ALEX Lesson Plan Resources

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ALEX Lesson Plans  
Subject: English Language Arts (5)
Title: Disappearing Acts: Why Would a Mother Leave--Issues That Students Have Faced in the Past and Present
Description: Use literary elements to show students' similarities and differences of today's society to the past. This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.

Subject: English Language Arts (5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Who's Talking?
Description: This lesson provides an opportunity for the students to write a biography and provide an excerpt of the bio using a Web 2.0 tool. This is a week long activity using the 5 stages of writing. This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.

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 (5), or Social Studies (5)
Title: A Revolutionary Dinner Party
Description: Students play the role of colonists from the Revolutionary War period. Each group has decided to host a dinner party for some "famous faces" of the American Revolution. There are FOUR parts to this project: research, seating chart, music and food, and dialogue.

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 (3 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Writing with Presentation Software
Description: During this lesson students use their imaginations to create short stories. Then they create alternative endings to their classmates' stories. Students present their stories using presentation software.

Subject: English Language Arts (5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Dinosaurs: Prefixes and Suffixes
Description: Scientists use prefixes and suffixes to name dinosaurs. In this lesson, students will use a variety of prefixes and suffixes to create their own dinosaur names. They will draw a picture of the new dinosaur, and then type, edit, and print a story using a word processor.

Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5)
Title: Gummy Worm Writing
Description: This activity is designed to introduce descriptive writing. It can be used in grades 3-5.

Subject: English Language Arts (5), or Social Studies (5), or Technology Education (3 - 5)
Title: Exploring Explorers
Description: Students will create a video in talk-show format about explorers from the 15th-17th centuries. They will utilize books, the Alabama Virtual Library, and the Internet for reference. Groups of students will answer who, what, when, where, and why questions and then use that information to write a script for the video.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans  
Subject: Language Arts
Title: ' Black Beauty'' author Anna Sewell was born in 1820.      Add Bookmark
Description: Through Sewell's novel, students explore the cruelty to animals and extend the discussion to current events, eventually presenting the information.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12


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: Color Poems Using the Five Senses to Guide Prewriting      Add Bookmark
Description: Students use their five senses as a prewriting tool to guide their poetry writing as they compose free-form poems using imagery to describe a color.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Artist Pablo Picasso was born on this day in 1881.      Add Bookmark
Description: Students view a Picasso piece, write their impressions, and share. Students can create their own Picasso-style art using the interactive Picassohead.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 5,6,7,8,9,10


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: ' Stellaluna'' author Janell Cannon was born in 1957.      Add Bookmark
Description: After reading '' Stellaluna'' , students discuss themes in the story and do a unit on bats or a creative writing activity based on the book.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 1,2,3,4,5


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: 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: Teaching the Compare and Contrast Essay through Modeling      Add Bookmark
Description: The compare and contrast essay is taught through modeling from the brainstorming phase through the first draft.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817.      Add Bookmark
Description: Students make mental '' snapshots'' of a natural setting, then capture the details of their setting by writing and then creating a class booklet of the nature walk.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12


Subject: Language Arts
Title: Using Historical Fiction to Learn About the Civil War      Add Bookmark
Description: Students in grades 4 and 5 discuss inferential comprehension and visualization as they use a think-aloud questioning strategy to develop a deeper understanding of a historical novel.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 3,4,5


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: Faith Ringgold was born on October 8, 1930.      Add Bookmark
Description: Students use Ringgold's books as a springboard for a discussion of race, gender, and civil rights, and then write and illustrate original picture books on these topics.
Thinkfinity Partner: ReadWriteThink
Grade Span: 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: 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: All About Our Town: Using Brochures to Teach Informational Writing      Add Bookmark
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.
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