Curated OER
A Monster of a Metaphor
What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...
Ingram
Teaching Guide Charlotte's Web
Enrich your study of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White with this useful resource. Included here are 22 discussion questions, 15 extension ideas, and 10 curriculum questions that cover characters, plot, farming, and much, much more.
Bright Hub Education
"Where the Red Fern Grows": A Lesson on Love and Devotion
Where the Read Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls is rich with themes relating to love and family. Help your class to understand these themes with the series of reading activities included in this unit outline. Readers can keep a journal to...
Curated OER
Creative Writing - Getting Ideas
Learners examine the procedures that writers utilize to obtain and develop ideas for writing. Journal writing is fostered as a primary step in the writing process. Learners are encouraged to pay careful attention to using complete...
National Association for Sport & Physical Fitness
Indoor Physical Activity Ideas for Kids!
Rainy day schedule doesn't mean you can't stay fit! Use a collection of indoor physical activities during periods of inclement weather, substitute teaching days, or for those afternoons when your class just wants to move around!
Curated OER
Identifying Main Events
Help kindergartners learn to identify the main events in fiction. They will review elements of fiction, retell information found in the text, and discuss their real-life daily experiences. All the while, they will be asking themselves...
Curriculum Corner
April Writing Ideas
There are so many things to celebrate in the month of April, like April Fool's Day, Earth Day, and spring! Use these fun prompts to get young writers writing during the month of April.
Curated OER
What's The Idea?
Quite often, learners confuse the main idea in a selection of reading with the supporting details. In this activity, pupils practice the skill of finding the main idea and the supporting details in pieces of writing. Newspaper articles...
Curated OER
Poem in Your Pocket Day: Ideas for Celebrating
First instituted in New York City in 2002 and recognized nationwide in 2009, "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is part of National Poetry Month (April) and celebrates poetry in everyday life. A brief news story includes 9 ideas about how to...
Curated OER
6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 1: Poem
While originally created to accompany The Cay, this poetry lesson could be used on it's own, especially if you are working on dialect. Class members conduct a close reading of "When Malindy Sings" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and listen to an...
Great Books Foundation
Shared Inquiry Lesson Plan for “The New Colossus”
Two is better than one. Scholars use shared inquiry and discuss their ideas with one another to better interpret Emma Lazerus' poem "The New Colossus." They work through pre-reading, reading, questioning, and rereading activities before...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, Part 1
It is all in the details. Scholars read The Life of Miné Okubo and pay special attention to details that reveal Okubo's character. Completing their Understanding Miné: Character Traits graphic organizers and recalling the descriptions...
Curated OER
Breathe Easier With These State Assessment Preparation Ideas
Here are some helpful ideas for preparing students for state assessments.
Curated OER
What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson plan, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Music and the Brain
Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...
EngageNY
Identifying Author’s Opinion and Evidence: The Value of Sports in People’s Lives, Part I
Just like instant replay, it's time to take a closer look! Pupils work together to add ideas to a Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. They then put their knowledge to the test as they read an informational article about the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Nature Walk: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 2)
Walking in nature is the theme of a unit designed to support English language development lessons. Scholars look, write, speak, and move to explore topics such as camping, woodland animals, instruments, bodies of water, things found at a...
Curated OER
Explorers in Kansas
Fourth graders read cards about the explorers: Coronado, Lewis, and Clark, Pike, and Long. In this influential expeditions lesson, 4th graders describe and observe explorers who came to Kansas. Students locate main reasons and details as...
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...
Curated OER
Shared Reading Activities
Shared reading is a way to bond together as a family and learn key literature concepts. Great for parents or teachers who want to bring the shared reading experience into the home or classroom. The article offers several tips on what you...
EngageNY
Synthesizing from Informational Texts: Main Idea and Key Details from Promises to Keep (Pages 8– 10)
Learners determine the main idea of a timeline on pages eight and nine of the text Promises to Keep. They use the timeline to complete a Main Idea and Details note catcher and then share their thoughts with the class. To finish,...
EngageNY
Shared Reading: Learning About Colonial Trades
Trading in Colonial America is the focus of a lesson plan that boosts reading skills. As a class, scholars examine the informational text for crucial details, use their newfound knowledge to share information with their peers, and write...
Curated OER
Teaching "Theme" with Children's Literature
In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...
Curated OER
Why Do Authors Write?
Sixth graders use short reading passages to identify, explain, and discuss the author's purpose for writing. After a lecture/demo, they utilize a graphic organizer embedded in this plan to organize their writing ideas.