Curated OER
A Water Droplet's Experience in the Hydrologic Cycle
Students write a story from the perspective of a water droplet on a journey through the water cycle. They use the 6+1 Traits writing method to focus on voice in the writing as they create characters that their water droplet has...
Curated OER
Gingerbread/Candy Houses
Students compare and contrast different versions of "Hansel and Gretel" and "The Gingerbread Boy". Using a software program, they color a gingerbread house design of their choice. Based on the house, they write thier own story making...
Curated OER
Haunted House
Young scholars are read the story "That Terrible Halloween Night". Using their senses, they describe what it is like going into a haunted house for the first time. They write their own ending to the story and share it with the class to...
Curated OER
The Giving Tree
Young scholars investigate the virtue of kindness and giving by conducting a children's literature study of "The Giving Tree". They make a list of words to describe emotions in the story and write a journal daily while looking at the...
Orange County Department of Education
Pepita Talks Twice
Third graders read Pepita Talks Twice and define the character traits of respect and responsibility. They write their examples of the characters traits on a character trait doll. Students recognize the character traits of respect and...
Curated OER
Greek culture and Aesop's Fables
Tenth graders explain political and social thought during the Greek 6th and 5th centuries B.C. They research five to eight fables, figuring out the moral for each and writing an essay on how Aesop influenced the morals and ideals of...
Curated OER
Thank You Ma'am Langston Hughes Process of Discovering Theme
Middle schoolers identify the elements of the plot and identify and express this story?????™s theme.
Curated OER
Myth Connections
Ninth graders present tales and myths in the oral tradition. They discuss the African method of telling a story where each member of the group tells a part of the story. They make up a composite hero and write a story that describes...
Curated OER
Mixing Metaphors with Politics
Young scholars discuss different literary devices and use them to write summaries of New York Times articles dealing with international news. They reflect on the effectiveness and appropriateness of sports metaphors in the political arena.
Orange County Department of Education
Trapped by the Ice
Third graders read the story "Trapped by the Ice" which is about the Antarctic adventures of Sir Ernest Shackleton. They identify, write and share examples of respect and responsibility demonstrated by the stories' characters. Students...
Orange County Department of Education
Nights of the Pufflings
Third graders read the story to identify the problem and solution that occurs in Night of the Pufflings. They identify problems within the story that are solved through the characters' responsible actions. Students describe in their...
Curated OER
Painting with Words
Fifth graders discuss words that are over used in their writing such as good, nice, happy, glad sad, etc. they complete a survey about word choice then hear a story and discuss descriptive phrases used in the story and how they help to...
Curated OER
Let's Find the Main Ideas!
Third graders examine how finding the main ideas and summarizing increases their reading comprehension. They read "The Sea in Danger" while applying the six rules of summarization in a modeled lesson plan. Next, working in small groups,...
Curated OER
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...
Curated OER
Using Science Fiction To Understand Biological Concepts
Students read and discuss," The Andromeda Strain" by Michael Crichton and complete a short writing exercise as a warm-up for a longer piece of science fiction writing. They choose a topic and create a science fiction short story such...
Curated OER
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Young scholars read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." After observing the illustrations and previewing chapter titles, students predict what will happen in the story. They research and contact chocolate companies to gather...
Orange County Department of Education
Integrity and "Thank You, M'am"
Ninth graders explore the definition of integrity through a class discussion. They provide positive/negative examples from the story and their own experiences. Students determine character traits by analyzing the dialogue in a short...
Curated OER
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: A Sequencing Lesson
Students listen to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and summarize to story to demonstrate comprehension. They review the days of the week and create their own book.
Curated OER
Anticipatory Set Picture Walk
The teacher models a Picture Walk by using a "think aloud" method while reading a picture book to the class. On the second day, 3rd graders use a worksheet as a guide for a second picture walk. This time, students complete the "think...
Curated OER
Number Stories
Young scholars write and solve various number stories. They solve number stories using one, two and three digit numbers. Students practice writing sentences using the following 6+1 traits, ideas and content, organization, word choice and...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Ira Sleeps Over
Students read Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the ideas presented in the story. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library...
Curated OER
Most Wanted Villians
Students review the characteristics of various characters in fairytales. As a class, they review the story details and create a concept map using a software program. They create their own wanted poster of the villians in the fairytale to...
Curated OER
Unequal Groups vs. Equal Groups
Third graders create their own chenille stems to use during this and future lessons. As a class, they discuss the difference between equal and non-equal groups. In groups, they brainstorm a list of items that come in groups of two,...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Polar, The Titanic Bear
Learners read Polar, The Titanic Bear by Daisy Corning Stone Spedden. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding this true story of a toy bear that survived the sinking of the Titanic. Included are reading, art,...