Curated OER
"Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets"
Young scholars examine the expressive and descriptive language used in the books "Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets" and "Planet of the Robots." In pairs they take notes about each other's physical appearance and conduct interviews,...
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Survival Kit
Learners discuss how a strong community can be helpful for survival during hard times. In this Survival Kit art activity, students create their own Survival Kit. Learners use various items to symbolize things needed for survival in day...
Teaching Tolerance
Musical Movement Showcase
Young performing artists create a song or choreograph a dance to illustrate a theme in a text they are reading. Step-by-step directions are included.
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Fruit Writing
Students who have recently learned about similes and metaphors practice putting them in their writing. They get a better understanding of how similes and metaphors can be used by practicing the usage of them in their own personal...
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Another Side of Paradise
Students write a sequel to a book read as a class. In this culminating activity, students write a sequel to the novel This Side of Paradise by Stephen Layne. Students use the epilogue to guide their writing.
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Benedict Arnold Lesson Plan
Fourth graders read about and write a biography on Benedict Arnold.
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Poetry Cyberbook
Emerging poets design a website and then post seven original poems as well as their written critique of these poems. Although the resource mentions Inspiration and FrontPage technologies, any software could be substituted.
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Are You Balanced?
Fifth graders discuss what it means to have balance in their lives. Individually, they are given a worksheet in which they list their activities and things they are involved in. To end the lesson plan, they place weights on each side of...
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Talk it Over and Work it Out!: Compromise
Fourth graders explore, analyze and discuss how to interact with others in ways that respect individual and group differences. They identify and practice the skills used to compromise in a variety of situations. Each students studies the...
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Build a Tasty Sandwich
The subject doesn't sound to interesting, but with a child's imagination even a trip to the store can be an adventure. The class writes a narrative story about a trip to the store. They organize their stories to include an introductory...
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The Writing Process
Introduce young writers to the writing process. Activities model the steps in the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, polishing). A logic tree template is also included.
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What About Fighting?
What are the positive and negative consequences of violence? Elementary and middle schoolers discuss how some see violence as the answer to resolving conflicts. They identify the positive and negative aspects to using violence, and ask...
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Coming To America
Students investigate the history of America with the help of children's literature. The story is structured as a timeline that begins at the time of Columbus and progresses to the present. The teacher reads the story with the class and...
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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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Differences Between Resource Types
Google it! Like Kleenix, Google has genericized. But when beginning a project, young researchers need to go beyond search engines and become aware of the different types of research resources available. Introduce the options with a...
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Flat Stanley Visits....Your Imagination in Claymation!
For this literature lesson, learners read the Jeff Brown book Flat Stanley and collaborate to create claymation characters from the story. Students create a claymation video and discuss using word cards during hte movie.
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A look at our larger population
Student team together to tell the story of the U.S.'s rapid population growth. Young scholars research census changes, focusing on changes in the size of the community and the school. Students tell the story by writing articles and...
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Women Call Out: The Personal Narrative
After reading and discussing several personal narratives written by women in the 1920's, class members write a personal narrative of their own about a time in their lives they felt controlled. Sample narratives can be accessed through...
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What's So Bad or Good About Conflict?
Learners of all ages discuss how conflict can be negative and positive. First, they create a class bulletin board about conflict, and provide their thoughts and connotations surrounding the word. In a class discussion, they ask questions...
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Choose Your Words Wisely
Improve word choice! Writers use dictionaries and thesauruses to aid them in choosing exciting words to incorporate in their writing. They rewrite sentences and practice identifying words that can be replaced using a better word....
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Mapping the Lewis and Clark Trail
Students explore how physical and human geography features effected Lewis and Clark's expedition by using the Lewis and Clark Digital Discovery Web site.
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It's Raining Cats and Dogs! Literary Devices and Figurative Language
Third and fourth graders study literary devices and figurative language. They view a PowerPoint presentation (which you must create) to review hyperbole, idiom, simile, and metaphor. They read and discuss the book There's A Frog in...
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Angry Feelings (Responsible Personal Conduct)
Students review proper classroom behavior and anger management techniques.
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William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: Fate Versus Free Will
Learners relate legends of lucky objects such as a rabbit's foot and principles of Feng Shui to fate and free will concepts that are expressed in Shakespeare's play, "Julius Casear". In small groups, they redesign the palace of Casear to...