Students read and analyze fairy tales, identifying their common elements. They then write their own "fractured" fairy tales by changing one of the literary elements found in the original.
Once Upon a Time Rethought: Writing Fractured Fairy Tales
Grades
|
How Does My Garden Grow? Writing in Science Field Journals
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students plant a garden and study its growth using the inquiry process of questioning and exploring. As they research and study, students record their observations in a field journal.
Grades
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Literature as a Jumping Off Point for Nonfiction Inquiry
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students use text sets to research a topic inspired by a fiction book they have read. A text set is a collection of multiple text genres with a single focus.
Grades
|
Our Community: Creating ABC Books as Assessment
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students create alphabet books, which are used as an integrated assessment with science, health, social studies, and any other content area. This lesson plans looks at the theme of community.
Grades
|
Naming in a Digital World: Creating a Safe Persona on the Internet
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore naming conventions in digital and non-digital settings then choose and explain specific names and profiles to represent themselves online.
Grades
|
Cooking Up Descriptive Language: Designing Restaurant Menus
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore the menu genre by analyzing existing menus from local restaurants. They review adjectives and descriptive writing and then work in groups to create their own custom menus.
Grades
|
Looking at Landmarks: Using a Picture Book to Guide Research
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson uses Ben's Dream by Chris Van Allsburg to highlight ten major landmarks of the world. Students research the landmarks and present their findings to the class.
Grades
|
Literary Parodies: Exploring a Writer's Style through Imitation
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson asks students to analyze the features of a poet's work then create their own poems based on the original model.
Grades
|
Paying Attention to Technology: Reviewing a Technology
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read and analyze technology reviews to establish the characteristics of the genre. They then compose their own reviews on a technology of their choice.
Grades
|
Focusing Reader Response Through Vocabulary Analysis
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students suggest and categorize words that they associate with a novel they have recently read, ranging from details about the plot to feelings about a character.
Grades
|
A Bear of a Poem: Composing and Performing Found Poetry
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Children find favorite words, phrases, and sentences from familiar stories. Working together, they combine their words and phrases to create a poem. The poem is then shared as performance poetry.
Grades
|
As Slippery as an Eel: An Ocean Unit Exploring Simile and Metaphor
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students play with simile and metaphor as they study the ocean and use figurative language to write a class book about it.
Grades
|
Discovering Traditional Sonnet Forms
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read sonnets, charting the poems' characteristics and using their observations to deduce traditional sonnet forms. They then write original sonnets, using a poem they have analyzed as a model.
Grades
|
Ferocious Fighting Fish: An Ocean Unit Exploring Beginning Word Sounds
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Focus students' attention on alliteration in this ocean-themed unit. Students explore alliteration in framing texts then compose their own class book to explore figurative language in their own writing.
Grades
|
Completing the Circle: The Craft of Circular Plot Structure
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students identify, explore and apply the elements of circle plot structures to their own stories by using graphic organizers, reading and writing stories, and using checklists to assess their work.
Grades
|
Bridging Literature and Mathematics by Visualizing Mathematical Concepts
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
During interactive read-aloud sessions, students identify how an author conveys mathematical information about animals' sizes and abilities. They then conduct research projects focusing on the same mathematical concepts.
Grades
|
Talking, Writing, and Reasoning: Making Thinking Visible with Math Journals
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore how their problem-solving strategies work by writing in math journals as they work in small groups to solve a math puzzle with multiple solutions.
Grades
|
Exploring Sets through Math-Related Book Pairs
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After reading two math-related books, students investigate their home and school environments to find examples of objects that come in sets and then create their own books on sets.
Grades
|
Exploring Satire with Shrek
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
The movie Shrek introduces the satirical techniques of exaggeration, incongruity, reversal, and parody. Students brainstorm fairy tale characteristics, identify satirical techniques, then create their own satirical versions of fairy tales.
Grades
|
Using Picture Books to Teach Plot Development and Conflict Resolution
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read picture books to explore the concepts of plot development and conflict resolution. They first learn about the connections between reading and writing, and then revise their own writing.