Students rework their forgotten/abandoned drafts by cutting and covering up selected words. By creatively manipulating text, they explore portal writing, a strategy for envisioning a new story or story direction.
Cut up, Cover up, and Come Away with Ideas for Writing!
Grades
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American Folklore: A Jigsaw Character Study
3 - 6
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Groups of students read and discuss American folklore stories, each group reading a different story. Using a jigsaw strategy, the groups compare character traits and main plot points of the stories. A diverse selection of American folk tales is used for this lesson, which is adaptable to any text set.
Grades
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Sí, Se Puede: Making a Difference, One Letter at a Time
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After reading the book ¡Si, Se Puede!/Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A., students learn about labor unions, strikes, and organizing for change. Students interview staff members in their school to learn about their daily work life, and write persuasive advocacy letters.
Grades
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Using Repetition and Picture Cues to Foster Independent Young Readers
K
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
Kindergartners share their knowledge of letters and sounds in a large group setting, giving teachers an assessment opportunity. Each student contributes a page to make a repetitive classroom book.
Grades
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Using Children's Natural Curiosity to Lead to Descriptive Writing
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
Inspired by the book It Begins with an A, kindergarten students are invited to turn their curiosity and guesswork into a class book, complete with illustrated objects and descriptive language
Grades
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Brainstorming and Reviewing Using the Carousel Strategy
Grades
5 - 12
Strategy Guide
This strategy guide introduces Carousel Brainstorming, also known as Rotating Review, and offers suggestions to implement this technique in your classroom for brainstorming about new topics or reviewing learned information.
Grades
|
Assessing Student Interests and Strengths
Grades
6 - 12
Strategy Guide
In this Strategy Guide, you'll learn about a number of specific methods that can help you to gain a fuller picture of the interests of your students as well as what your students understand, know, and can demonstrate by doing.
Grades
|
Teaching with Zooming Slideshows through Prezi
Grades
6 - 12
Strategy Guide
Through Prezi, a web application, students create "zooming" presentations for various purposes, such as presenting research, defending an opinion, or sharing a digital story.
Grades
|
Exchanging Ideas by Sharing Journals: Interactive Response in the Classroom
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Pairs of students respond to literature alternately in shared journals. Mini-lessons are presented on responding to prompts, creating dialogue, adding drawings, and asking and answering questions.
Grades
|
Crossing Boundaries Through Bilingual, Spoken-Word Poetry
7 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students explore the idea of "crossing boundaries" through bilingual, spoken-word poetry, culminating in a poetry slam at school or in the community.
Grades
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I've Got It Covered! Creating Magazine Covers to Summarize Texts
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Start the presses! Catchy titles, eye-popping graphics, and attractive fonts are all on students' agendas in this lesson as they create magazine covers to summarize a topic.
Grades
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That's Not Fair! Examining Civil Liberties With the U.S. Supreme Court
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students have the right to have fun in this lesson in which they create a PowerPoint presentation about civil rights and the Supreme Court.
Grades
|
Exploring Disability Using Multimedia and the B-D-A Reading Strategy
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
History takes on new dimensions in this interactive multimedia lesson that emphasizes the B-D-A approach to research as students investigate the experiences of people with disabilities since the early 1800s.
Grades
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Guided Comprehension: Previewing Using an Anticipation Guide
3 - 6
Lesson Plan
| Recurring Lesson
Based on the Guided Comprehension Model developed by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson introduces students to the comprehension strategy of previewing.
Grades
|
Q is for Duck: Using Alphabet Books With Struggling Writers
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
A is for zoo? Q is for duck? The alphabet as students know it is transformed when students create a class book that contains clever associations for each letter of the alphabet.
Grades
|
Combining Read-Alouds With Economics in the Primary Grades
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students learn that what you read in books can really add up when they analyze literary texts for economic concepts.
Grades
|
Using Pictures to Build Schema for Social Studies Content
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
How do you read an image? Students find out in this lesson in which they "read" several images of the Boston Massacre to better understand the event and recognize effects of propaganda.
Grades
|
The Magnetism of Language: Parts of Speech, Poetry, and Word Play
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
What wonderful ways words work! The parts of speech are the highlight of this lesson in which students identify parts of speech in a nonsensical poem and then create their own wild and wacky rhymes.
Grades
|
Let's Read It Again: Comprehension Strategies for English-Language Learners
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Help Spanish-speaking English-language learners unlock the mysteries of their new language by using a bilingual book to recognize unfamiliar words and construct meaning from the text.
Grades
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Whole-to-Parts Phonics Instruction: Teaching Letter-Sound Correspondences
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students will find that learning onset and rime is a handy skill when they read the Jack and Jill rhyme.