Classroom Adventures Program
Creating Characters
Examine character in depth. Over the course of these six lessons, learners explore their own character traits, determine the traits of characters in the books they read, practice comparing and contrasting, and collaborate in small groups...
Curated OER
Making Magical Creatures Talk
Invite your young writers to take the reins with writing dialogue. Using two characters of their own creation, kids work with partners and then individually to write short conversations.
ReadWriteThink
Who’s Got Mail?
Today's kids are probably not familiar with the conventions of letter writing, due to the boom of technology. Here is a lesson that will provide opportunities for formal and informal letter writing.
Curated OER
Random Acts of Kindness For Kids
Develop a world-wide, email chain on which class members can showcase their acts of kindness. After defining the meaning of random acts of kindness through discussion and through a reading of Random Acts of Kindness,...
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Create a Book with Student Treasures
You can't publish a story until after it has been revised and edited! Budding authors investigate the writing process while drafting an original story. They select a topic, complete a rough draft, edit it, revise it, and finally publish...
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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...
Curated OER
Amelia the Pigeon: Lesson 1
Young scholars listen to the story, Amelia the Pigeon, predicting Amelia's story and creating their own stories of Amelia's flight using pictures of New York City. They build views of their neighborhood by pulling together drawings from...
Curated OER
Jazz: An Expression of Cooperation - Lesson 3
Students describe ways in which the principles of students or citizens working together are interrelated with those of musicians working together. They demonstrate their knowledge of the concept of "swing" in various jazz styles.
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African Village
Students create and decorate an African Heritage home. In this art lesson, students research different African homes and then create one using a box decorating the home using crayons or markers.
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Mrs. Portillo
Students view a film about the importance of working together. They idenitfy different people's roles in the community. They participate in activities in which they practice Spanish vocabulary.
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Please Ex-Planet!
What is most useful about this lesson plan is the "Student Explanet Worksheet," a set of instructions for collaborative groups to use to collect information about an assigned planet. After learners have researched and organized their...
National Wildlife Federation
What's Your Habitat?
How are third graders like rabbits? They both live in habitats and require food, water, and shelter to survive! An educational science instructional activity encourages your learners to think about their own habitats and survival needs,...
Curated OER
A Readers' Theatre for Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
Second graders read and perform a reader's theater version of the story, "Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain." They complete a graphic organizer of cause and effect of their part in the story, look up vocabulary words on a dictionary...
Curated OER
Homes of Yesterday and Today
Students explore homes as shelters while they built writing and technology skills. In this homes of yesterday and today lesson, students produce books using digital photography. Students develop vocabulary while researching how homes are...
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Connection to the Past
Students learn basic interviewing and biography writing skills. They first identify a senior citizen in their community who remembers the Great Depression.
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Huguenot Street
Third graders visit Early Huguenot Street and identify architectural structural and design elements that were in use before 1720. They consider how architecture has evolved and complete Venn diagrams with their observations.
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The Selling of the Taj Mahal or Osaka Castle
Seventh graders work in groups and act as a real estate company who is trying to sell a billionaire a historical landmark to house his art collection and must make a presentation convincing him to buy their historical site.
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Jobs in Jamestown
Students research data on Jamestown settlers in order to learn about the daily life and events in the colony. In this investigative history lesson, students work in groups to analyze the results of the Jamestown census. Students take...
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I Like It: Discovering Your Personal Style
Learners explore design options and styles to discover their personal style. In this personal style instructional activity, students reflect upon personal taste and style preferences and explore the link between color and mood. Learners...
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Transforming Anansi Folktales Into Storyboards
Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...
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Greetings from Maya Angelou
Students investigate the life and works of Maya Angelou. They complete a Webquest, read poems, listen to a reading by Maya Angelou, answer discussion questions, and write a poem, short story, or essay based on a newspaper article.
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Our Town
Students discover what makes a community run smoothly by reading signs and visiting various places in their community. In this social studies lesson, small groups of students take photographs of community signs and places and then ask...
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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...
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Change for the future: Redesigning Maquoketa
Sixth graders research a problem to be solved in their town, develop a rationale as to why they should act on this problem, and present their ideas to the class and their community. In this problem solving lesson plan, 6th graders...