Virginia Department of Education
Elaborating with Showing, Not Telling
This engaging activity is a great change of pace for the classroom. The activity starts with a simple message on the board “The teacher is angry.” The instructor is to stomp around, drop books and glare—anything to show anger. The...
Curated OER
Show, Don't Tell: Details to Make Writing Come Alive
After each of three viewings of a 45-second video, aspiring writers employ vivid adjectives and precise, strong verbs to "show, don't tell." First they compose a single sentence, then three, and finally a five-sentence paragraph. Repeat...
Curated OER
Elaborate By Showing, Not Telling
In this writing worksheet, learners learn to create a vivid picture in the reader's mind with descriptive words. Students read 10 pairs of example sentences-- one telling an event and the other showing it. Learners then write 4 "show not...
Curated OER
Satire and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Does Mark Twain’s satire become sarcasm and does he cross the line of propriety in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? As an introduction of satire, class members view an excerpt from The Daily Show and discuss Stewart's use of this...
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Learn NC
Sentence Elaboration with Prepositional Phrases
Read a short story, "A Day at the Park" together as a class. Have the class break up into groups to add prepositional phrases to each sentence to make it more elaborate and interesting. Consider having a volunteer from each group read...
National Wildlife Federation
Yesterday: Our Energy Needs Over Time
How has our relationship to energy changed over time? An engaging exploration challenges learners to create a timeline showing human energy needs and uses over time. Scholars review what timelines are, choose a 50-year period in history...
Towson University
The Wildlife Forensics Lab
Can science put an end to the poaching of endangered species? Show your young forensic experts how biotechnology can help save wildlife through an exciting electrophoresis lab. Grouped pupils analyze shark DNA to determine if it came...
Curated OER
Using Imagery
Show, don't tell! Pairs work together to change a list of telling sentences into showing sentences using picture words that create vivid pictures in the readers’ minds.
Curated OER
Show Me the Number
Second graders develop the ability to show two-digit numbers using place value attributes in the early additive stage five. They utilize the manipulative's of sticks, rubber bands, counters, small canisters and uni-link cubes to assist...
Curated OER
Show! Don't Tell!
Students write a descriptive paragraph. In this writing activity, students define elaboration and discuss the characteristics of an elaborate paragraph. Students write a paragraph that contains vivid adjectives, strong verbs and exact...
Center Science Education
Investigating the Climate
What do graphs of atmospheric gases over time show us? Do they indicate that carbon sources and carbon sinks are not in balance? Up-and-coming meteorologists watch video clips, read information, and analyze data from the HIPPO (HIAPER...
Columbus City Schools
Cell-abrate!
Lights, camera, action! With the cell at center stage, guide your seventh grade biologists through the tiny drama that plays out within every living thing. Then, enjoy the show as they portray the organelles they've studied—a performance...
Columbus City Schools
Get Your Organisms Organized
From large to small, show your class how to organize them all! Included within the guide is everything you need to take their knowledge of classification from the cellular to the species level. The worksheets focus on building vocabulary...
Curated OER
Medieval Architecture
While this resource is about architecture, it isn't about art. It demonstrates the differences between Romanesque and Gothic architecture to show changes in the socio-political spectrum of the time. Images and good discussion questions...
Curated OER
What Happens Next: 2
What happens next? That is a great question that requires learners to think about the sequence of events then make a prediction. They assess the pictures on the left and draw lines to the pictures on the right that show what will happen...
Michigan Farm Bureau
The Little Red Hen
No one will be saying "Not I" with a lesson that combines The Little Red Hen with the life cycle of a wheat stem! After reading the story in your class, pass out wheat stems to your learners and have them examine the plants closely,...
Columbus City Schools
Constructive and Destructive Geologic Processes
Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very own...
Curated OER
ABC Grammar Book
Elementary learners create an ABC grammar book. The project begins with class members taking digital pictures of items that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Depending on level, they then add a word or a complete sentence to...
Curated OER
The TASP 5 Paragraph "Persuasive" Essay
Though this presentation is designed for the Texas Academic Skills Program's (TASP) writing assessment, it could work for any class that is preparing to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Slides take intermediate writers through...
Columbus City Schools
It's the Heat and the Pressure?
Ready for a change? Give a comprehensive collection of metamorphic materials a try! With the assortment of printables and lab activities, you won't be under pressure to keep things lively. The unit culminates by having pupils complete an...
Macmillan Education
Christmas: #SadTree
Christmas trees can be as large and elaborate as the tree in Rockefeller Center, or as small and understated as Charlie Brown's tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas. But where did the tradition of Christmas trees come from? An engaging...
NASA
Christa's Lost Lesson: Effervescence
How are chemical reactions affected by gravity? Learners explore the phenomenon of effervescence as part of the Christa's Lost Lessons series. They compare findings in an experiment on effervescence to a video of a similar experiment in...
Curated OER
Cultural Show and Tell
Young scholars research their own cultural heritage and share it with the class in a Show and Tell presentation.