LAFS.4.L.1.2Archived Standard

This lesson uses the text, The Well written by Mildred Taylor. In this reading lesson, students will analyze the story elements as textual evidence to support the text’s theme. This lesson is to be used before a complete read of the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will have an opportunity to learn about transition words. They willpractice editing sentences to include transitions and use these transition words in a writing activity.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will practice creating a variety of introductions for narrative writing using fairy tales as the springboard.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will practice identifying and using descriptive words in their writing. Students will use photographs and text to study the concept of using descriptive words in writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a businessman who is planning a party for his employees. They will need to read several ads and decide which company offers the best deal in renting tables, chairs, and tablecloths for the client. They will need to take into consideration the amount of guests attending the party and the budget allowed. A twist is added to the problem when the students are asked to consider an additional ad and the fact that the guest list is now slightly larger.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this opened ended real world problem, students will work in groups to determine a procedure for ranking companies to build a park for a town. Students will need to calculate area, calculate the cost of the park, make decisions based on a data table, and write a letter to the mayor providing evidence for their decisions. Students will need to trade-off between the size and cost of the park as well as park features such as pond or lake and a sports field.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this beginning lesson on using transitional word and phrases, students will explore the use of varied transitions in a published book and then include varied transitions within their own short narrative writing piece.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers. The students will be asked to assist a landscaping company in deciding which hedges will be the best to use in replacing the existing hedges which are currently not thriving due to insect infestation. They will need to take into consideration factors such as height, cold, drought tolerance, price, and the client's comments. A twist is added to the problem when students are asked to consider if it would be a good idea to treat the existing hedge instead of replacing it.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written on a 4^th grade level. In this open-ended problem, the Biological Nature Preserve MEA provides students with an engineering problem where they must work as a team to analyze data to choose the best tree to plant in the serenity garden. The students will consider the cost, shade, height, leaf color, maintenance, and growth rate to choose the best tree that not only will benefit the environment but also this nature preserve. The students will work in teams to decide on a process of how to rank these trees from "best to worst" as well as explain how they arrived at their solution using a letter format.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA the Parent-Teacher Group asks the students to help them plan a fun yet environmentally friendly end-of-the-year party.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA students help their cafeteria manager make greener choices in selecting utensils.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) asks students to develop a procedure to select a pickle brand for a sandwich shop. Students will need to consider appearance, texture, price, flavor, length of shelf life, and estimating shipping costs. In the second portion of the problem statement, the students will need to trade off what they have previously considered and give more worth to the estimated shipping costs, while adding three more brands for consideration. The students will complete a culminating activity of making a commercial to advertise their selected brand. Student will need to work together and use the standard conventions of writing to write and perform their commercial for the other groups.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will be need to help a travel agent come up with the best vacation hotel package for a family of four. They need to take into consideration all the amenities, prices, perks, and reviews into consideration. A twist comes in when the travel agent will need to provide vacation hotel packages for families of 5 members.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) is written at a 4th grade level.

This activity allows students to think critically using information provided. Students will write a procedure on how they determined which painting company would be suitable for the client.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the teacher will use the humorous book, Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts! by Lynne Truss, to help students understand how inserting or removing punctuation marks can change the meaning of sentences.
Students will participate in small group activities to improve their command of conventions. Students will also apply their knowledge of conventions to edit and improve their own writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve real-world, multi-step problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division. The students will be asked to assist a business/property owner in purchasing holiday lights for his property. They will need to read several ads and decide which product would be the best for the property. They will be provided with an office plan to calculate the perimeter of the building to then calculate how many holiday lights will need to be purchased and its total cost for each. They also need to take into consideration the owner's primary concerns. In the twist, the owner finds different holiday lights made from another material.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Lotsa Lotion Labs requests the help of your team to rank a group of sunscreens, explain the process and justify how you chose which is 'best.' An additional hands-on lesson investigating solar energy and sunscreens is included as an extension activity.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

In this MEA, students will work in collaborative groups to solve multistep problems with whole numbers and decimals by using different mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The students will be asked to assist a property owner, who is planning to repair his new property, in purchasing the right exterior paint. They will need to read a data table, rank the paints from highest to lowest, calculate the amount of gallons needed according to the surface area, and the total cost of each paint. A twist is added to the problem when one of the paints is not available but two others are added, and also the owner wants to paint the dividing walls outside.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this open-ended real world problem, students will work in groups to determine a procedure for ranking playground equipment to help a school purchase new equipment for their playground. Students will need to find like denominators, make decisions based on a data table, and write a letter to the school providing evidence for their decisions. Students will need to trade off between the cost of the equipment, its safety rating and student opinions.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches students why the stars seem to move across the night sky. The lesson also teaches why we see different stars during different times of the year and why constellations are in different positions in the sky during different times of the year.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn how to use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Students can practice answering reading comprehension questions with a text about online learning. With an account, students can save their work and send it to their teacher when complete.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will decode and spell words containing vowel diphthongs while playing a board game.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will make new words by combining words with inflections.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will produce compound words that begin with a specific letter. In an extension activity, students will read and segment multisyllabic compound words into two words.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will produce words with different spelling patterns while playing a game.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will make words using letter cards containing digraphs, silent letter combinations, vowel teams, and vowel diphthongs.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will decode and spell words with r-controlled vowel patterns.

Type: Student Center Activity

This text resource is a guide to proper capitalization. A PowerPoint is included.

Type: Text Resource

In this lesson tied to academic standards for English/Language Arts, students receive support as they read a complex informational text about honeybees. The teacher facilitates a close reading and writing a response-to-text.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence