Curated OER
Famous Americans Presentation
Fifth graders research a famous American; then do a presentation using Hyper-Studio, ClarisWorks or Power-Point.
Curated OER
Arizona Historical Persons Scavenger Hunt
Fourth graders use a research site directory and a scavenger hunt worksheet to locate information on early explorers and settlers in Arizona.
Curated OER
Rikki-Tikki Research
Fourth graders perform a search on mongooses on Internet Explorer and answer research questions.
Curated OER
Transforming Negatives to Positives
Pupils create double-exposed photographs, poetry, and multimedia presentations to celebrate their Open Court "City Wildlife" unit.
Curated OER
Subject Poetry
Students examine subject poems and brainstorm a list of possible topics for their own poems. They create a poem using the letters of the subject they are writing about to begin each line. Then they present their work to the class.
Curated OER
Looking for Newton
Students discuss the rhyming pattern of various types of poetry. With a focus on limericks, they follow the specific rhyme scheme and create a limerick about Newton. They share their poem with the class and write another one related to...
Curated OER
The Class Garden Essay
Fifth graders use a class garden as inspiration for a specific writing assignment. They conduct research into different types of flowers in photo images taken with a digital camera. Students write a creative essay and draw a picture to...
Curated OER
Ready Reference Treasure Hunt
Fourth graders complete an Internet treasure hunt.  They define terminology related to the Internet and after reviewing the various ways to conduct an internet search, they complete an Internet treasure hunt provided by the instructor.
Curated OER
Reading and Spelling Activity
In this Language Arts instructional activity, students read a short text and answer 8 questions.  For example, students choose the correct spelling of the word excited.
Curated OER
Don't Say "Said," Say . . .
For this word choice worksheet, students read the various alternatives for the word 'said.' Students then brainstorm alternatives for another over-used word.
Curated OER
Veterans Day Remembered
Sixth graders gather information about Veterans and create a PowerPoint. In this Veterans remembered lesson, 6th graders interview a veteran and research on the computer to create a five slide PowerPoint.
The Write Place
Literacy Education Online
Literacy Education Online (or LEO) is a great place to start if you need help with your writing. The homepage is organized around kinds of problems or questions you might have concerning your writing. Find your problem, click on the...
The Write Place
Literacy Education Online: How to Use a Thesaurus
A good overview of what a thesaurus is and how best to use one. Also includes the difference between the two forms of thesauri and explains how to choose the correct synonym to use. L.9-10.4c References
Other
Visual Thesaurus: Shades of Meaning
In this lesson, small groups of students will compete in a "shades of meaning" contest to see which group can use the Visual Thesaurus to help them match words with similar definitions but different connotations in the shortest amount of...
Other
Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation: Islamic Art Network
This resource presents a treasure trove of scholarly resources on the art and architectural history of Islam. A work in process, the network's resources focus principally on Cairo but are expected, over time, to move outward to cover the...
Other
Teaching Ideas: Using a Thesaurus
Use this worksheet activity to develop your thesaurus research skills.
BBC
Bbc: Skillswise: English: Reading: Dictionaries and Indexes Quiz: Level One [Pdf]
Quiz testing basic alphabetization and dictionary skills required for real-world application. Three levels of difficulty with answers provided.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Learning to Recognize and Use Strong Verbs
For this lesson, students will listen to stories and determine the meaning of the word by using sentence-level context clues. They will think about the verbs that are used and think about how that verb appeals to their senses, giving...
Information Fluency
Imsa 21st Century Information Fluency (21 Cif) Portal
The 21st Century Information Fluency (21CIF) Portal was developed by the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) to improve Internet search skills for the advancement of information literacy. The goal of this project is to help...
Information Fluency
Imsa 21st Century Information Fluency (21 Cif) Portal
The 21st Century Information Fluency (21CIF) Portal was developed by the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) to improve Internet search skills for the advancement of information literacy. The goal of this project is to help...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Dictionary
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will recognize the functions of dictionaries and the types of information available in dictionaries used in schools. They will learn the differences between dictionaries and thesauruses....
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: Noodle Alliteration
This lesson allows students an opportunity to explore the dictionary and thesaurus to write creative alliterations about pasta after reading Jack Prelutsky's poem, "Spaghetti, Spaghetti."
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: A Left Brained Writing Prompt: Rather Unlikely Dictionary Entries
After studying dictionary entries including structure and writing style, create unlikely dictionary entries for things in your life. If you really can't think of any, press the button on the generator to get a few ideas. Do your best to...
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Little Explorers Picture Dictionary
Delve into this wonderfully illustrated and comprehensive picture dictionary. Research up to 1,905 illustrated entries. Each word is used in a meaningful sentence.