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Lesson Plans (24)

ALEX Lesson Plans

Title: All-American Diva, Ruby Bridges
Description: In this lesson, students will discover the impact Ruby Bridges made in history when she became the first black child to attend a white school. Your students will be sure to fall in love with the story Ruby has to tell and how this child's courage changed life in the United States. This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.
Standard(s):
[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 2:

2 ) Identify national historical figures and celebrations that exemplify fundamental democratic values, including equality, justice, and responsibility for the common good.

• Recognizing our country's founding fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, John Adams, John Hancock, and James Madison

• Recognizing historical female figures, including Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Harriet Tubman, and Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Describing the significance of national holidays, including the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Presidents' Day; Memorial Day; the Fourth of July; Veterans Day; and Thanksgiving Day

• Describing the history of American symbols and monuments

Examples: Liberty Bell, Statue of Liberty, bald eagle, United States flag, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial

Subject: English Language Arts (1), or Social Studies (1 - 2)
Title: All-American Diva, Ruby Bridges
Description: In this lesson, students will discover the impact Ruby Bridges made in history when she became the first black child to attend a white school. Your students will be sure to fall in love with the story Ruby has to tell and how this child's courage changed life in the United States. This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.

Title: Looks Like Snow
Description: This lesson uses the book, The Jacket I Wear In The Snow, by Shirley Neitzel, to build writing skills as well as introduce students to the skills of alphabetizing, sequencing, and recognizing synonyms. This lesson could be used to integrate a winter weather unit into the Language Arts curriculum.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (1) 38:

38 ) Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. [L.1.2]

a. Capitalize dates and names of people. [L.1.2a]

b. Use end punctuation for sentences. [L.1.2b]

c. Use commas in dates and to separate single words in a series. [L.1.2c]

d. Use conventional spelling for words with common spelling patterns and for frequently occurring irregular words. [L.1.2d]

e. Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions. [L.1.2e]

Subject: English Language Arts (1), or Information Literacy (K - 12), or Technology Education (K - 2)
Title: Looks Like Snow
Description: This lesson uses the book, The Jacket I Wear In The Snow, by Shirley Neitzel, to build writing skills as well as introduce students to the skills of alphabetizing, sequencing, and recognizing synonyms. This lesson could be used to integrate a winter weather unit into the Language Arts curriculum.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans

Title: Collaborative Stories 2: Revising
Description: Using a collaborative story written by students, the teacher leads a shared-revising activity to help students consider content when revising, with students participating in the marking of text revisions.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (1) 35:

35 ) Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. [SL.1.5]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Collaborative Stories 2: Revising
Description: Using a collaborative story written by students, the teacher leads a shared-revising activity to help students consider content when revising, with students participating in the marking of text revisions.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: Rain, Ice, Steam: Using Reading to Support Inquiry About the Water Cycle
Description: Water is always moving in a continuous cycle from liquid to solid to gas and back again. Students study this never-ending cycle through shared readings, center activities, and experiments.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 38:

38 ) Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on Grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies. [L.2.4]

a. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. [L.2.4a]

b. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known prefix is added to a known word (e.g., happy/unhappy, tell/retell). [L.2.4b]

c. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., addition, additional). [L.2.4c]

d. Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark). [L.2.4d]

e. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases. [L.2.4e]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Rain, Ice, Steam: Using Reading to Support Inquiry About the Water Cycle
Description: Water is always moving in a continuous cycle from liquid to solid to gas and back again. Students study this never-ending cycle through shared readings, center activities, and experiments.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: What Is History? Timelines and Oral Histories
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, aims to help students understand history and recognize that the past is different depending on who is remembering and retelling it. There are four activities, in which students construct a timeline based on events from their own lives and family histories, construct a class timeline through comparison with each other's histories, research oral history by interviewing family members, and study primary sources to write their own history of the Great Chicago Fire.
Standard(s):
[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 9:

9 ) Describe how and why people from various cultures immigrate to the United States.

