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.
How Does My Garden Grow? Writing in Science Field Journals
Grades
|
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
|
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
|
Question and Answer Books--From Genre Study to Report Writing
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Unit
After exploring several question and answer books on a variety of topics, students research a topic and create their own class question and answer book.
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
|
Developing Reading Plans to Support Independent Reading
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students analyze their past readings and use that knowledge to create reading plans for the future.
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
|
Connotation, Character, and Color Imagery in The Great Gatsby
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students explore the connotations of the colors associated with the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
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
|
Building Vietnam War Scavenger Hunts through Web-Based Inquiry
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students research the effects of the Vietnam war on a specific group of people who were involved. They then create Internet scavenger hunts to share with the class.
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
|
Literary Scrapbooks Online: An Electronic Reader-Response Project
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students capture scraps of information from a variety of Web resources and use them to create an electronic scrapbook. Emphasis is placed on evaluating and citing resources.
Grades
|
Weather Detectives: Questioning the Fact and Folklore of Weather Sayings
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students adopt a skeptical stance and become weather detectives who ask "Why?" and "Why not?" as they investigate the history and validity of some common weather sayings.
Grades
|
The Year I Was Born: An Autobiographical Research Project
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore the year they were born through interviews and research, and then weave the details into a newspaper or booklet, written from another person's point of view.
Grades
|
Investigating the Holocaust: A Collaborative Inquiry Project
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students explore a variety of resources as they learn about the Holocaust. Working collaboratively, they investigate the materials, prepare oral responses, and produce a topic-based newspaper to complete their research.
Grades
|
Modeling Reading and Analysis Processes with the Works of Edgar Allan Poe
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Explore reading strategies using Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and other works. Students read Poe's works in both large- and small-group readings then conclude with a variety of projects.
Grades
|
Voting! What's It All About?
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students explore a variety of sources for information about voting. They evaluate the information to determine if it is fact or opinion, and then create a graffiti wall about voting.
Grades
|
Mail Time! An Integrated Postcard and Geography Study
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Children write and receive postcards from friends and family, and then chart where all those postcards come from on a classroom map.