Learners design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The lesson focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.

“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...

Betty Botter and Theophilus Thistle provide models for willy writers to wrestle words into tricky tongue twisters. 

Second graders explore floating and sinking and make predictions about whether certain objects are likely to sink or float. They read the story Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen. Pupils loacate rhyming words and discuss the events of...

Students study how to blend the sounds together in words with the CVC form. They use letter cards and the books, "Tin Man Fix-It," and Dr. Seuss', Green Eggs and Ham. They work with /m/ words to blend the sounds together to read words....

Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking, decoding, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed...

After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...

Introduce learners to the magical Japanese hermit named Sennin with a reading response activity. As fifth graders finish the story of Sennin and his mystical powers, they answer four short-answer questions.

Would you rather eat a cricket or a worm? Have your young writers decide and write about why. Choose from 35 different writing prompts to spark interest and creativity. Even your most reluctant writers are sure to enjoy. Each prompt also...

Pupils examine both the upper and lower case letter "N,n." They practice making the "n" sound, writing the letter, and recognizing it in words. After a teacher book talk, they listen to Christine Young's, "Nests," and make the "boat...

Students study the /sh/ phoneme by making the sound, and reciting a tongue twister. Next, they make words that the teacher models using their Elkonin letterboxes. While using the big book version of Dr. Seuss', One Fish, Two Fish, Red...

First graders identify and demonstrate how symbols and models are used to represent features of the environment. They use a map and a globe to label where the students in the book came from, point out the continent, and show which ocean...

After researching the etymology of a word from the provided The Sun Also Rises vocabulary list, kids employ the desk top strategy and teach their word to other class members.

Students, to be considered a fluent reader, must not only be able to read out loud but must also read silently. However, while reading silently, the student must still comprehend the reading. In this lesson, students will learn to read...

Students examine the letter 'u'. Through instruction and modeling they explore the sound the letter makes, how the letter is written, words that contain the letter, etc. They say tongue twisters with the /u/ sound in them. They listen to...

Students become aware that when certain letters are put together in a word they are said with a single mouth move. Through modeling and a variety of guided practice activities they explore the /sh/ phoneme. They read and identify 'sh'...

Students research a deserted island that they find off of Mexico and create a diorama about it. In this research lesson plan, students also make a brochure of their island.

Students design an underwater vehicle. In this engineering lesson, students will design an underwater robot that includes specific systems for it to function properly. Each group will present their prototype to the class.

What does suspension mean? Learn this and other bridge-related vocabulary as scholars listen to Ryan Ann Hunter's nonfiction book, Cross a Bridge. This strategy can be applied to any book. Before reading, acquaint pupils...

Young scholars work with word cards to define and identify synonyms, antonyms, and homophones. Participants listen to instruction, read word cards, discuss their new-found knowledge, and put it into action by creating sentences and...

Analogies demonstrate how words relate to each other and crafting analogies is a good way to encourage learners to develop their understanding of the layers of meanings in words. This worksheet provides pupils practice completing and...

This vocabulary-in-context strategy can be applied to any book that learners read with you; however the activity here is designed around Byron Byrton's fiction book, Airplane. First, introduce the new words you will learn: attendant,...

William Steig's story of a witty mouse couple will have scholars intrigued as they listen for new vocabulary words and context clues. Doctor DeSoto can be found on YouTube in case you don't have it. Emerging readers expand...

Puff the Magic Dragon remains a childhood landmark for budding readers (and singers), but did you know it also makes an excellent vocabulary study? By focusing on several in-text words (in this case: billow, cease, fearless,...