ALEX Lesson Plan Resources

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ALEX Lesson Plans  
Subject: English Language Arts (3)
Title: Engineered Solution Dam Evaluation Journal and Presentation
Description: Students will create a Google Doc utilizing their school based account or the class created account provided by the teacher. Students will electronically journal their thinking throughout the process of the hands-on group science activity about designing and evaluating a dam to reduce the impact of a flood. Once the activity is complete, students will share their Google Doc with a peer or assigned group in order to discuss findings of the experiment and clarify any unclear statements claimed in his/her journaling. Students will compile journal entries to create a sequential writing appropriate to the task. Students will then create a presentation of their journaling with Google Slides, Prezi, Animoto or a similar electronic presentation tool. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Social Studies (4 - 5)
Title: Native Cultures Vs. Explorers in World Court
Description: This lesson represents the end result of a project-based, hands-on unit in which children represent a culture they've researched in a World Court Hearing against the explorers they encountered.

Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Are You Down with Describing Nouns?
Description: This unit is a fun, exciting, and engaging unit that uses many 21st century tools to help students working in collaborative groups understand what an adjective is and how adjective use is vital to making writing interesting.  Furthermore, students will use technology to research and explore the use of adjectives in their daily writings, readings, and environment and determine how adjective use can influence consumers.

Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Give That Character a Voice with Voki!
Description: This lesson fuses fictional literature with technology through a project-based experience.  Students will use the free online resource Voki to bring a fictional character to "life" and deepen their understanding notion of character, character traits, and the importance of character development within stories. They will create an avatar, compose and edit a script, and supplying the voice befitting the character.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Mathematics (7), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: What's Your Guess? (Probability)
Description: This lesson will allow the student to experience  a series of informal comparisons,  The student will explore the chances of various outcomes of an event. The student will use vocabulary associated with probability.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science University, GEMS-U Project.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Mathematics (7), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Maybe - Maybe Not  (Probability Introduction)
Description: This is a beginning lesson on the concept of probability. Through a series of informal comparisons, the student will explore the chances of various outcomes of an event. The student will use vocabulary associated with probability.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science University, GEMS-U Project.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Sharing Original Nursery Rhymes (Distance Learning)
Description: Collaboration of creative writing/creative dramatics using Distance Learning. With a partner, students will write an original nursery rhyme and share/present with another class (Distance Learning) through presentations (dramatization, puppet show, illustration/book, PowerPoint, etc.).

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Information Literacy (K - 12), or Social Studies (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: "What do we do? Natural Disasters in the United States"
Description: During the course of this lesson, the students will research various forms of natural disasters that occur in the United States and what someone should do in the event of that disaster. The teacher and library media specialist will collaborate during the planning, instruction, and research phases of this lesson. The students will take the information they collected and place it on a PowerPoint presentation to be presented to the class. This information should include several pictures that will be located on the Internet. The Library Media Specialist will guide the students through the process of obtaining permission for the use of various images.

Subject: English Language Arts (3), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Distance Learning Collaborative Literature Circles: Because of Winn Dixie
Description: During this lesson, two classes in different locations will participate separately in literature circles using Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. The discussion of the book will be a collaborative project using distance learning.

Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Narrative Writing: "A Day in the Life of ..."
Description: In this lesson, students will use what they have learned about narrative writing in an authentic situation. This is part of a welcome packet for students who are new to the school. Students will work in groups to conduct research and compose narrative essays telling about a typical day in the life of a kindergartner, first grader, etc. The project will culminate in the creation of a brochure and slideshow presentation that can be used by teachers to introduce new students to their class.

Subject: English Language Arts (2 - 3), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Wonderful Wolves
Description: In this lesson students learn about wolves through literature and research. Students learn the truth about wolves by completing a WebQuest examining wolf myths. Then students have the opportunity to locate information about wolves through a variety of print resources and the Internet.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans  
Subject: Language Arts
Title: Peer Edit With Perfection: Effective Strategies      Add Bookmark
Description: Students take a fresh look at the revision process and help one another polish their written work through a peer-editing strategy that is simple, systematic, and constructive.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure      Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson uses comic strip frames to define plot and reinforce the structure that underlies a narrative. Students finish by writing their own original narratives.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Cyberspace Explorer: Getting to Know Christopher Columbus      Add Bookmark
Description: Students explore multiple online sources to gather information about the life of Christopher Columbus, complete a cyber scavenger hunt, and use their notes to prepare a timeline and summary report.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Powerful Writing: Description in Creating Monster Trading Cards      Add Bookmark
Description: Students create their own monster trading cards using '' powerful,'' vivid language to describe their creatures.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


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: Writing a Movie: Summarizing and Rereading a Film Script      Add Bookmark
Description: Lights! Camera! Action! In this lesson, students view a scene with no dialogue from E.T., write a script for that scene, and perform a dramatic reading while the scene plays.
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: 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: Arts,Language Arts,Social Studies
Title: The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?      Add Bookmark
Description: In this unit of five EDSITEment lessons, students investigate the purposes of the U.S. Constitution, as identified in the Preamble to the Constitution. They also study fundamental values and principles as they are expressed in the Preamble.
Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEment
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Biographies: Creating Timelines of a Life      Add Bookmark
Description: In this lesson students explore a number of sources to create a biographical timeline about a selected person. Students collaboratively research and resolve conflicting information they find during their investigation.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Building Classroom Community Through the Exploration of Acrostic Poetry      Add Bookmark
Description: What do your students think about each other? Find out as you teach them the concepts of acrostic poems and challenge them to write an uplifting acrostic about a classmate.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Fairy Tale Autobiographies      Add Bookmark
Description: Students read and analyze fairy tales from several cultures, identifying common elements. Choosing common situations, students write original fairy tales, using picture books as models and a peer review process.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 5,6,7,8,9


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Writing and Assessing an Autobiographical Incident      Add Bookmark
Description: Students build upon their knowledge of biographies to write their own autobiographical incident. After going through a process of revision, they use a rubric to assess their work.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Bridging Literature and Mathematics by Visualizing Mathematical Concepts      Add Bookmark
Description: 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.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


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: Looking at Landmarks: Using a Picture Book to Guide Research      Add Bookmark
Description: This lesson uses Ben's Dream by Chris Van Allsburg to highlight ten major landmarks of the world. Students research the landmarks and present their findings to the class.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Literature as a Jumping Off Point for Nonfiction Inquiry      Add Bookmark
Description: Students use text sets to research a topic inspired by a fiction book they have read. A text set is a collection of multiple text genres with a single focus.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Today is the International Day of Peace.      Add Bookmark
Description: Students brainstorm a list of current conflicts and why people fight. Groups discuss and present possible solutions and create posters that promote their particular solution.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Once Upon a Time Rethought: Writing Fractured Fairy Tales      Add Bookmark
Description: Students read and analyze fairy tales, identifying their common elements. They then write their own fractured fairy tales by changing one of the literary elements found in the original.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


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