ALEX Resources

Title: Science Writing with Author Lois Ehlert
Description: This is an interdisciplinary language development unit addressing science and language arts standards designed for English Language Learners. In the week-long unit students will learn the life cycle of plants and discuss various uses for plants. They will also use the writing of a renowned children's author, Lois Ehlert, as a model for their own writing. During the final project students will follow the writing process. The lesson format follows the Sheltered English Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP).
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (0) 28: With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. [W.K.6]

Title: All About Our Town: Using Brochures to Teach Informational Writing
Description: Students explore their towns' landmarks, symbols, and people; look at brochures and other informational tools; practice writing for a specific audience and revising; and work collaboratively to create a brochure.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (5) 28: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. [W.5.7]

Title: Mail Time! An Integrated Postcard and Geography Study
Description: Children write and receive postcards from friends and family, and then chart where all those postcards come from on a classroom map.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 26: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. [W.2.6]

Title: Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research
Description: Inspired by their curiosity about animals, students work together to research an animal of their choice and present the information they gather to an authentic audience.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (1) 15: Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text. [RI.1.6]

Title: Catching the Bug for Reading Through Interactive Read-Alouds
Description: Students learn about story structure, new vocabulary, and a variety of reading strategies by participating in an interactive read-aloud of Miss Bindergarten Stays Home From Kindergarten by Joseph Slate.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 32: Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences. [SL.2.4]

Title: Let's Build a Snowman
Description: In this lesson, students use both fiction and nonfiction texts, the Internet, and a K-W-L chart to learn about how animals survive the winter.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 37: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.2.3]

Title: A Journal for Corduroy: Responding to Literature
Description: Connect home and school, literature and life, as students take a storybook character home with them and take turns writing stories about his visit.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 26: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. [W.2.6]

Title: Have Journal...Will Travel: Promoting Family Involvement in Literacy
Description: Students build positive memories of literacy activities when they take turns taking home a book bag stuffed with items to encourage literacy interactions with their families.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 26: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. [W.2.6]

Title: Student of the Day: Create Sound/Letter Understanding With Names
Description: Name games make learning letters fun and interactive in this lesson where students get to know more about each other as they spell out their classmates names.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 25: With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. [W.2.5]

Title: Using Children's Natural Curiosity to Lead to Descriptive Writing
Description: 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
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 25: With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. [W.2.5]

Title: Launching Family Message Journals
Description: This lesson introduces Family Message Journals teacher-tested tool for encouraging family involvement and supporting writing to reflect and to learn.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 25: With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. [W.2.5]

Title: Weekend News! A Weekly Writing Activity
Description: On Monday mornings, you re likely to be asked, What did you do this weekend? In this lesson, students respond to this question in a self-assessed writing assignment about their weekend adventures.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 26: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. [W.2.6]

Title: Two Thumbs Up! Get Students Writing and Publishing Book Reviews
Description: Students evaluate book reviews written by other children, discussing their components and effectiveness, and write reviews of favorite books to record on video or post online.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 34: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See Grade 2 Language standards 35 and 37 for specific expectations.) [SL.2.6]

Title: Read a Song: Using Song Lyrics for Reading and Writing
Description: This lesson will be music to the students ears when they hear that they get to read song lyrics and compose original lyrics for a familiar song.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 30: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. [SL.2.2]