Lesson ten in this unit for the book Bullfrogs at Magnolia Circle, prepares third graders to begin writing an informational paragraph about the adaptations of bullfrogs. First, young writers work either independently or in pairs to...

It's the halfway point! Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment to showcase their knowledge and skills so far. They create a graphic organizer, write an opinion about how their athlete created a legacy, and then record the best reasons...

Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...

Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...

Time to pick a side! Building on the Fishbowl activity from the previous instructional activity, scholars choose a position about whether the American Academy of Pediatrics should raise its screen time recommendations. Using notes,...

I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...

Transitions are the glue that link paragraphs together. Pupils listen to a mini lesson plan on sentence structure and transitions and use what they learned to revise their informative consumer guides. Next, they self-assess their writing...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

The proof is in the reading. Using the informative resource, scholars read a second article about either Althea Gibson or Roberto Clemente. As they read, they continue adding reasons and evidence to their graphic organizers to show how...

Take note. Scholars receive their claim drafts back to revise and write their claims and three pieces of evidence on notecards. They save the notecards to use when the verbally present their claims to the class. At the end, individuals...

Young scholars write their own fables. In this writing fables instructional activity, students use handheld computers to write a fable. The class designs a spreadsheet to organize common elements of fables. Young scholars also edit each...

Middle schoolers brainstorm about famous people, and each selects one to research. Each student finds information about the famous person by reading a biography and conducting Internet research, and then creates a graphic organizer to...

It's important to cite sources! Scholars take a closer look at their research about DDT by examining how to cite sources. Learners take turns sharing information that would be used to cite sources to complement Rachel Carson:...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

Not all sandwiches are edible. Scholars use a Quote Sandwich graphic organizer to draft the written content of their informative consumer guides. Additionally, they view a mini-lesson on formal writing. 

Encourage creative, independent, and reflective thinking and writing throughout the school year by having your class members keep Interactive Student Notebooks (ISN). Here you'll find a presentation designed to...

Let's focus on a holiday from around the world! Young researchers choose a holiday from somewhere around the world, and conduct research to answer questions about the holiday. It can be used anytime during the year!

Take two! Scholars begin part two of the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment. They continue researching the destruction caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires. To further their research, they discuss how new information connects to the...

After reading a text, ask your pupils to recall and organize what they've just learned into a blank three-column chart. Class members write the topic and fill in the columns with information. The sheet also prompts students to write a...

Can you put that in writing? Scholars work with a partner to write a practice claim before writing their own claims. After writing their claims, learners share with class using a Concentric Circles activity.

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...

Learners identify the title and author of stories. They create a database that supplies both graphic and written information to identify a book.

That sounds like a plan! Scholars complete the Newspaper Article Planning graphic organizer to understand the process of writing a newspaper article. They also use what they learned about researching factual information and...

Students design a web page table with rows and columns of text in a gridded display. They write a HTML for integrated layout schemes of text and pictures. They create a table that has different colored cells.