Curated OER
Putting It Together in Writer's Workshop
This lesson about writing can be taught in small groups or large group settings. They examine basic writing techniques and practice using them to improve their writing.
Curated OER
Pourquoi Tales
Lead a web search for information on writers and discuss the craft of purposeful writing as a class. Your students investigate "pourquoi tales" which are "why" stories. and then write their own examples of pourquoi stories to share in a...
Curated OER
Writing - Combining Ideas to Write Descriptive Paragraphs
Students develop a strategy for combining various ideas into well formed sentences which then combine to produce effective descriptive paragraphs.
Curated OER
Order! Order!
Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this lesson, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story, receive different parts of the...
Curated OER
The Great Gatsby Historical Background Using Multi-Genre Research Project
Before beginning F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, create a historical context of the Roaring 20s with this lesson. Set up a gallery walk with the provided PowerPoint, which features 10 topics related to the 1920s. Then begin a...
Curated OER
Revising Ordinary Sentences into Strong Leads Using "Crispin: The Cross of Lead"
Students create stories using powerful introductory sentences by creating something other than "Once upon a time...". In this sentences lesson plan, students read The Cross of Lead to base their introductory sentences on.
Curated OER
Lead Extraction
Students investigate one method used in the detection of lead in the soil. They use a Lead Check Soil Kit to safely obtain results in 30 minutes or less in levels of 400 ppm or above. In addition, they write a brief description of what...
Curated OER
How To Be Persuasive in an Entertainment Review
Students write persuasively through description and word choice while reviewing a topic of interest to them.
Curated OER
First Grade Writing Lesson #1/ Narrative Prompt
First graders write a descriptive paragraph about a friend.
Curated OER
Awesome Outlines to Organize Writing
Fourth graders practice writing outlines. Using worksheets imbedded students get lots of practice enhancing their skills writing outlines
Curated OER
Sequencing
Are you looking for a way to teach sequence of events in your narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson to your middle school class, as it prompts young writers to create a narrative sequence map of events that have happened at school...
Curated OER
Lead Me On - Writing Lively Leads for Book Reviews
Third graders use the concepts found in a PowerPoint presentation, and write leads for book reviews that attract readers and stimulate book interest. They are graded on their ability to engage the reader with their writing.
Macmillan Education
Sine and Cosine Graphs
Learners compare and contrast sine and cosine graphs in order to describe their characteristics in a collaborative activity. As they explain their reasoning, learners strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills associated with sine...
University of Chicago
Using Artifacts for Clues About Identity
Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Problematic Situations
Introduce your class to the characters from My Antonia by Willa Cather in a unique way. Given a hypothetical situation about an atomic bomb shelter and a list of character descriptions, pupils must decide which characters get to stay in...
Curated OER
Digital Storytelling
Scholars of all ages can use the various tools of technology to construct and illustrate a story. Utilizing this resource, learners work with a partner to brainstorm and draft a story based on personal experience. They use computer...
Captioned Media
Creating Dramatic Monologues from The Grapes of Wrath
Set in Oklahoma in the 1930s, The Grapes of Wrath presents a powerful view of life during the Great Depression. An insightful lesson plan takes a closer look at the characters in John Steinbeck's classic novel, combining the descriptions...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Effect of the Great Depression on Children and Education
What was it like to be a kid growing up during the Great Depression? Academics study primary sources to analyze the effect of school closures on children during the Great Depression. They then participate in group discussions and writing...
Curated OER
Narrative Literature Response Letters: Original Lesson Plan
Readers write a formal letter to an author offering an alternative ending to a story the author has written. First, the class reads a story or novel. Upon finishing the reading, they are introduced to the format of a formal letter. They...
Curated OER
Summarizing
Fifth graders write summaries. For this summarizing lesson students decide which events of a chapter in a book are important to summarizing. Students also create a title for the chapter based upon the contents of the chapter. Students...
Curated OER
Design a New Dollar Coin
Students create a design for a new coin after researching people who have impacted history. Students must write a persuasive essay about why this person should be memorialized on the dollar coin and present their person to the class.
Curated OER
Pharaoh Mountain Hike: Investigating Adirondack Life Zones
Students hike a local mountain and examine its life zones. They measure various components at each zone and collect leaf litter at the sites. At the mountain top, students make descriptive observations and complete a handout about the...
Curated OER
Career Education: Office Workers
Frist and second graders explore career options. First they will watch career videos and then prepare to interview school personnel regarding their job responsibilities. They will then send thank you cards to the interviewed subjects...
Curated OER
Lead Detection
Students hypothesize whether the soil sample may have lead contamination and why. They describe what they see happening with the soil samples and the corresponding swabs. Pupils write a brief description of what they observe as the...