Writing Instruction Webinars - Collaborative Conversations on Building a Culture of Writing is an interactive professional learning series designed to build teachers’ capacity for writing instruction while cultivating a culture of writing. Teachers in grades K – 5 and 6 – 12 will work through seven uniquely designed sessions, where researchers and educators will share research-based writing and literacy practices along with practical classroom application. These include webinars/videos as instruction for teachers.
Prezi-Presentation on Similes & Metaphors - This Prezi Presentation can be used in small or whole group instruction. The creator included the definitions, examples, a video, and practice for students.
Opinion Writing Unit Plan - This particular unit focuses on the opinion genre. Students are challenged to consider their task, audience, and purpose while writing a meaningful piece. The unit includes several days of resources and a rubric.
Nonfiction text structure video for teachers - This video shows you how to teach students to identify text structures in non-fiction or informational reading. Research shows that when students learn to identify text structures, they understand and retain the material better. To download the graphic organizers shown in this video and read more about the research supporting the explicit teaching of text structures, go to http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/text-structures/ .
Main Idea Video - Finding the main idea isn’t always a piece of cake. In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby will show you how to figure out the main point of a piece of writing, whether it’s an essay, article, or paragraph. You’ll also discover things like what a topic is and what details are, including why they’re useful in determining the main idea. Plus, you’ll get some helpful hints to keep in mind when you’re reading any passage. Get the idea?
Main Idea & Details with Non-fiction Texts Unit - This 23 page resource from Readworks provides 2 days of instruction on finding main idea & supporting details within non-fiction texts. You can pick and choose from their resources and suggested resources. These can be used as whole-group or small group instruction.
Learning About Geotechnical Engineering Through Literature - In this literature study, students travel to a community situated on the Karnali River. This river creates a need for an engineering solution to a serious problem!
Interactive Cube Lesson - The Bio Cube interactive has been changed to a new format: the Cube Creator. Summarizing information is an important postreading and prewriting activity that helps students synthesize what they have learned. The interactive Cube Creator offers including: bio cube, mystery cube, story cube, create your own cube.
Idioms research and practice - This link goes to a website that shows students different examples of idioms. Other forms of figurative language are also displayed. Students can learn new idioms and practice with links below each subtopic to practice with a worksheet.
Eye on Idioms-lesson and game - Students are more likely to understand, recall, and care about what an idiom means after having played with the phrase through a highly engaging exploration of metaphorical language. Eye on Idioms can be used to engage students in a study of seven idioms. After viewing the literal representation of each idiom, students are asked to complete the sentence by selecting the correct idiom from the list. Using context clues from the sentence, students can then determine the metaphorical meaning of the idiom. As a final step, students are asked to use the idiom in a sentence to show their understanding of its meaning. Students should be reminded to print the page after completing each idiom exercise since their work cannot be saved electronically.
Exploring Compare and Contrast Structure in Expository Texts Lesson Pack - These lessons focus on identifying and analyzing the compare and contrast text structure within expository texts. First, students are introduced to the terms compare and contrast and asked to find similarities and differences between two common items. Next, students work in small groups to identify texts that are comparing and contrasting information. Students are then introduced to the Venn diagram as a tool that demonstrates similarities and differences and aids in learning new material.
Context Clues Lesson - This 27 page resource from Readworks provides 1 lesson of instruction on how to use context clues to understand unknown word meanings. You can pick and choose from their resources and suggested resources. These can be used as whole-group or small group instruction.
Comparing and Contrasting Activity - This 15 page resource is a lesson based on informational passages about frogs and koals. Students will search for explicit information from the text to compare and contrast information
Comparing & Contrasting Non-fiction Unit - This 42 page resource from Readworks provides 3 days of instruction on comparing and contrasting non-fiction texts. You can pick and choose from their resources and suggested resources. These can be used as whole-group or small group instruction.
CCGPS_ELA_Grade_4_Unit_4.doc - This 23 page unit includes websites, links, and an assessment for teachers to use when planning an information writing unit.
CCGPS_ELA_Grade_4_Unit_3.doc - This 19 page unit includes websites, links, and an assessment for teachers to use when planning an opinion writing unit.
CCGPS_ELA_Grade_4_Unit_2.doc - This 26 page unit includes websites, links, and an assessment for teachers to use when planning an opinion writing unit.
CCGPS_ELA_Grade_4_Unit_1.doc - This 28 page unit includes websites, links, and an assessment for teachers to use when planning an information writing unit.
Brainpop: Context Clues - You’re reading a book, when all of a sudden you come across a word you don’t know. You *could* look it up in a dictionary, but it’s in the other room, and besides, dictionaries are heavy. Instead, you can use the word’s context--that is, the meanings of the words that surround it--to deduce the mystery meaning. In this BrainPOP movie, you’ll learn to use context clues to figure out unfamiliar words. Learn how to look for synonyms of the unfamiliar word in surrounding sentences. Or find antonyms that'll help you define the word by its opposite. Finally, learn to keep an eye out for false cognates--tricky words that sound like other words, but have completely different meanings!
Beyond History Books: Researching With Twin Texts and Technology - Pairing fiction and nonfiction books on one topic (twin texts) has been shown to build background knowledge, boost comprehension, and increase motivation. Informative and interactive websites further enrich such literacy experiences. In this lesson, students explore a historic event in depth by reading fiction and nonfiction literature. Then, to enhance and extend the reading experience, students participate in website exploration and virtual field trips. Throughout the process, students gather facts and relevant information, which they later organize and present to the class. This lesson is easily adaptable to accommodate a wide range of historic events, instructional objectives, and grade levels.