Curated OER
Whale Is Stuck
Learners engage in the process of problem solving with the help of children's literature story of how the whale was trapped and then freed. The story illustrates the power of teamwork and commitment. The students practice the skill of...
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Elementary Economics:Making Smart Choices
Young scholars understand what good and bad choices are in regards to money and review and reinforce the value of each coin. They identify parts of a story as well as the sequencing. They then create their own sequence of events in words...
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Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this activity, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...
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Some Days Are Like That!
Second graders engage in an activity of reading a story and have a discussion about the story to measure comprehension. The use of a graphic organizer helps student retention because it is brain compatible for students.
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Civil War Essay
Upper graders explore equality by writing an essay. They read the story Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, and discuss the meaning of the story and its relevance to Civil War events. Learners investigate the five writing process steps and...
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Team Activity
Students sequence the events of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, after first being read a biography. The facts are on strips of paper, which are later glued end to end.
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The Great Kapok Tree..
Students predict what each animal in the story read says and then compare them. They pretend that a tree was cut down and write a new ending for the story. Students explain why the story is not true and create a Venn Diagram comparing...
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The Gummywolf
Students read a story about "Gummywolf," stopping periodically to answer questions about the progression of the story. Next, they create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast "Gummywolf" to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Students...
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The Faithful Friend
Students work in co-op groups to create a Reader's Theater production of the story. Students create a flow map that sequences the major events in the story. Students research the island of Martinique and create a travel brochure...
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A Walk Around the School: Mapping Places Near and Far
After reading Pat Hutchins’ Rosie’s Walk, have your young cartographers create a map of Rosie’s walk. Then lead them on a walk around the school. When you return class members sequence the walk by making a list of how the class got from...
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Bearstone: A Novel Analysis
Seventh graders need to be able to distinguish between major and minor characters and need to have read the novel Bearstone and be familiar with the sequence of events as well as the qualities displayed by each character over the course...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Informational Writing
Emerging writers identify an informational piece of writing. They are provided with examples of informational writing and view a PowerPoint on narrative writing. Then, they design their own informational writing with a brochure,...
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Emmett Till: A Classroom Sonnet
Who is Emmet Till? An important historical figure, your kids will be shocked by his story! Discover the details of his life and collaborate to write a crown of sonnets in the style of Marilyn Nelson.
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Using Dreams in Writing
C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength provides the model for using dreams in narrative writing. After a discussion of the purpose of dreams in Lewis’s tale, class members craft a story in which their dreams play an essential role.
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Espionage and Sedition Acts: Mock Trial
Bring to life the severity of the Espionage and Sedition Acts through a mock trial. Learners have prior knowledge of WWI and the context of these acts. An anticipatory set gets the class discussing the ethics of wartime dissension, and...
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A Hodgepodge of Literature
Students complete multiple lessons to study various literature including poetry, fiction, tall tales, and phrases. In this literature lesson, students complete six lessons about poetry, fiction, and idioms.
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Picture This!
First graders watch the teacher model how to draw pictures and write words in a First, Next, Then, Last - 4 block graphic organizer. They write and draw in their own 4 block papers.
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Fibonacci Numbers
Students calculate the Fibonacci sequence of numbers. Through the use of Fibonacci numbers in flowers, leaves, fruits, vegetables, pine cones, and other forms of nature; students explore how Fibonacci numbers occur in nature. Then they...
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A Collage of American Icons: Presidents and Symbols
Students use KWL charts, stores, news, books, and movies to learn about the Presidents and symbols of America. In this Presidents and symbols lesson plan, students participate in many activities that introduce them to the leaders and...
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Not Just for Gods and Goddesses:
Students use dictionaries, encyclopedias, art, computers, and books to study the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. In this Ancient Greece lesson plan, students research maps, stories, Olympic games, and more about Ancient Greece.
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Bearing the Torch: A Study of Ancient Greece
Second graders research Ancient Greece. In this Ancient Greece lesson, 2nd graders survey the geographical, historical, and cultural aspects of Greece. Students discover stories of Greek mythology and explore the beginning of the Olympic...
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The "Write" Stuff: Third Grade Strategies and Conventions
Students analyze the writing process through the ten lessons of this unit. The expository lessons address topic and detail sentences, paragraph organization and development, note taking, reports and letter writing.
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Story Of Silk
Students discover the use of silk found in China while conducting research using a variety of resources. They read "The Empress And The Silkworm" as a literature study to establish the context of the activity. Then students unwrap a...
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Historical Success Stories: Banneker, Blackwell, Drew, and Faraday
Fourth graders investigate how all races and religions have contributed to US history by looking at the scientists Elizabeth Blackwell, Benjamin Banneker, Charles Drew, and Michael Faraday. They research these scientists individually and...