Roald Dahl
The Twits - Mrs Twit Gets a Stretching
A cork, a rubber snake, and a bucket of mud may not seem like the best materials for washing a car, but they are in The Twits. The fifth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has readers role play...
Curated OER
Desert Drama
Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...
Curated OER
What are Dinosaurs?
Learners explore the attributes of dinosaurs. In this dinosaur lesson, students read books and watch videos featuring dinosaurs. Learners also research dinosaur traits using Internet sources.
Curated OER
Buoyant Behavior
Combine science and literature with this lesson on buoyancy. Read There's an Ant in Anthony by Bernard Most to examine words containing the letters a, n, and t. Then introduce your class to the word "buoyant." Demonstrate how an egg...
Baylor College
Modeling Earth's Atmosphere
Life on Earth is made possible by the unique composition of its atmosphere. Working collaboratively, a scale model is created as young scientists learn about the different layers of gas that surround the planet. Cards are included that...
Curated OER
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Students familiarize themselves with science fiction/fantasy literature. They create an awareness of the different types of literature, develop an appreciation for them and be able to tell them apart. Students realize that science...
Curated OER
Under The Sea
In this resource instructional activity, students use non-fiction books to research ocean animals. Students discover the many features of non-fiction books and how to use these features to help them conduct research. Students then...
Curated OER
Summarize This!
Students explore how to summarize a reading passage. They read non-fiction books. Students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two animals they read about. They write a summary using the information in their Venn Diagram.
Curated OER
Reading Research!
Young scholars observe the pictures in non-fiction books that focus on animals in the winter. In addition, they also listed to some read aloud books about hibernation, migration, adaptation and dormancy. Students draw pictures and write...
Curated OER
Over in the Meadow
Students discover how to locate books on meadow and pond animals and research them. Students discover how to locate fiction/story books about the animals mentioned in the counting book read. Students discover how to locate by author,...
Curated OER
Going Buggy
Students identify the parts of a dragonfly that they drew. They write a very short non-fiction story (mainly with pictures) about the adventure of a dragonfly. They interview a person dressed as a dragonfly to find out some things about...
Curated OER
Kid Lit Crit
Young scholars explore different types of student literature; they then write their own fiction pieces, in either fantasy/adventure or memoir/realism style.
Curated OER
Student Published Books
Fifth graders create a graphic organizer after it is modeled by the teacher. In this graphic organizer lesson plan, 5th graders complete a graphic organizer describing chapter 1 of a book. Graphic organizers will be revised and edited...
Curated OER
Plants are Growing and Changing
Students explore living things. In this agriculture lesson, students read the book A Tree is a Plant and participate in an experiment to explore the patterns of change in living things. Students continue to observe the plant throughout...
Curated OER
Splish, Splash Poetry
Young scholars write weather shape poems and sing weather related songs. For this creative writing lesson, students read the book, It's Raining, It's Pouring and list weather words they heard in the story. Young scholars use the writing...
Curated OER
"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...
Curated OER
We're Zoologists!
Students listen to story, "Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo," by Karma Wilson, practice finding information from Internet, write information about one chosen zoo animal, draw picture of their zoo animal, pair up and read their My Zoo Animal...
Curated OER
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Young scholars contemplate the questions raised by the book/movie I, Robot. In this theoretical physics lesson, students consider the pros and cons as well as the possibility of robots that can think.
Curated OER
America in Film and Fiction
Students begin the lesson by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the ideas and...
Curated OER
Non-Fiction Read-aloud
Students listen to the reading of a book about the area of science they are currently studying.
Curated OER
"Standing Woman" by Yasutaka Tsutsui
Students explore the key concepts of the story, "Standing Woman" which portrays futuristic settings, and the search for artificial happiness. Parallels are drawn to Orwell's "Brave New World" and the movie, "Solent Green."
Curated OER
Bird Stories: Fact or Fiction
Students evaluate/distinguish scientific fact from fiction. They discuss similarities and differences in the life cycles of various birds. Student use the Internet as a research tool.
Curated OER
Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!
Research animals and develop a non-fiction presentation. Young scholars will complete research on a particular animal and determine the animal's characteristics as well as habitat before choosing a differentiated project to present using...
Curated OER
The Life Cycle of the Butterfly
First graders, after listening to fictional and non-fictional literature about caterpillars, and observing caterpillars from egg to butterfly, write a "biography" of a caterpillar using appropriate vocabulary and time lines.