In the tenth instructional activity of this unit, young scholars learn to categorize information as they continue researching their colonial trade. During guided practice, the teacher models how to read informational text slowly while...

Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...

The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...

A lesson on taking notes challenges scholars to listen and write important information they can use later. Pupils begin with practice notes, write new notes with guidance, then test their note-taking skills independently. Peers share...

Active listening is all about thinking, asking questions, and making connections. That's the take-away from a instructional activity about active listening. Participants learn techniques for identifying important information, including...

Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...

This second lesson in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and defining important...

Building on the previous activity in this unit on colonial trade, the ninth activity has young experts continuing their research and writing summaries of the information they find. To begin, children participate in guided practice where...

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...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

Did you hear that? It's the main idea! Teach your class listening and note-taking strategies for determining the main idea by following the steps provided in this plan.

A multi-part lesson plan opens with a review of p waves and s waves. Then scholars use a simple s wave simulator to view the way the wave travels. Next, pupils use cups and various fluids to simulate p waves moving through different...

Post-It notes, highlighting, underlining. Sam Anderson’s New York Times Magazine article, “What I Really Want Is Someone Rolling Around in the Text,” launches a study of “marginalia,” or writing thoughts in the margins of a text. After...

Singing, clapping, moving up and down with the melody, it all sounds like a great music instructional activity. Kinder-musicians sing three different songs to practice memory, speaking, and movement skills. They'll move to the melody,...

Engage young mathematicians in learning about fractions with this cross-curricular math and music lesson. After listening to and repeating different beat patterns, children realize that musical notes are just another way of representing...

If you have access to Harmonic Vision’s Music Ace Software, then this lesson could work for you. Kindergarteners use the video music software to place, identify, and read musical notes. They listen in and identify both high and low...

As your class reaches the end of the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the seventh instructional activity in this literary unit helps third graders transition from reading narrative to expository writing. Scholars develop their...

Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...

Once you find and evaluate your sources, it's time to discern the most helpful information. In a research lesson plan based on questions derived from Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, practice annotation and taking notes.

Organize your learners with this well-laid-out note-taking printable. Note blanks are organized to allow for two strategies of graphing an equation given in standard form. 

Make an impact on young physicists with this fun collection of resources. After first watching a video and taking notes on the physics of car crashes, students go on to complete a series of activities that explore the...

What starts as a basic question of division and remainders quickly turns abstract in this question of related ratios and radii. The class works to surround a central coin with coins of the same and different values, then develops a...

Scholars use a Story Impressions Note-catcher to capture their first impressions of words or phrases from To Kill a Mockingbird. They then listen to a reading of the first six pages of the novel before the teacher asks questions to check...

Learning how to summarize can be a challenge. Guide your writers through the process of summarizing a story using the children's tale; I Want My Hat Back for practice. Class members then use this "Somebody, Wanted, But,...