ALEX Lesson Plans

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Clerihew Poetry
Description: Cooperative poetry writing assignment. Students will write and share poetry using the Clerihew style. Students will also give a group presentation of their poems.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Name Etymology
Description: During this lesson, students will have the opportunity to research the etymology and history of their names. Students will begin to understand ways to make history, linguistic history, and cultural history a lot of fun.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Mathematics (7), or Science (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Investigating the Weather
Description: During this lesson, students will study, record, and predict weather. Students will work in groups to create a weather word wall, research and make a barometer, and create a video about weather. Students will also use the Internet to learn more about weather.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Mathematics (3 - 4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: HeartLine Express
Description: During this lesson, students will plan and execute a week-long school-wide valentine sales business. From the Grand Plan to job applications, interviews, valentine production, advertising, sales and profits students are immersed in the job experience and using a variety of math skills.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Presidential Biographical Sketch
Description: Each student will choose a former President of the United States to research and present to the class. Students will develop timelines based on biographical information found through search engines on the Internet as well as in books, reference books, and periodicals. They will also write and give campaign speeches for their Presidential selections.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Exploring the World of Cinderella Tales
Description: Students will read three different Cinderella tales, including tales from Africa, China, and America. Upon completion of a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences of these tales, the students will complete and present multimedia presentations showing their results.

Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5), or English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: What Are Idioms?
Description: After listening to More Parts by Tedd Arnold read aloud, intermediate school students distinguish between literal and figurative meaning by using a graphic organizer, playing an online game, and incorporating an idiom into their writing.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Science (4 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: The History of Space Exploration
Description: In this lesson students develop a time line of important events in relation to space exploration.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Mathematics (3 - 4), or Science (4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Explosive Fun with Volcanoes
Description: In this lesson the students will work in groups to make their own volcanoes and learn the different aspects of a volcano.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or English Language Arts (4), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: The Big Dropper – The Life Cycle of a Raindrop
Description: Students will research the Internet, Alabama Virtual Library, online and printed encyclopedias, and other reference material to gather information on the water cycle. Students will then use the gathered data to create a slideshow presentation and a newsletter demonstrating their understanding of the water cycle.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Guided Comprehension: Knowing How Words Work Using Semantic Feature Analysis Add Bookmark
Description: Based on the Guided Comprehension Model developed by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson introduces students to the comprehension strategy of knowing how words work.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Guided Comprehension: Making Connections Using a Double-Entry Journal Add Bookmark
Description: Based on the Guided Comprehension Model by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson helps students learn three types of connections (text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world) using a double-entry journal.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 4,5,6

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Wartime Poetry: Working With Similes Add Bookmark
Description: Students analyze a photograph, brainstorm words to describe the characters' senses and feelings, work in pairs to describe a character's experience, and create a poem using their ideas and similes.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Book Report Alternative: Examining Story Elements Using Story Map Comic Strips Add Bookmark
Description: Comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read. Each panel retells a particular detail or explains a literary element (such as setting or character) from the story.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Readers Theatre Add Bookmark
Description: Students develop scripts, perform, and use their voices to depict characters from texts, giving them the opportunity to develop fluency and further enhance comprehension of what they are reading.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Q is for Duck: Using Alphabet Books With Struggling Writers Add Bookmark
Description: 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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction Add Bookmark
Description: Students identify the elements of fiction in a book they have read and share summaries of them by writing and illustrating their own mini-book.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Arts,Language Arts
Title: Rudyard Kipling's ''Rikki-Tikki-Tavi'': Mixing Words and Pictures Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from EDSITEment, students read an illustrated version of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. They examine how Kipling and visual artists mix observation with imagination to create remarkable works, and follow similar principles to create a work of their own.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Using Picture Books to Teach Setting Development in Writing Workshop Add Bookmark
Description: Students use a graphic organizer to analyze setting development in picture books. They then apply what they have learned to their own writing.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Using Science Texts to Teach the Organizational Features of Nonfiction Add Bookmark
Description: Students explore organizational features of nonfiction science. Students then work together to create a two-page spread using those features to present information about their local environment.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts,Mathematics
Title: Getting the Facts Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students participate in activities in which they focus on connections between mathematics and children's literature. They listen to the story Counting on Frank, by Rod Clement, and then solve problems involving estimation of volume.
Thinkfinity Partner: Illuminations
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students research narratives from the Federal Writers Project and describe the lives of former African slaves in the U.S., both before and after Emancipation. From varied stories, students sample the breadth of individual experiences, make generalizations about the effects of slavery and Reconstruction on African Americans, and evaluate primary source documents.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Technical Reading and Writing Using Board Games Add Bookmark
Description: Students celebrate a novel they have read and get hands-on experience with technical writing by creating a board game based on the novel and writing the instructions for it.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Questioning: A Comprehension Strategy for Small-Group Guided Reading Add Bookmark
Description: Students learn about the process of questioning and using webs to organize information during reading and then practice writing factual and inferential questions.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts,Mathematics
Title: Making Beds Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students participate in activities in which they focus on connections between mathematics and children s literature. They listen to the story How Big Is a Foot? by Rolf Myller and then explore the need for a standard unit of measure.
Thinkfinity Partner: Illuminations
Grade Span: K,PreK,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Subject: Language Arts
Title: November is National American Indian Heritage Month. Add Bookmark
Description: Students explore Native American heritage through the study of pourquoi tales, write their own original pourquoi tales, and use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press to publish them.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Arts,Language Arts,Science
Title: 'Leap, plashless'': Emily Dickinson and Poetic Imagination Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students read and explore one of Emily Dickinson's nature poems, A Bird came down the Walk--through interaction with other art forms. First, they listen to clips of a hymn to help them hear Dickinson's meter. Then, they view 19th-century bird images and describe what they see, just as a poet would. They observe how a poet plays with language and imagery to create a scene by acting out verse lines. Finally, they write a brief poem of their own, using what they have learned and their own observations.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Blending Fiction and Nonfiction to Improve Comprehension and Writing Skills Add Bookmark
Description: Students use a text set to increase understanding of content area material and demonstrate what they have learned by writing an original piece that blends together narrative and expository elements.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Acquiring New Vocabulary Through Book Discussion Groups Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson employs direct instruction and small-group discussion to help students learn new vocabulary skills while reading Patricia Polacco's Pink and Say.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Creating a Classroom Newspaper Add Bookmark
Description: Students write authentic newspaper stories, including learning about various aspects of newspapers, such as writing an article, online articles, newspaper reading habits, and layout and design techniques.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Edward Stratemeyer, creator of book series such as Nancy Drew, was born on this day in 1862. Add Bookmark
Description: Students select several books from one of Stratemeyer's series to read, discuss shared elements in the books, and use the 3-Circle Venn Diagram to compare story elements.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6,7,8

