Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #5: Pass the Salt Please! (How Road Salt Affects Wetlands)
As an anticipatory set, biologists listen to the story of Ruth Patrick, a scientist who used algae to detect water quality. They observe a demonstration of osmosis and diffusion. In their lab groups, they place Elodea stalks in...
Curated OER
Under the Sea
Tropical fish are a great subject for any art project, they are colorful, interesting, and can go along with under water themed stories read in class, learner written narratives, or Marine Biology units. This set of instructions will...
Curated OER
Travis the Train Learns Colors
Reinforce color words, word recognition, and color identification with this train-themed color book. Each page contains an image of a colored train and a sentence describing that train. Additional pages show the same trains but ask,...
Curated OER
Ancient Roman Monuments and Timeline
While a terrific idea, this lesson in which learners create a timeline showing the date that a variety of buildings and monuments were built in Ancient Rome, requires resources teachers may not have. It requires the use of a Smartboard,...
Curated OER
Whodunit?
Students bring in a variety of books to be approved for reading outside of class and then complete a book review on each one approved. They remember to include a description of the setting and characters, plot summary and a conclusion in...
Curated OER
A Sailing We Will Go!
Fifth graders investigate the journey that Magellan took around the world. Small groups conduct research on a ship that went on Magellan's voyage, write the story of their ship, and create a class dance that demonstrates the route taken...
Curated OER
Writing - Fiction
After listening to the opening description in Of Mice and Men, high schoolers try their hand at writing a short story that includes a mugging. The story should include all five senses. Each of the pupils reads their opening paragraph to...
Curated OER
Dinosaurs
Students are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...
Curated OER
Understanding Character
Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Development
By utilizing a graphic organizer called a bubble map, young readers work toward developing their vocabulary. After reading a story, a word that has something to do with the story is put in the middle circle. Then, other words that have...
BBC
Community Action
Upper graders and middle schoolers engage in a instructional activity on community. A class discussion kicks off the instructional activity. Pupils share things that they do as community service after school or on weekends. They imagine...
Curated OER
The Big Sneeze
Students participate in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Big Sneeze" by Ruth Brown. They develop a list of farm vocabulary, sequence the events of the story on a graphic organizer, act out...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Using Maps to Inspire Personal Narratives
A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...
Curated OER
Ivan the Fool: Lesson 1
Students read and analyze a classic Eastern European folktale. In partners, they read the story, take notes, define vocabulary terms, and write a summary of the folktale.
Curated OER
Say it with FEELING!
Why should we read with expression when we read? Engage your learners in this discussion and teach them the easiest way to gauge expression: the end mark! Is it a question mark? An exclamation point? This helps you determine how to...
Curated OER
Original Children's Books
Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...
Curated OER
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...
BBC
Local Democracy
Expanding our students' understanding of government at a local level is a great way to build an understanding of government at a global level. Start the understanding by using any of these fun teaching ideas. Learners engage in several...
Curated OER
Leaf People
Kids create leaf people out of sticks, glue, and leaves. They use their imagination to construct leaf people and then glue them onto construction paper. Tip: Extend this craft by incorporating writing. Have learners write a short story...
Curated OER
Enemy Pie
Third graders pair up with a partner via an online classroom. They analyze half of the story "Enemy Pie" and communicate with their online peer to predict the outcome of the story.
Curated OER
Drama/Theatre
Learners discover how setting, props, and character-action communicate information about the characters and the story. Access to videos and a video camera are important to make this lesson a success.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Peter's Chair (Keats)
A new baby means a lot of changes for Peter! Ezra Jack Keats presents this common childhood experience in his story Peter's Chair, the context of a detailed vocabulary study. Before you read, introduce the three new words scholars...
Curated OER
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Second graders participate in guided reading and writing experience in this set of five lessons. They complete a picture walk of Michael Rosen's, We're Going on a Bear Hunt before listening to the story and retelling it. Working with a...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8
Your learners need to develop skills to argue effectively, and this comes by understanding the traditions that make claims valid, and what detracts from their effectiveness. Although this resource does not give advice on how to...