Curated OER
Feelings From A to Z
Third graders create a class A to Z Feelings book to explore emotions, discover new words, pose for a "feeling" icture, and write about the feeling.
Curated OER
Use synonyms to make your writing vivid
Students examine synonyms and practice finding appropriate synonyms in a thesaurus. In this use synonyms to make your writing vivid lesson, students identify the correct usage of synonyms. Students replace incorrect synonyms in...
Curated OER
Design a Soda Bottle Label
Students make a mind web to describe their favorite soda. They then make thumbnail sketches of their labels. Tehy create a unique font with which to write the mane of their soda.
Curated OER
The Power of Words in Charlotte's Web
"How can a few good words save a pig's life?" Posed with this question, your ELD students explore E.B. White's Charlotte's Web in a meaningful, valuable way. By analyzing specific word choice from the book, especially the excerpts...
Curated OER
Become an Expert
Young scholars are assigned a separate species of plant or bird to research. Using a worksheet, they are responsible for finding a variety of information on their assigned plant or bird. They also complete a mini-poster and give an oral...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Vengeful Verbs in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Byzantine Architecture
View Byzantine architecture from the comfort of your classroom. A PowerPoint presentation introduces important vocabulary terms and examples of Byzantine architecture in the ninth lesson of the 11-part series. A Jeopardy game reviews...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Visual Thesaurus
Young scholars examine the basic functions of the online Visual Thesaurus, exploring how simple words may sometimes have multiple meanings. In small groups they select words and explore the Visual Thesaurus, and write a short play using...
Curated OER
Jump-Starting Research with Visual Thesaurus
Students navigate the Visual Thesaurus to find keywords for research. In this keywords lesson plan, students use synonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms to find keywords. Students understand why some searches are effective and some are...
Curated OER
Mammal's Around the World
Fifth graders, exploring all the ins and outs of using a computer, publish their own mammal papers with the use of word searches, thesaurus and spell checks. While in the computer lab, they research their mammal and country on the...
Curated OER
Create a Word Graveyard to Teach Synonyms
Students explore descriptive writing by creating headstones. In this memorial lesson plan, students utilize an 11" x 17" piece of paper to create a cemetery headstone memorializing a word rather than a person. Students decorate their...
Curated OER
Research Using Technology
Pupils receive an index card, and they write down jobs and hobbies that interest them. Then, they get together in groups and are assigned the task of researching the jobs and hobbies that are of the most interest to the entire group....
Curated OER
Blogging to Create a Community of Writers
One of the keys for successful teaching is connecting curriculum to real-life experiences. This lesson on blogging does this, by making writing, revising, and publishing a reality. Pupils create a character for a story, write about their...
Curated OER
Salinger and the Vocabulary of the Vernacular
Writers explore vocabulary and expressions used in the English language. They use visual word maps to become aware of the different uses of words which will allow them to more readily interpret texts. Then they listen to/read excerpts...
Curated OER
Strengthening Your Vocabulary
A challenging worksheet is here for your learners of language arts. In it, they must find words that convey a more powerful, or more descriptive meaning than the guide word at the top of the list. There are 12 guide words, and nine more...
Curated OER
Winter Vocabulary
Looking for a winter-themed vocabulary activity? Provide each learner with several templates of a snowflake (you need to provide this), and have them write one vocabulary word on the middle of each snowflake. Then, after doing some...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Bursting with Energy
Learners review key physics terms using a Visual Thesaurus. In this science lesson, student groups compete against each other to correctly identify "imposter" words from a list of related physics vocabulary terms.
Curated OER
Mad-Libbing Your Way Into Modern Poetry
Use a Mad-Libs like activity to create modern poetry! Writers will identify different words and their parts of speech and study "The Red Wheelbarrow" by Williams Carlos Williams. Then, use the sheets attached to craft your own poem! An...
Curated OER
Color My World Grey and Blue
Can colors help to convey a mood in writing? Explore this question with your class using the songs "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band and "Blu is a Mood" by Blu Cantrell. After analyzing the effect of the color words in these songs...
Curated OER
Looking at Lewis and Clark
Fifth graders review information on Lewis and Clark by using a variety of resources. With partners, they travel between stations researching different information based on the expedition. They check each others work and share it with the...
Curated OER
Eating Right with a Little Help From the VT
Students explore the food pyramid. In this nutrition lesson, students identify the 5 food groups and sort foods according to the group in which they belong. Students use the Visual Thesaurus to complete a food groups worksheet and...
Curated OER
The Three M's of Statistics: Mode, Median, Mean
Young mathematicians use the Visual Thesaurus to define mean, median, and mode. In this mean, median and mode lesson, learners use online sources to find the definitions of mean, median, and mode before applying the concepts to a class...
Curated OER
Rooting One's Way to Meaning
Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...
Curated OER
Cite Your Sites
What information would you find in an almanac that you would not find in an atlas? What is the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus? Using a Cite Your Sites worksheet on which they record their observations, groups participate...