Curated OER
Prefixes
Learners explore prefixes, and how they help us decipher unknown words. Decode and define the meaning of boldface words with prefixes used in context on a classroom chart. Writers complete a worksheet practicing the same skill.
Curated OER
Dictionary
Discovering different ways to use a dictionary to find the meaning of unknown words is the focus of this language arts lesson. Everyone reads a story and practices finding unknown words in the dictionary.
Curated OER
Vocabulary Building
Use primary text documents to learn word roots. Learners listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence and highlight words they don't know. They compile these words and guess their meanings. They discuss roots, prefixes,...
EngageNY
The Opposite of a Number
It's opposite day! The fourth installment of a 21-part module teaches scholars about opposites of integers and of zero. Number lines and real-world situations provide an entry point to this topic.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Vengeful Verbs in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...
University of Colorado
Modeling Sizes of Planets
The density of the huge planet of Saturn is 0.7 g/cm3, which means it could float in water! In the second part of 22, science pupils explore the size and order of the planets. They then calculate weight and/or gravity and density of...
Curated OER
Oh, Say, Can You See What the Star-Spangled Banner Means?
Students research the historical inspiration for the lyrics of the "The Star Spangled Banner". They explore websites, read articles and analyze poetry in an examination of America's patriotic symbols and history.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: My Chinatown: One Year in Poems
Students explore tier two vocabulary words. For this vocabulary lesson, students work in small groups assessing the meaning of new vocabulary words. Students record vocabulary in a word journal or discovery chart.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears
Students determine the meaning of tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students read Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears and explore new vocabulary words found in the story. Students record their discoveries in a word...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot Air-Balloon Ride
Students analyze tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson, students investigate new vocabulary words while reading. Students record their vocabulary words in a word journal or discovery chart.
Curated OER
Context Clues, Plot Structure, Conflict, and Personal Narrative Essay
What are the elements of a personal narrative? Get your class talking by reading "The Necklace" and "A Dangerous Game." The lesson focuses primarily on defining certain vocabulary terms (like context clues, plot, conflict, climax, etc.)...
Curated OER
Latin Roots fin, sed, fer: Context Story (Advanced)
Several vocabulary words are joined together in a cohesive paragraph that can be played via audio clip for your class. Pauses in the audio allow listeners to repeat the target words to emphasize correct pronunciation. As the audio is...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Brainstorming Activity
What do you think of when you hear the word adult? Or friend? Learners brainstorm with a group of peers to list the words they think of when they hear seven words from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Dandelion
Explore vocabulary while reading Dandelion Learners record their learning using a word journal or discovery chart, and the whole class reviews the meaning of each word using examples.
American Statistical Association
Colors Challenge!
Does writing the name of a color in a different colored ink affect one's ability to read it? Scholars design an experiment to answer this question. They collect the data, analyze the statistics, and draw a conclusion based on...
Illustrative Mathematics
Margie Buys Apples
One of the most common, everyday applications of math is dealing with money. This single problem calculating how much change Margie receives is more involved than it appears at first glance. An understanding of how fractions and decimals...
EngageNY
Events and Venn Diagrams
Time for statistics and learning to overlap! Learners examine Venn Diagrams as a means to organize data. They then use the diagrams to calculate simple and compound probabilities.
EngageNY
Probability Rules (part 1)
In statistics, probability rules—literally! Learners use their previous knowledge and explore a set of rules for conditional probability, independent probability, and complements. Given different scenarios, they must determine what type...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a great story to share with your class, and this lesson focuses on just that story! The eighth in a fourteen-lesson series on short stories, the plan has learners study some vocabulary, read the...
The Alamo
A Lesson in Citizenship
What does it mean to be an American citizen? Lieutenant Colonel Commander William Barret Travis believed that it meant honor to country first—even above one's own life. Middle and high schoolers read his final letters from the Alamo that...
NASA
Catch a Piece of the Sun
What does the sun mean to you? Learners have many different interests that may have connections to the sun. Whether its solar radiation, solar flares, or solar storms, there are connections to daily interests that may surprise your...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Does Respect Look Like in School?
What does it mean to be respectful? Scholars complete a self-assessment worksheet to determine just how respectful they are. Next, they choose three items from the survey and write plans for how to improve in those areas.
Curated OER
Colossal Squid Caught in Antarctic
Students define the word colossal, then read a news article about an enormous squid caught off Antarctica. In this animal studies and current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the article with dictionary and...
Curated OER
Weaving a Story of Cooperation: The Goat in the Rug
Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...