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Summarizing with James and the Giant Peach
Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...
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Differentiated Language Arts
Pupils read speeches and identify the main idea as well as the literary techniques employed, paying careful attention to the persuasion and repetition elements that each speech possesses. Using a graphic organizer, they analyze,...
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Bread in a Bag
Could the history of bread really be interesting? Yes, it could! An informational text gives scholars wheat production background from 8,000 years ago, discussing different types of bread and the current industry in Oklahoma. Learners...
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Organizing Main Ideas and Supporting Details
Students read given information and identify the main ideas and specific detail of the story. In groups, they read a historical title and create a "book talk" for each one, summarizing the story. In addition, students create a...
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Retelling and Summarizing
Having pupils use a rubric to score a piece of writing is an excellent practice. They read a passage titled, "Firefighters," and discuss different summaries that were written about it. They evaluate several summaries then score them...
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Reading Quilt/Main Idea
Sixth graders study main events in a story. In this reading comprehension lesson, 6th graders illustrate each event on a piece of paper with a quotation from the book and a summary of the event to represent the caption of...
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Summarizing Story Events
After reading a book on their own, pupils prepare an oral report on the book, and sit in the "Readers Report Chair" when giving the report to the class. They are taught to briefly summarize the book by talking about one of two...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...
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East Asia Country Project
Get your young historians thinking about East Asian culture and history during this partner research project, in which they analyze a variety of East Asian aspects to prepare for a presentation. After an initial "what do we already know"...
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Beginning to Read
Learners explore various books read by their classmates outside of school. After reading books of their choice, the class creates a bulletin board summarizing their main ideas of the book and their opinion of the book using Flat Stanley.
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Ten Cents a Word
Learners recognize the importance of summarizing in this lesson. They "sum up" an article about monarch butterflies. Students practice writing summaries of the article charging themselves 10 cents/word. They try to write the least...
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Maize to Maquiladoras: Movement from Mexico to Arizona
Fourth graders label maps of Arizona and Mexico to show the people, goods, and ideas that have moved between the two places. In this Arizona and Mexico lesson plan, 4th graders summarize the effects of the movement on Arizona life.
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Fun with Summarizing
Young scholars practice summarization by creating a story map. After reading Freckle Juice, students working in groups, create a story map of the main events of the story. Groups use their story maps to summarize a chapter of the story...
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AWARD CERTIFICATE FOR A CHARACTER
Connect to real-world experiences by having your primary learners create an award certificate based upon literal and inferential information from a story. They present the award to a character from a story and explain the criteria used....
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Pay it Forward
Students explore the basic concept of micro-financing. For this economics/literacy lesson, students listen to One Hen by Katie Smith, in which a small loan changes the life of the main character. Students employ comprehension strategies...
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Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
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Evaluate the Main Characters? Problem-Solving Processes
High schoolers read passages from several sources and evaluate the text for various criteria. In this problem solving lesson, students evaluate character problem solving processes after reading passages. They will use a Venn Diagram to...
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Writing From Experience (Grades 7-12)
Students brainstorm in preparation for writing an expressive essay. They review their responses to 'Writing from Experience' and write notes and brainstorm other ideas or details for their essays. They take turns illustrating their life...
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Book Jacket Report
Learners create a book jacket that covers a book they have chosen to read. They present their jacket to the class in a creative fashion. Students outline the main ideas of each chapter. They design their book jackets and complete a...
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Research and Technical Writing
Students summarize information from their research on to note-cards. In this technical writing instructional activity students examine examples of note-cards that contain main ideas from research previously conducted. They will...
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The Future of the Milky Way
Students brainstorm ideas about the future of our galaxy. In this space science activity, students research the three main events happening in the Milky Way. They write a report about their findings.
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The Transit in Pictures
Students investigate the June 2004 Transit of Venus, write a screen play, and produce a movie or animation of the transit including a narration. The difference between storytelling and storyboarding is made clear in this lesson.
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SciPod Studies
Have fun preparing a science podcast. After reviewing vocabulary, learners record audio files to create science vocabulary podcasts for particular units of study. A clever way to incorporate technology.
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Making a Bird's Eye-View
Students explore the bird's-eye views on the Texas Bird's-Eye Views website, and discuss why the views were created. They design and create a bird's-eye view of their classroom, school, or community.