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
Anne Frank and Louisiana - There is a Connection!
How is Louisiana connected to the Holocaust? After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders complete a research report about a survivor of the Holocaust who currently resides in Louisiana. Though the idea is a good way to...
Curated OER
Lesson One: Decoding Strategies
Review decoding strategies to read a chosen text. Readers tape themselves reading out loud, listen to the recording, and mark where they have misread words or phrases. They then discuss which words were misread and review how to correct...
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 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...
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
Context Skills
Here is a fine lesson plan on teaching ways to use context clues. Upper graders split up into groups and use sticky notes to cover up five words in a passage of text. The passages are rotated to the other groups, and learners must use...
Curated OER
Dragonwings: Explore Chapters 1-5
If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...
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
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...
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
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
A New Look at Romeo and Juliet
Students explore life and language development in the Elizabethan Age. In this English lesson students complete web-quests and other activities surrounding Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Beacon Learning Center
Power Words
Using words can create a power struggle! Using antonyms and synonyms can create a Power Words game! Check out this lesson that teachers your class the difference between the two and how to use a thesaurus.
Curated OER
Using Key Words to Unlock Math Word Problems
Students act as math coaches to solve word problems. In this math word problems lesson, students brainstorm key words in math operations, create flash cards to review relationships between words and operations, coach each other in the...
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
Acronym Names
Students create an acronym out of their name. They use a thesaurus and the computer to create it. They also add pictures to make it more creative.