Activity
Curated OER

Reading and Writing Skills Activities

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
A straightforward and thorough packet of reading exercises would be a solid addition to any reading unit. With worksheets that address various writing and reading skills, including word roots, narrative writing, evaluating text, and...
Organizer
University of Florida

The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip

For Students 2nd - 4th Standards
Energize a shared reading of the Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip with this collection of supplemental materials. Whether your looking for discussion questions, reading comprehension worksheets, or writing prompts,...
Unit Plan
Texas Center for Learning Disabilities

Second and Third Grade Explicit Phonics Intervention

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
Support all young learners on their journey to literacy with this five-lesson reading intervention unit. Following a clearly outlined format, each lesson first engages children in practicing their phonemic awareness and phonics...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing About Literature: Nature in the Writings of John Muir and Emily Dickinson

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's...
Organizer
Curriculum Corner

Coniferous and Deciduous Trees

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
What are the differences between coniferous and deciduous trees? Supplement your tree lessons with a set of activities that has learners describing, naming, comparing, and reading about deciduous and coniferous trees. The activities are...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Frindle: A Guiding Reading Unit

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Guide your class through a reading of the popular children's book, Frindle, with this comprehensive literature unit. Starting with a brief introduction to the guided reading process, the class goes on to read the story two chapters...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading and Writing about the Solar System

For Teachers K - 2nd
A superb interdisciplinary approach highlights this instructional activity which incorporates space science knowledge and narrative skills. After reading The Magic School Bus, two excellent poems, and watching a video, all about our...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing About Informational Text: Music and the Brain

For Students 6th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Texas Center for Learning Disabilities

Second-Grade Comprehension-Based Intervention

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Help your youngsters find meaning in the text they read with this series of five intervention lessons. Offering explicit, step-by-step instructions for walking children through shared readings of leveled books, these...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Webcams in the Classroom: Animal Inquiry and Observation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Boost observational skills with an inquiry-based instructional activity that takes scholars on a virtual field trip. With help from webcams, learners observe animals in a zoo or aquarium. Observations go into a journal and a discussion...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Fairy Tales

For Students 1st - 3rd Standards
Once upon a time are four words most children are familiar with when reading a fairy tale. But do they know that fairy tales are a great way to learn the literary elements of reading and writing? Use a thorough fairy tale unit...
Activity
Newspaper Association of America

Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Characters in Heidi

For Students 5th Standards
Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...
Unit Plan
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Thoughtful Education Press

Compare and Contrast

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Encourage readers to compare and contrast the information that they find in informational text with a variety of reading passages and worksheets. Learners read all about subjects in science, social studies, and literature...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing About Literary Text: Pygmalion and Galatea

For Students 6th Standards
Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Titanic Impact of Science

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Discuss personal ideas about science and how a filmmaker can employ the arts to promote science. After reading an article, young scientists will discover how James Cameron is trying to interest people in the oceans. In groups, they will...
Organizer
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World Intellectual Property Organization

Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Playing Hot and Cold

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read about homeothermy. Through research and poster projects, they gain insight into the diversity among mammals and the ways specific mammals survive in their native climates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Read All About It!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Develop an online newspaper covering the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The class publishes their newspaper on the school's Web site and analyze both primary and secondary sources.
Lesson Plan
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August House

The Archer and the Sun

For Teachers 1st - 2nd Standards
Reinforce reading comprehension with a instructional activity about The Archer and the Sun, a Chinese folktale. Kids learn some background information about Chinese culture before reading the story, and answer literacy...
Lesson Plan
Bantam Books

The Martian Chronicles: K-W-H-L Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Prepare your class for a unit on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with an activity that works for pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading. Learners fill out a K-W-H-L chart to reflect on what they already know, what...
Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing an Opinion Requiring Voting

For Students 5th Standards
Challenge writers to compose an essay detailing their stance on, and the history of, voting. Three assignments, each broken down into three parts, requires fifth graders to take notes, read and complete charts, write paragraphs, compare...
Lesson Plan
Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust

The Lost World

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Fans of Sherlock Holmes may be surprised to learn that in addition to stories of the famous deductionist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is also the creator of Professor Challenger. An irascible, unpredictable scientist, Challenger was featured...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The O Zone-Code Read Alert

For Teachers 4th - 5th
What are the effects of an air quality alert? Expert groups receive one component of air quality information resources to study. Pupils then jigsaw into new groups and share their knowledge. Finally, they draft a statement of what they...