Examples: how—ships, planes, automobiles

why—improved quality of life, family connections, disasters

• Describing the importance of cultural unity and diversity within and across groups

Subject: Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: What Is History? Timelines and Oral Histories
Description: This lesson, from EDSITEment, aims to help students understand history and recognize that the past is different depending on who is remembering and retelling it. There are four activities, in which students construct a timeline based on events from their own lives and family histories, construct a class timeline through comparison with each other's histories, research oral history by interviewing family members, and study primary sources to write their own history of the Great Chicago Fire.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

32 ) Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences. [SL.2.4]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1

Title: Dr. King's Dream
Description: In this lesson from EDSITEment, students learn about the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Students listen to a brief biography, view photographs of the March on Washington, hear a portion of King's '' I Have a Dream'' speech, and discuss what King's words mean to them. Finally, they create picture books about their own dreams of freedom for Americans today.
Standard(s):
[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 11:

11 ) Interpret legends, stories, and songs that contributed to the development of the cultural history of the United States.

Examples: American Indian legends, African-American stories, tall tales, stories of folk heroes

Subject: Arts,Educational Technology,Social Studies,Language Arts
Title: Dr. King's Dream
Description: In this lesson from EDSITEment, students learn about the life and work of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Students listen to a brief biography, view photographs of the March on Washington, hear a portion of King's '' I Have a Dream'' speech, and discuss what King's words mean to them. Finally, they create picture books about their own dreams of freedom for Americans today.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

37 ) Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.2.3]

a. Compare formal and informal uses of English. [L.2.3a]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: Persuasive Writing: What Can Writing in Family Message Journals Do for Students?
Description: This lesson engages children in using writing to their families as a persuasive tool to get what they want and need.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 37:

37 ) Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.2.3]

a. Compare formal and informal uses of English. [L.2.3a]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Persuasive Writing: What Can Writing in Family Message Journals Do for Students?
Description: This lesson engages children in using writing to their families as a persuasive tool to get what they want and need.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students compare imagined travel experiences of their own with the actual experiences of 19th-century pioneers. After creating, as a class, oral stories about contemporary cross-country journeys, students learn about the experiences of the emigrants who traveled on the Oregon Trail. They then create works of historical fiction in the form of picture books, drawing upon the information they have learned.
Standard(s):
[SS2010] LWT1 (1) 6:

6 ) Compare ways individuals and groups in the local community and state lived in the past to how they live today. (Alabama)

• Identifying past and present forms of communication

Examples: past—letter, radio, rotary-dial telephone

present—e-mail, television, cellular telephone

• Identifying past and present types of apparel

• Identifying past and present types of technology

Examples: past—record player, typewriter, wood-burning stove

present—compact diskette (CD) and digital video diskette (DVD) players, video cassette recorder (VCR), computer, microwave oven

• Identifying past and present types of recreation

Examples: past—marbles, hopscotch, jump rope

present—video games, computer games

• Identifying past and present primary sources

Examples: past—letters, newspapers

present—e-mail, Internet articles

Subject: Language Arts,Social Studies,Arts
Title: If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students compare imagined travel experiences of their own with the actual experiences of 19th-century pioneers. After creating, as a class, oral stories about contemporary cross-country journeys, students learn about the experiences of the emigrants who traveled on the Oregon Trail. They then create works of historical fiction in the form of picture books, drawing upon the information they have learned.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: The Wonder of Leo Lionni: Increasing Comprehension with Prediction Statements
Description: This lesson focuses on the strategy of '' wonder'' statements, asking students to stop, think, and write about what may be happening in the text periodically as they read a story.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 26:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: The Wonder of Leo Lionni: Increasing Comprehension with Prediction Statements
Description: This lesson focuses on the strategy of '' wonder'' statements, asking students to stop, think, and write about what may be happening in the text periodically as they read a story.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: My Piece of History
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students examine pictures of household objects from the late 20th century, gather historical information about them from older family members, and then create an in-class exhibit of historical objects from their own homes.
Standard(s):
[SS2010] LWT (0) 12:

12 ) Describe families and communities of the past, including jobs, education, transportation, communication, and recreation.

• Identifying ways everyday life has both changed and remained the same

Subject: Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: My Piece of History
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students examine pictures of household objects from the late 20th century, gather historical information about them from older family members, and then create an in-class exhibit of historical objects from their own homes.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: The Meaning Behind the Mask
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students explore the cultural significance of masks, discuss the use of masks in stories, and then investigate the role masks play in ceremonies and on special occasions in various African cultures. After students have studied these masks, they are then given an opportunity to choose a familiar story and make simple masks to perform the story.
Standard(s):
[ARTS] THEA (0) 3:

3) Participate in dramatic play or a guided drama experience alone and with peers.

