American's Creed. In this civics instructional activity, students examine the creed, define related vocabulary words, and write their own creeds.
Curated OER
Cotton Journey
Students use "Cotton Journey-A Field Trip In A Box" kit to relate the significance of cotton to the Civil War period and to study the cotton industry in general.
Curated OER
United States Flag: Stars and Stripes
Pupils study the symbols and history of the United States flag. In this United States flag lesson, students complete a KWL about the U.S. flag. Pupils then visit a website to learn about the American flag and discuss the topic. Students...
Curated OER
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...
Curated OER
Say It with Meaning: Applying Sayings and Phrases
Students complete a unit of lessons on well known sayings and phrases. They create a journal, write paragraphs, sequence events, and analyze key vocabulary for various sayings and phrases throughout the school year.
Curated OER
Speak Up, Speak Out
Fourth graders examine, compare, and summarize the speeches of Sojourner Truth and Patrick Henry. They review the parts of a good speech and design and give their own speech that expresses an opinion and persuades the listener..
Curated OER
Background Reading and Coral Dramas
Students create a dramatic play. In this coral lesson, students explore the anatomy of coral. Working in groups, students research the form and function of coral and present a skit to represent their learning.