Curated OER
Space Food
What do astronauts eat in outer space? Kids can read an informational passage to learn about space food. The passage includes prompts that have learners identify the main idea and key details, then write a paragraph summarizing the text....
Media Education Lab
Propaganda Techniques
In an age of fake news, alternative facts, and biased reporting, it is more important than ever that 21st century learners develop the critical-thinking skills necessary to recognize, analyze and resist the propaganda techniques used in...
NASA
Model Development Assessment Activity
Time to show off what they've learned! The final lesson in the series of six asks young scholars to process their learning from the previous lessons. They identify possible elements of the sun as well as a possible origin.
Committee for Children
Students Learn to Stop Rumors Before They Start
Two activities look at how rumors are spread and ways class members can stop them. The first activity brings forth an in-depth conversation about how reporters gather information to write articles and how students can implement the same...
Curated OER
Elaborating the Main Idea, Using Supporting Details
A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...
Curated OER
Contemporary Civic-life Issue Research Based Essay
Seventh graders write a five paragraph persuasive essay on a contemporary civic-life issue.
California Academy of Science
The Heat is On: Cause and Effect and Climate
The higher the number of letters in the final word for the National Spelling Bee, the higher the number of people killed by venomous spiders. Obviously, those two facts correlate, but no causation exists. Scholars view data based on...
Curated OER
All About Penguins
Second graders research penguins. For this all about penguins lesson, 2nd graders identify facts from their readings and write an expository paper using proper capitalization and punctuation.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions, Main Ideas, and Key Vocabulary about the Bullfrog
As your 3rd grade class finishes reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the eighth lesson plan of this unit helps readers from an understanding of the very specific information on the final page of the book. As with the entire unit,...
Curated OER
Ashes to Ashes: Using Evaporation Rate to Identify an Unknown Liquid
Learners explore the concept of evaporation rates in this evaporation rates lesson. They will try to identify the chemical that began a fire, perform an experiment where they use the evaporation rates to determine the unknown liquid, and...
Curated OER
A Visit to the Mint
Emerging consumers recognize the types and denominations of U.S. currency. They listen to a guest speaker (if possible) and view a video. They create their own money using styrofoam and a toothpick for engraving. Consider creating a...
Advocates for Human Rights
Nativism and Myths about Immigrants
Where do anti-immigrants myths come from, and how can they be refuted? Learners critically analyze media reports and how to identify reliable sources. After studying a timeline that details the history of US nativism, groups research the...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Special Order 40
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
Crafting Freedom
Harriet Jabocs and Elizabeth Keckly: The Material and Emotional Realities of Childhood in Slavery
Learning how to make accurate inferences by putting together facts found in multiple sources is one of those skills all learners must develop, but one that can be a challenge to teach. This resource is a must-have for your curriculum...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cyberbullying—Alternate Lesson Plan
Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech, class...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Great Britain
Read to understand! Sounds great and your third graders will read to understand several interesting facts about Great Britain. They read, identify key details in the text, and write to answer five comprehension questions. Learning to...
Curriculum Corner
Informational Text Graphic Organizers
Examine informational text with a three-page worksheet that focuses on taking notes, identifying the main idea, and locating supporting details in order to form a summary paragraph.
Deer Valley Unified School District
Close Reading: Analyzing Mood and Tone
The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...
Curated OER
Very Good Facts About Very Good Books
Students identify the characteristics of fiction and non-fiction texts. In this genre study lesson, students read the books A Butterfly Alphabet Book and I Wish I Were a Butterfly. Students develop a graphic organizer to compare and...
Curated OER
Poetic Justice: Understanding the Life of a Tethered Dog
The Humane Society provides a lesson in which class members explore the issue of tethering dogs. Through the resources used -- a comic, a poem, and narrative and expository writings -- class members realize that messages can be conveyed...
Healthy Native Youth
Chapter 5: Learning About HIV/AIDS/STI's and Hepatitis Transmission
Middle schoolers delve deep into facts about HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis, and other STI's by way of discussion and a hands-on activity. Scholars ask and discuss questions anonymously using a Question Box. Two experiments showcase the...
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Branches of Government
Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves that...
California Polytechnic State University
Australian Geography Unit
At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.
Workforce Solutions
A Colony for Lunar Living
Two lessons explore the possibility of living on the moon. First, scholars read various scenarios to identify which careers would best transfer to life in space. Finally, pupils examine a website to locate items made for outer space,...