Subject: Arts,Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: The Meaning Behind the Mask
Description: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students explore the cultural significance of masks, discuss the use of masks in stories, and then investigate the role masks play in ceremonies and on special occasions in various African cultures. After students have studied these masks, they are then given an opportunity to choose a familiar story and make simple masks to perform the story.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: All Together Now: Collaborations in Poetry Writing
Description: This unit of three lessons from EDSITEment makes poetry exciting for students as they listen to, write, and recite poems that are sure to please. By the end of the unit, students should be able to create lines of poetry in response to poems read aloud, identify musical elements of literary language, and recite short poems or excerpts.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 26:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: All Together Now: Collaborations in Poetry Writing
Description: This unit of three lessons from EDSITEment makes poetry exciting for students as they listen to, write, and recite poems that are sure to please. By the end of the unit, students should be able to create lines of poetry in response to poems read aloud, identify musical elements of literary language, and recite short poems or excerpts.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: Stars and Stripes Forever: Flag Facts for Flag Day
Description: In this unit of three lessons, from EDSITEment, students learn what a symbol is while developing their understanding of how one particular symbol, the American Flag, plays an important role in the everyday lives of American citizens. Learning the history of the flag helps instill in students respect for our national symbol and helps them learn appropriate etiquette regarding our flag. Students learn that other symbols of our country, such as the President and certain holidays, like Flag Day, are important to us as well. Students can also contribute symbols from their familial, ethnic and national cultures to show the diversity of American society and its links to other parts of the world.
Standard(s):
[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 5:

5 ) Differentiate between a physical map and a political map.

Examples: physical—illustrating rivers and mountains

political—illustrating symbols for states and capitals

• Using vocabulary associated with geographical features, including latitude, longitude, and border

Subject: Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: Stars and Stripes Forever: Flag Facts for Flag Day
Description: In this unit of three lessons, from EDSITEment, students learn what a symbol is while developing their understanding of how one particular symbol, the American Flag, plays an important role in the everyday lives of American citizens. Learning the history of the flag helps instill in students respect for our national symbol and helps them learn appropriate etiquette regarding our flag. Students learn that other symbols of our country, such as the President and certain holidays, like Flag Day, are important to us as well. Students can also contribute symbols from their familial, ethnic and national cultures to show the diversity of American society and its links to other parts of the world.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
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
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: Completing the Circle: The Craft of Circular Plot Structure
Description: Students identify, explore and apply the elements of circle plot structures to their own stories by using graphic organizers, reading and writing stories, and using checklists to assess their work.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 25:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Completing the Circle: The Craft of Circular Plot Structure
Description: Students identify, explore and apply the elements of circle plot structures to their own stories by using graphic organizers, reading and writing stories, and using checklists to assess their work.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Title: A Bear of a Poem: Composing and Performing Found Poetry
Description: Children find favorite words, phrases, and sentences from familiar stories. Working together, they combine their words and phrases to create a poem. The poem is then shared as performance poetry.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (2) 25:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: A Bear of a Poem: Composing and Performing Found Poetry
Description: Children find favorite words, phrases, and sentences from familiar stories. Working together, they combine their words and phrases to create a poem. The poem is then shared as performance poetry.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

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:

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]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2,3

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:

30 ) Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. [SL.2.2]

Subject: Language Arts
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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2

Thinkfinity Learning Activities

Title: Write letters that make things happen!
Description: In a small group or as individuals, students write letters related to a unit of study or particular topic they have studied.
Standard(s):
[ELA2015] (12) 19:

19 ) Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. [W.11-12.1]

a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. [W.11-12.1a]

b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases. [W.11-12.1b]

c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. [W.11-12.1c]

d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. [W.11-12.1d]

e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. [W.11-12.1e]

Subject: Language Arts
Title: Write letters that make things happen!
Description: In a small group or as individuals, students write letters related to a unit of study or particular topic they have studied.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12