Curated OER
Ecology: Trees
Fourth graders read the defintions of renewale and nonrenewable resources and discuss any incorrect responses. They view a sample of work for the class to see which they describe posting responses on the board in their respective columns...
Curated OER
No Title
Fourth graders identify and practice a variety of prereading strategies to assess how to ask questions that a new reader might ask about the book, "One Day in the Woods." They skim the book, brainstorm the topic of the book and preview...
Curated OER
No Title
Fourth graders identify the characteristics of a good paragraph and find those characteristics in a good paragraph from the books, "One Day in the Woods," by Jean Craighead George and "Why Do Leaves Change Color," by Betsy Maestro.
Curated OER
No Title
Fourth graders, after brainstorming a list of things good friends do for each other, apply prereading strategies to the book, "Be A Friend to Trees," and create similes and metaphors utilizing content ideas. They also sketch an...
Curated OER
Creative Writing
Fourth graders participate in an observation hike in this lesson. They orally share observations from their hike, and develop a paragraph in a shared writing exercise. Finally, the write their paragraph about process writing in their...
Curated OER
Ecology: Trees
Fourth graders research and identify the different layers of the forest. As a class, they observe real-life trees or analyze a poster, and discuss the characteristics of each forest layer. Students then draw a forest and label the...
Curated OER
Ecology: Trees
Fourth graders, while working in the classroom and the computer lab, utilizing supporting facts from previous lessons, write a creative story that imagines a world without forests. They write, type and print their stories and turn them...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
When We Are A Story
Drama and story elements go hand-in-hand. Have the class dive into a dramatic play to show character intention, conflict resolution, main events, and the dialogue in a Hawaiian folk tale. They read the story, then group-up to discuss and...
Project Noah
Writing Goes Wild
Young scientists develop their observation and writing skills as they craft and then post a detailed description of a plant or animal they have spotted and photographed.
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 1
What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 2
To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.
Briscoe Center for American History
Applying the SOAPS Method of Analyzing Historical Documents
Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 4: Creating Main Characters
Creating a good main character is a must when writing a creative narrative or novel. Elementary aged writers create main characters for the novel they are writing. They first use themselves as a models, then create a character as a...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 5: Creating a Supporting Character
As a class, young writers learn how to develop a strong supporting character. They think and discuss a good friend they know, they use that friend as a basis for a potential supporting character. They create a supporting character as a...
The Alamo
A Teacher’s Guide to Lorenzo De Zavala
Who was Lorenzo de Zavala to the Texas Revolution, and how did he change the Alamo? Find out using an educational resource that asks learners to fill out graphic organizers and respond to short-answer questions to further solidify their...
Curated OER
Ecology Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn't love a scavenger hunt? Have your class complete a scavenger hunt to become familiar with ecology in this engaging lesson that has them organize their items on a paper bag to illustrate information. Furthermore, learners will...