Curated OER
Writing Strategies
Young writers complete a unit of activities to learn and use writing strategies. They will complete 8 activities to prewrite, use descriptive words, asking and telling sentences, and correct spelling within their writing. Then they watch...
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School News
Compile a school newsletter with your budding journalists! Use the school calendar to assign each learner a specific even to cover! Possible events include the science fair, sports games, concerts, talent shows, etc. This is a project...
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Dancing through Poetry
Get your class up and moving as they explore how to express movement and dance through words. Designed around two poems by Lillian Morrison about break dancing, the activity truly captures the creative and multi-sensory aspects of...
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Literature
Students read a book that is recommended on the Internet, then write their appreciation of what they have read. They send their opinion about others' written appreciation through the e-mail.
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Who's Confused? Not Me!
The class works together to tackle easily confused words. Each learner receives a word and he or she must create a flashcard with the following things: the word, its definition, an original sentence that uses the word, and a picture...
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"Jabberwocky" Jive
Pupils review the fantasy of Alice in Wonderland and discuss the author. After reading the poem, "Jabberwocky," they look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Working as partners, they create a list of "protmanteau" or invented words...
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Class Books
Students brainstorm a list of personal information based on a variety of categories. After writing positive comments on their classmates, they spilt into two groups with one entering the information into a database and the other...
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The Nifty Fifty- Facts and Figures
Students explore an assigned state. In this United States geography lesson, students identify facts and figures related to a particular state. Students use the Internet for research and create a PowerPoint presentation displaying these...
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Mississippi Vocabulary Word Jumble
Twenty state related words are all mixed up! Can your Mississippi learners unscramble them? Words like Jackson, cotton, Evis, and mockingbird are included, to name a few!
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North Carolina Vocabulary Word Jumble
Can your young North Carolina natives unscramble these words? Twenty words associated with the state are listed. Some examples include bass, Easley, Polk, and tarheel.
Scholastic
Descriptive Writing Fortunes
What does your fortune say? Engage class members in writing complete sentences by first handing out fortune cookies and reading the messages. Pupils will practice writing complete sentences by composing fortunes to put in die cut fortune...
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Magical Creatures Land
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
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Assessing Reading Fluency Using the Flip Video
Utilizing a video camera, learners will read a story while being recorded. Later, they analyze the footage. After identifying their strengths and weaknesses with the teacher, they discuss reading fluency techniques. Adaptation: Instead...
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Asking Research Questions
Using discoveries and inventions as the focus, learners complete a research project. First, they come up with research questions. Then, they conduct research on the topic. Finally, they write a research paper.
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Mapping Perceptions of China
Students discuss what types of things are included on a map. They compare and contrast maps of China with a map they create and practice using different types of maps. They write analysis of their classmates maps.
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Maniac Magee: Life Without Problems
Young readers discuss how they would deal with problems faced by the main character in Maniac Magee. They write down their own problems and exchange them with others to analyze and provide possible solutions. They establish a "Dear Abby"...
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Writing a Personal Narrative
Students complete a variety of computer file pre-writing activities to help them prepare for writing a personal narrative. They focus on including a beginning, middle and end to their narrative. They make a class book.
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Exploring Adlai E. Stevenson II
Fifth graders research work to research six areas in the life of Adlai E. Stevenson II: His Early life, Governor of Illinois, Campaigns for president, Ambassador to the UN, famous quotes, later years. They create a supply of notecards...
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Mini Museum
Learners brainstorm about the different types of museums and complete a worksheet by looking at artifacts and what they think that object did. They work together in groups to complete a KWL chart throughout the lesson.
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Increasing Multicultural Understanding Through Folk Literature
Students read folktales from around the world comparing two of them using a computer generated Venn diagram. They create a game based on a folktale and use software to create a listening library of folktales.
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"Planet" Vacation
Students research a location of their choice using the internet. They list the characteristics of the location and why they chose it as their ideal vacation spot. Using maps, they pinpoint their destination and trace their route. They...
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What I Did On My Summer Vacation
Students use the internet to research the location of their summer vacation trip. Given the demographics, they plot the location on a world map. They create a brochure using the information they collected. Using PowerPoint, they develop...
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Grammar Review
Review grammar rules for simple and compound sentences. Learners diagram sentences and identify conjunctions, interjections, and prepositional phrases. As a class, they study their notes and complete pages in their grammar book to...
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Finding Main Ideas
Elementary schoolers read paragraphs one at a time in order to pick out the main ideas. They choose which sentences are most important in a paragraph. This type of exercise prepares learners to identify the main idea in longer narratives.