Curated OER
Sticky Note Reading Lesson
Fourth graders read about Indiana's history and use sticky notes to record important information. In this sticky notes lesson, 4th graders record cultural information about the people of Indiana.
Curated OER
The Piano
Second graders read The Piano and become familiar with racial discrimination. In this racial discrimination book lesson, 2nd graders answer comprehension question to focus on the importance of the book. Students discuss the...
Curated OER
Making Connections
Fourth graders investigate visual imagery to aid reading comprehension. In this reading strategies instructional activity, 4th graders discover how visual imagery helps in comprehending a story. Students use a reader's notebook to record...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Request Strategy
Can your learners stump you with questions? Find out with this question-centered activity! After reading a portion of My Antonia by Willa Cather, pupils question the teacher. Once the first round is complete, the class reads more and...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: The Pomegranate
To better understand the conflict between Amir and Hassan, two characters in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, readers assume the voice of one of the boys and craft a letter to the other that explains his feelings and concerns.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension Strategy Ideas
Students participate in pre-reading activities, journal keeping, vocabulary lists and other reading comprehension boosters. These activities can be applied to many genres.
HealthTeacher
Get More Sleep
Help learners identify habits that interfere with sleep and to understand the importance of adequate rest and its impact on not only physical health, but also emotional wellbeing.
Scholastic
Reading Characters
Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.
Curated OER
Incorporating Reading Comprehension Using Cinderella Stories from Different Lands
First graders investigate Cinderella tales from different lands to discover their commonalities in this unit. They perform their favorite Cinderella story.
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising- Metacognition
Sixth graders develop metacognitive skills while reading Esperanza Rising. In this comprehension strategies lesson, 6th graders read a chapter from the book and discuss questions with a small group. Students share with their peers.
Curated OER
Teaching Listening to Advanced Learners
Students provide input on listening tasks and provide practice in listening for specific information in an exam type format.
Curated OER
Critical Thinking Strategies
Students explore critical thinking strategies. In this critical thinking lesson plan, students evaluate multiple choice answers. Students note similarities between incorrect answers and discover how to compare and contrast incorrect and...
Curated OER
Observation And Listening Skills
First graders read a story about polar bears and make observations as they read. In this observations lesson plan, 1st graders listen carefully and sing a bear chant.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Lean Mean Coping Machine!
Seventh graders are asked to choose and rank five scenarios from a list of ten that are most important to them. After explaining the reasons for the choices, they then identify the coping skills they used to make their decisions.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Be a Problem Solving Star
Encourage scholars to problem solve everyday frustrations using the STAR method. Using the acronym, learners remember to stop, think, act, and review. Participants begin with a math analogy in which they problem-solve to find the correct...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Be a Problem Solving Star
Reach for the STARs! Using the resource, scholars review the STAR (Stop, Think, Act, Review) method and discuss how to use it to solve a math equation. Next, small groups collaborate to solve a common problem in the classroom using the...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Hope to Cope: Coping Skills
Making decisions can be stressful, even for sixth graders. And even students this young have developed coping skills, some positive and some negative, to help them deal with stress. Class members are asked to identify several of their...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Problem Solving Game
Creativity, communication, cooperation. Pupils assume the role of employees at a game factory working together to develop a new game. Using the principles of the STAR method (Stop, Think, Act, Review), they work in teams to create game...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Opportunity Knocks, But It Costs, Too!
Sixth graders practice six steps to effective problem solving. Working with the school counselor, class members are presented with a scenario that requires them to make a decision. Individuals then write a reflection in which they...
Ontario
Reading Informational Text
Learning to recognize the importance of the features of information text (i.e., titles, subtitles, endnotes, sidebars, etc.) is the focus of a reading activity designed for middle schoolers. Learners examine how these text features...
Missouri Department of Elementary
If It’s to Be, It’s Up to Me
Here's a clever switch on the tale of Pandora's Box. Rather than lifting the lid and having problems escape, class members write a problem on a strip of paper and place it in Pandora's Problem Box. A student then pulls a problem...
Missouri Department of Elementary
I Know What You Did This Summer
Developing and maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships is difficult, especially as middle schoolers begin dating. A short activity permits eighth graders to practice their skills as they consider how they should respond to a...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Color Your Destiny
Class groups bring feeling words alive by creating a poster that illustrates with images and colors, but not words, the feeling conjured by the word. The posters are then combined into a mural for the classroom wall.
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Is Important to Me?
Pupils complete an activity sheet to determine what values are most important to them. They then discuss their responses with partners before sharing the results of the discussion with the class.