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Using Snowflake Bentley as a Framing Text for Multigenre Writing Add Bookmark
Description: 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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Voting! What's It All About? Add Bookmark
Description: 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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Guided Comprehension: Visualizing Using the Sketch-to-Stretch Strategy Add Bookmark
Description: Guided comprehension moves your middle-grade students beyond decoding to become successful, independent readers. The sketch-to-stretch strategy encourages students to use '' brain TV'' to help them understand a text through visualization.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 4,5,6

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Charting Characters for a More Complete Understanding of the Story Add Bookmark
Description: Character Perspective Charting allows students to compare multiple characters and their points of view to better understand a story.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Vote for Me! Developing, Writing, and Evaluating Persuasive Speeches Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson encourages students in grades 4 and 5 to think critically and write persuasively by focusing on preparing, presenting, and evaluating mock campaign speeches.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Guided Comprehension: Previewing Using an Anticipation Guide Add Bookmark
Description: Based on the Guided Comprehension Model developed by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson introduces students to the comprehension strategy of previewing.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Guided Comprehension: Evaluating Using the Meeting of the Minds Technique Add Bookmark
Description: Based on the Guided Comprehension Model developed by Maureen McLaughlin and Mary Beth Allen, this lesson introduces students to the strategy of evaluating, using the Meeting of the Minds technique.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Author Lois Duncan was born on this date in 1934. Add Bookmark
Description: Mysteries are shared with students for them to solve and brainstorm the attributes of a good mystery. Small groups then compose short mysteries using the Mystery Cube.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Behind the Scenes With Cinderella Add Bookmark
Description: Cinderella without castles, coaches, or ball gowns? Students use versions of Cinderella to explore how the setting of a story time, place, and culture affects the characters and plot.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Using Prediction as a Prereading Strategy Add Bookmark
Description: Students learn about and apply the prediction strategy while reading a trade book. They use response journals to record questions and responses based on prereading predictions.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Author Study: Improving Reading Comprehension Using Inference and Comparison Add Bookmark
Description: Reading between the lines can be as crucial to comprehension as understanding the words on the page. Through guided author studies, students experience the benefits and the limitations of inference.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Exploring the Subtext Strategy: Thinking Beyond the Text Add Bookmark
Description: What is it like to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? Students find out in this lesson in which they become the characters in Judith Viorst's book.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 2,3,4

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Find favorite book picks in the Children's Choices. Add Bookmark
Description: Students create lists of their favorite books and then the class creates a '' Top Picks'' class booklist. Students can use the Book Cover Creator to create a book jacket for their favorite book.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2,3,4,5,6

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Guided Comprehension: Self-Questioning Using Question-Answer Relationships Add Bookmark
Description: Guided comprehension moves your students beyond decoding to become independent readers. Generating questions to guide reading helps readers make connections with the text and supports independent comprehension of new texts.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6