Curated OER
Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson
While this lesson focuses on the birds and fish found on the Hudson River, it could be adapted for use in any classroom. Using a vocabulary list, learners explore the meaning of words like adaptation, habitat, barbel, and more. Then,...
Curated OER
Tracking the Salt Front
Using the Hudson River as the focus, learners discuss the difference between salt water and fresh water environments, analyze maps and graphs, and complete addition and subtraction problems. This lesson comes with a wealth of...
Curated OER
Reptiles and Amphibians
Introduce your class to various reptiles and amphibians. They will meet and identify a representative from each of the four major reptile families, then learn about and discuss reptile characteristics. Next, they will identify and...
Curriculum Corner
“I Can” Common Core! 1st Grade Math
Any first grader can master the Common Core math standards with this checklist! With each standard rewritten as an affirmative I can statement, children are provide with clear goals to work toward throughout the school year.
Display an...
Curated OER
Is the Hudson River Too Salty to Drink?
Students explore reasons for varied salinity in bodies of water. In this geographical inquiry lesson, students use a variety of visual and written information including maps, data tables, and graphs, to form a hypothesis as to why the...
EngageNY
Listening Closely and Taking Notes in Expert Groups: Colonial Trade Podcast
The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...
EngageNY
Listening Closely and Taking Notes: Colonial Trade Podcast About the Wheelwright
Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: On-Demand Informational Writing
Lesson 7 focuses on building academic vocabulary and writing an explanatory letter with supported textual evidence. For the first five minutes of the instructional activity, the educator reminds the class of how to read and refer to the...
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing Instruction
Writing a paragraph from details found directly in a text is the central focus of this thorough and explicit lesson plan. Using the stories Nasreen's Secret School and Rain School, third graders are lead step-by-step through the basics...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Colonial Craftspeople
In the first lesson plan of this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders gain background knowledge of different jobs performed by early colonists. The class begins with a slide show presentation that includes a variety of great...
EngageNY
Choosing a Book That Interests Me: Seeking the Superhero Reader in Me
Selecting a "power book" and engaging in a structured class discussion are the learning targets for this fourth lesson in a larger unit. It is designed as a beginning of the year unit for establishing norms and routines in the classroom....
EngageNY
On-Demand Assessment: Writing of an Information Paragraph About How a Bullfrog Survives
Having read and discussed Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, third graders demonstrate their bullfrog expertise by writing informational paragraphs. Building on the note-taking and paragraph planning from the previous lesson plan, learners...
EngageNY
Developing Reading Fluency: Criteria for Reading Aloud
Third graders develop their reading superpowers in a lesson plan on fluency. After first listening to an audio recording or teacher read aloud, the class works together identifying criteria for fluent reading, focusing on phrasing, rate,...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Rain School: Text-Dependent Questions and Vocabulary
The engaging story Rain School is further explored in the third lesson of a larger unit that explicitly teaches close reading skills by answering questions whose answers can only be found inside the text. Through teacher modeling and...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of That Book Woman: Text-Dependent Questions and Vocabulary
Explicitly explained and delightfully detailed are two ways to describe this tenth lesson plan in a larger unit designed for the first few weeks of third grade. Learners continue to use and develop previously learned close reading...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Thank You, Mr. Falker: Text Dependent Questions and Vocabulary
In the second lesson plan in a series that revolves around the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker, learners practice the skill of answering direct questions from the text while using complete sentences. After a teacher-led review of how to...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Research: How Colonists Were Interdependent
Following the formative assessment of this unit, young scholars present the information they gathered on their specific colonial trade to the rest of the class. Working in groups, learners create posters describing the particular job...
Curated OER
Earth Moon Scaling
A wonderful lesson incorporating math and physics skills along with specific details about the planetary bodies. The cross-curricular approach makes for a valid activity to challenge multiple ages and abilities. Your class could work in...
Curated OER
Which Fish Where?
Here is a lesson outline that prompts elementary students to graph and analyze data regarding fish caught along the Hudson River. They will review vocabulary and complete 2 worksheets which can be accessed by clicking on the provided links.
Curated OER
Mapping Where Animals Live
What type of reptiles live in New York State? This instructional activity gets the class thinking about what factors determine where particular animals live. They analyze the Hudson Valley environment, identify specific reptile and...
Curated OER
Leo's Colorful Story
Motivate your learners with this lesson about the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. They listen to a story about the butterfly and then follow directions to color pictures. This is a simple, but effective lesson with all the necessary...
Curated OER
On the Trail of the Hudson's Migratory Fish
Using data related to the fish in the Hudson River area, learners calculate distance, elapsed time, and growth. They learn about migratory fish, the life cycle of a fish, analyze a map, and answer questions.
Curated OER
Wildlife Conservation I
Focusing on the wildlife in their area, learners identify endangered and threatened species and what these animals need to survive. While this lesson involves animals in the Long Island area, it could be adapted for use with any area.
Curated OER
Biology of Bats
Your class will love exploring animal conservation through this lesson on bats. Learners discuss the importance of bats in the ecosystem and talk about the different types and their characteristics. As a follow up, a model of a bat or a...