Curated OER
Some Words Need Capitals
Fourth graders determine when to use a capital letter. In this spelling lesson, 4th graders discuss which groups of words need a capital letter. Students then apply that knowledge by proofreading a short story and determining which...
Curated OER
Create a Storybook in KidPix
Students create a storybook by using KidPix software. In this technology lesson, students write creative short stories and publish them on KidPix. Students illustrate the stories using Kid Pix tools.
Curated OER
Identifying Themes in Children's Literature
Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...
Curated OER
ELD with Dr. Seuss Will Turn Their Creativity Loose!
Use the timeless story of Green Eggs and Ham to excite learners of all ages and proficiency levels.
Historical Thinking Matters
Rosa Parks: 5 Day Lesson
What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...
Curated OER
Building Original Narratives
Fourth graders act out and write original narratives. In this theater meets writing lesson, 4th graders work in groups to create original narratives; after students act out their story, they write it down as a narrative.
One Hen
Making Choices
When choosing what foods to eat, there are a lot of factors to consider. To help make the decision a little easier, young learners work in small groups developing short plays, stories, or advertisements that address the different issues...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Picture Poetry
What a fun idea! The class discusses, and then writes free-verse poems using sensory detail. They get into small collaborative writing teams to compose their poems. Next, they pantomime the actions from the poem while their teammates...
Curated OER
Map It Out
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...
Curated OER
Left-to-Right Reading
Left-to-right, left-to-right, that's the way we read and write! Watch this short video clip and teach your young learners this chant before they start writing!
Eastern Michigan University
Energy Flow in a Wetland Ecosystem
How is energy transferred within an ecosystem? What would happen to a food web if one of the organisms was removed? Elementary or middle school ecologists examine these questions and more in a comprehensive 5E learning cycle lesson....
Curated OER
"Name Me Nobody"
Students complete a 3-5 week unit related to the novel "Name Me Nobody." They participate in a literature circle, read and discuss stories provided by the Safe Schools Coalition, complete a Character/Problem-Solution chart, create a...
Curated OER
Stargirl Lesson
Students read a short novel while filling in a graphic organizer for problem and solution. In this sociology lesson, students use a prior knowledge and relate the text to theirselves and to think about their own...
Curated OER
Columbus Day (Native American Perspective)
Teach your class the perspective Native Americans had on Christopher Columbus. They will examine the effects of Christopher Columbus' exploration on the Native Americans using a reading theater and a carousel brainstorming activity. They...
Curated OER
"The Midwife's Apprentice"
Here is an inventive, and educationally rich way to conduct a literature study of the book, The Midwife's Apprentice. After the book has been read, learners get into three groups. One group is assigned the task of being the writers....
Reed Novel Studies
Walk Two Moons: Novel Study
Enjoy solving riddles? Perhaps Sal, a character in Walk Two Moons, is the only one capable of understanding a mysterious message left on her doorstep. On a road trip with her grandparent, Sal tries to make sense of the bizarre world...
Curated OER
Writing a Tall Tale
Students study the various aspects of tall tales. They read various tall tales and discuss the characteristics and literature aspects of tall tales. Students write their own unique tall tales.
Curated OER
How To Write In Biographical Format
Students are introduced to the proper way to write a biography. As a class, they view examples of the format and what information to include. To end the lesson, they begin to write their biography and develop their voice when writing.
Curated OER
Go Fish
Students recognize the short vowel a in written and spoken language. Through matching activities, they discriminate the short vowel /a/ from other vowel phonemes. Students associate the phoneme with its letter representation in a story...
Curated OER
Icky Sticky Hands!
Students examine the letter 'i'. Through instruction and modeling they explore the sound the letter makes, how the letter is written, words that contain the letter, etc. They use letterboxes to write 'i' words and read stories containing...
Curated OER
Mark Twain- Teaching About American Authors
Mark Twain lesson plans can shed light on his famous works, like "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Curated OER
Change Over Time
Middle schoolers write a personal narrative that is designed to help them reflect on the nature and meaning of change in their lives.
Curated OER
The Cask of Amontillado
High schoolers examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character lesson, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. High schoolers make personal connections to the characters and create a...