Curated OER
Create Learning Experiences with The Polar Express
Center content-integrated lessons around the timeless holiday book, The Polar Express.
Curated OER
Oprah Winfrey Opens New School in Africa
Students locate Africa and share their knowledge of the continent, then read a news article about Oprah Winfrey building a school in South Africa. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and...
Curated OER
Double Jeopardy Clause: A Fifth Amendment Constitution Trivia Game
Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This instructional activity is...
Curated OER
Understanding Different Views on Death
A thought-provoking lesson presents how different cultures view death. Upper elementary through high school pupils engage in a series of activities that will leave them with a new understanding of how death is dealt with globally....
Curated OER
Giant Smelly Plant Attracts Thousands
Read and discuss a news article about a rare corpse plant that bloomed in Washington D.C. Because this native Indonesian plant blooms so rarely, people flock to see it. After reading the article, your class answers comprehension...
Curated OER
Barter vs. Money
First graders listen to the book, Sheep in a Shop, that leads them to think about making financial decisions, trading, and the barter system. After the book is read aloud, a discussion ensues about some of the things that the sheep...
Curated OER
Either/Or Speech
Have your high schoolers practice their public speaking skills by writing an either/or speech. Individually, they complete an outline on what they want to discuss and give their speech to the class. To end the activity, they complete a...
Curated OER
Read to Learn
Students explore the concept of community helpers. In this community helper lesson, students brainstorm the community helpers in their neighborhood after reading a book about jobs in the community. Students then host a...
Curated OER
NASA Plans Moon Base
Learners react to statements about the moon, then read a news article about NASA's plans to build a permanent base on the moon. In this space science and current events activity, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and a...
Curated OER
Banned Book Week Lessons
Students are surprised when they discover how many books are challenged each year.
Curated OER
Bank Loans Money to Start Businesses
After locating Latin American countries on a world map, children read about how microbanks are loaning money to help start small businesses. Involving both current events and economics, the teacher introduces the article with a map...
Curated OER
Recreate the Race
Young scholars research and find the route of the Alaskan dog sled race.In this Iditarod race lesson students find the checkpoints for the Iditarod on a map. Young scholars research information in pairs about each one of the checkpoints....
Curated OER
Creative Ways To Teach Characterization Lessons
Teaching characterization can be a creative, engaging experience for students.
Curated OER
Character Analysis Lessons
Graphic organizers can be a great tool to help students understand character analysis.
Curated OER
Literature Response Lesson Plans
Literature responses are a meaningful way to strengthen student comprehension.
Curated OER
Improving Discussion Lessons
Students participate in group activities to stimulate group discussions. They respond to statements by listening, reacting, reading, and modifying them. They discuss the statements of their group and listen to those created by the other...
Curated OER
Prewriting, Using Pictures
Young readers practice getting information from both the text and the illustrations found in books they are reading. They see that quite often, authors use pictures to help them get their writing process started. Youngsters are invited...
Curated OER
We All Need Speed Limits
Pupils consider fluency and speed of reading. In this speed limits lesson, students discuss the importance of speed when reading and how the rate affects comprehension and listening skills. Teacher models think aloud as a strategy.
Read Works
Cause and Effect Relationships in Historical Fiction
Centered around the book Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco, the lesson presented here should help your class tackle cause and effect. The teacher reads the first few pages aloud and models in a think-aloud style how to identify...
Curated OER
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse: Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes has composed a series of books in which Lilly the mouse is a main character. Third graders use illustrations and key details as they compare and contrast the books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and another...
Youth Outreach
Connecting the Separate Powers
Scholars demonstrate what they know about the separation of powers through role play. Two individuals act out a skit as the remaining class members discuss and decide whether the interaction they observed is an appropriate example...
Scholastic
Perfect Postcards: California
It's time to hear about some adventures in travel! The Transcontinental Railroad changed life and travel in the United States during the 1800s. Practicing online research skills, pupils discover the features they would like to visit on...
Hood River County School District
Text Structure: Features and Organization
Teach learners how to interact with both fiction and non-fiction text with a packet of activities and worksheets. After looking over text structure and the difference in text features between different types of writing,...
Curated OER
Keywords: A Memorization Strategy
Here is a fabulous, five-page lesson plan on how keywords can help a reader with his/her reading comprehension. After a teacher-led discussion, pupils pair off with each other and work together to identify the main idea in a passage of...