Growing Minds
Growing Minds: Cucumber Exploration
After reading a picture book about planting and harvesting cucumbers, learners get a chance to examine some cucumbers of their own. First, they see photographs of a cucumber on a vine, and learn that it is part of the gourd family....
Curated OER
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Teaching Through the Novel
Students are introduced to Chinua Achebe's first novel and to his views on the role of the writer in his or her society. It can be used alone or in conjunction with the related lesson Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
Shodor Education Foundation
Graphing and the Coordinate Plane
Ready to introduce your class to the coordinate plane? This website includes a detailed lesson plan that includes two interactive games to help learners practice graphing ordered pairs. The scripted discussion is a little cheesy and a...
Visa
The Cost of College: Financing Your Education
With college tuition at an all-time high, high school learners must consider the financial obligations of attending higher education, as well as the impact of college on future career opportunities. Pupils will complete...
Mathematics Vision Project
Quadratic Equations
Through a variety of physical and theoretical situations, learners are led through the development of some of the deepest concepts in high school mathematics. Complex numbers, the fundamental theorem of algebra and rational exponents...
Curated OER
Words We Know
Students explore environmental print. For this emergent literacy concepts of print lesson, students bring examples of environmental print from home which are put on display in the classroom. Students view websites to locate and...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
PBS
Journalism Ethics
As a journalist, would you publish everything you heard or saw? Discuss the ethics of journalism with a lesson from PBS. Young reporters imagine themselves to be the editor of their school's newspaper, and as they read five scenarios,...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
Curated OER
Behind Closed Doors
Students explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking lesson, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a door as a...
EngageNY
Research: Identifying Categories for Our Research About the Wheelwright
Here is a fine lesson on reading and understanding expository text designed for 4th graders. With a partner, learners read a passage of text about a machine called a wheelright. This machine was commonly used in the colonial...
EngageNY
Deepening Your Research
Give credit where credit is deserved. Scholars discuss what makes a credible source as they take a look at "An Apparel Factory Defies Sweatshop Label, but Can It Thrive?" Learners read the article to look for answers to the research...
EngageNY
Module Reflection and Writing Book Reviews
Scholars take time to reflect on the unit and the end-of-unit writing assessment. They use a Working Conditions Reflection to help guide them through the exercise. Readers then begin working on a book review for the book they have...
EngageNY
Relationships Between Key Scientific Concepts: Planning What Causes Earthquakes
That is ground shaking news! Scholars read Earthquake in multiple reads to determine the gist, identify cause and effect relationships, and understand vocabulary. Learners complete graphic organizers to describe what happens before and...
EngageNY
Researching about the Red Cross: What Is a Multinational Aid Organization?
Lend a helping hand. Pupils read two informational articles about international aid organizations and how they help areas affected by natural disasters. Scholars attempt to uncover the gist of each text, discussing their thoughts in...
EngageNY
Revising: Strong Conclusions for My Accessing Books Around the World Informative Paragraph
It's important that writers leave their readers with a strong and satisfying conclusion. Help your young writers develop the skills to compose a concluding sentence with the steps outlined here. After class members have had a chance to...
EngageNY
Introducing Module 4B: “Water Is Life”
Learners take a gallery walk around the classroom to view various images and quotes. As they walk, they write down what they notice and wonder about what they see. After discussing their notice and wonder notes, they read the...
EngageNY
Analyze Model Position Paper with Rubric
It's time to choose a position! Scholars read a model position paper about fracking to practice identifying the topic and argument. Then, working with a partner, they use a rubric to assess the essay.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Text-Dependent Short-Answer Quiz—The Effects of Natural Disasters
Readers complete a mid-unit assessment by reading the text How Do Hurricanes Form? They answer text-dependent questions about hurricanes with short answer and sequencing. Learners then participate in a read aloud and text chunking...
EngageNY
Taking Notes Using a Graphic Organizer: Inferring About Work and Play in Colonial America
What was life like in colonial America? Follow this instructional activity 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...
EngageNY
Individual Research
Seventh graders get the option of choosing their own text from a selection to read and gather more information as part of their research. Learners discuss the difference in reading for research and reading for pleasure. They also begin...
EngageNY
Performance Task: Publishing the Final Brochure
Add your final touches! Seventh graders finish the final draft of the brochure they began in the previous lesson. They then reflect by talking with other learners to discuss their work. Peers talk about the choices they made in layout as...
EngageNY
Finishing Poster and Preparing for Gallery Walk
Practice makes progress! Using their drafts and resources from the previous lesson, pupils complete scientific posters for an upcoming gallery walk. Next, they practice presenting their posters to assigned partners.
EngageNY
Structuring The Search: Categorizing Our Research
What can you contribute? Scholars read text to determine how ants contribute to the rainforest. First, they categorize and sort facts gathered from reading. Next, readers focus on specific terms in each paragraphs of the text Ants by...