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.
Question and Answer Books--From Genre Study to Report Writing
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
|
Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda? Analyzing World War II Posters
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students analyze World War II posters, as a group and then independently, to explore how argument, persuasion and propaganda differ.
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
|
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
|
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
|
Using Snowflake Bentley as a Framing Text for Multigenre Writing
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Using Snowflake Bentley as a model, students create a working definition of multigenre text and then use that definition to create their own multigenre piece about winter or another theme.
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
|
Collaborating on a Class Book: Exploring Before-During-After Sequences
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students and the teacher produce a class book through a group-writing activity, focusing on a basic before-during-after sequence of events.
Grades
|
Looking for the History in Historical Fiction: An Epidemic for Reading
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson pairs the reading of historical fiction with nonfiction to introduce students to the large themes of history.
Grades
|
Creating Question and Answer Books through Guided Research
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This series of activities is designed to teach research strategies. Students use KWL charts to guide their inquiry and publish their results in a collaborative question and answer book.
Grades
|
A Genre Study of Letters With The Jolly Postman
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read The Jolly Postman, in which a postman delivers letters to storybook characters. They explore different types of mail and categorize letters from the book and their own mail.
Grades
|
Imagine That! Playing with Genre through Newspapers and Short Stories
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students identify genre characteristics for short stories and newspaper articles then practice both genres by turning a short story into a news article and an article into a short story.
Grades
|
An Exploration of Text Sets: Supporting All Readers
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students create text sets on a high interest topic and use the texts to practice three strategies for reading for information.
Grades
|
Animal Study: From Fiction to Facts
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students listen to fiction and nonfiction read-alouds and explore selected Websites to identify factual information about animals. This lesson focuses on ants, but can be adapted to any animal.
Grades
|
Living the Dream: 100 Acts of Kindness
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Recurring Lesson
This lesson provides the "action piece" for any study of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In this project, students participate in Dr. King's dream by doing 100 acts of kindness.
Grades
|
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Me: Identifying with a Hero
K - 2
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson provides ideas for celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by encouraging students to explore the connections between Dr. King and themselves through journaling and inquiry-based research.
Grades
|
Prove It!: A Citation Scavenger Hunt
6 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
Students are challenged to find citations that support details about the characters, plot, or themes from a text.
Grades
|
Blending the Past with Today's Technology: Using Prezi to Prepare for Historical Fiction
6 - 10
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
To prepare for literature circles featuring historical novels, students research the decades of the 1930s to the 1990s and share their information using Prezi, a web application for creating multimedia presentations.
Grades
|
Vote for Me! Making Presidential Commercials Using Avatars
6 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After researching political platforms of past presidents through primary sources and other resources, students create commercials for these presidents using Voki, an online web tool that produces speaking avatars.