Curated OER
Narrative Writing vs. Explanatory Writing
The class discusses the different purposes an author has for writing. The focus of the discussion is on writing to tell a true story and writing to give information about a specific topic. There are writing purpose sorting cards embedded...
Curated OER
Gwendolyn the Library Fairy
Students read a story. In this rhyming words lesson plan, students learn what rhyme is, read Gwendolyn the Library Fairy and identify rhyming words.
Growing Minds
Apple Exploration
Turn your classroom into a farmers' market! Reading Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson or Monica Wellington’s Apple Farmer Annie, launches this investigation of apples, farmers' markets, and the people selling products. The class...
Curated OER
Jack and The Beanstalk Estimation
Introduce the day's lesson by reading Jack and The Beanstalk by Richard Walker, and then review the concept of area with your class. We don't always need rulers to measure, though! Teach learners how to use their hands to help us measure...
Curated OER
Pumpkin Science
Here is a nice instructional activity, which includes some good worksheets, on pumpkins and how they grow. It is an ESL instructional activity designed for beginning and early intermediate students. After listening to some books about...
Curated OER
Holes Comprehension Companion
Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and...
Curated OER
Happy Mealtimes
Students read The Hungry Caterpillar to examine healthy eating habits. In this food and nutrition lesson, students role play the various responsibilities during family mealtime. They will discuss the struggles of healthy eating, and the...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Geo Shapes
Invite your first graders to compose and decompose two and three-dimensional figures with this fun, hands-on lesson. They investigate and predict the results of putting together and taking apart two-dimensional shapes with rubber bands...
National Park Service
Who Grows There?
More than 127 non-native species live in Glacier National Park in Montana and their infestations are growing! Pupils read about and gather samples of exotic plants. Participants create a master book of pressed plants and complete a...
San Francisco Symphony
Mr. Lincoln Through the Eyes of Aaron Copland
Use Aaron Copland's symphonic piece, "Lincoln Portrait" to engage learners in a cross-curricular experience. They'll listen to the piece, watch a video, read the Gettysburg Address, and write a series of fact or opinion sentences. An...
Calvin Crest Outdoor School
Survival
Equip young campers with important survival knowledge with a set of engaging lessons. Teammates work together to complete three outdoor activities, which include building a shelter, starting a campfire, and finding directions in the...
Curated OER
A Season for Chapters
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
Curated OER
Human Body Lessons
Students read "The Magic School Bus in the Human Body" and discuss the importance of maintaining a healthy body. They create a hinge and joint paper skeleton, follow the journey of a hamburger through the digestive tract, jump rope and...
Curated OER
Counting Up/Down Stories
Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details...
Curated OER
Complete Novel Guide: James and the Giant Peach
Before your class reads the book James and the Giant Peach, check out this very handy set of learning activities. The reading guide provides you with several excellent ideas for building vocabulary related to the text and reading...
K-3 Teacher Resources
Today is a Gift - Children's Quote
Emphasize the importance of today with a brightly colored classroom poster. Kids can use the message to move away from their past and focus on what they can do today. The resource main page includes activities for quote books and other...
Curated OER
Native Americans of Our Region
Students describe the life of a Native American tribe native to their area. They form small groups and visit stations in the classroom to read about various Native American tribes. They write journal entries and draw pictures of the...
Curated OER
Mossflower
In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "Who was telling the story?"
Curated OER
Sounds like Science
Second graders create sound effects to produce a radio drama. In this sound lesson, 2nd graders read a book and provide the sound effects to transform it into a radio drama. They discuss sound and the shape of sound waves based on their...
Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas at Austin
Lesson 10 - Compound Words
Individually, words have power, but when added together, they can take on a whole other level of meaning. Readers learn about compound words in the 10th of 17 lessons of the Word Recognition and Fluency series. A script provides guidance...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Concluding the Novel
As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Priceman)
What a fun way to explore new vocabulary words! Marjorie Priceman's book Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride offers plenty of new words for scholars to learn in context: amateur, assembled,...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: My School's a Zoo (Smith)
Your classroom may feel like a zoo sometimes, but it's nothing like this! Stu Smith's book My School's a Zoo is an excellent way to introduce some fun vocabulary words in context, and it's available on YouTube in case...
Illustrative Mathematics
Counting Overview
Develop automatic, meaningful counting skills with your class by using everyday classroom/school items, objects, and opportunities. Counting skills should be practiced during the year using objects and items they are familiar with and...