Cluster 1: Key Ideas and DetailsArchived

Did you know that chickens are amazing animals? You will after reading the book, From Egg to Chicken by Gerald Legg. Students will identify nonfiction text features, answer text-dependent questions, and sequence the life cycle of a chicken. They will then compose an expository piece of writing about what they've learned in during these reading lessons.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore different types of habitats and what animals need to live. This lesson begins with a read aloud of the text The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A Book about Animal Habitats and the class will collaboratively make an anchor chart about the diverse habitats we have on earth. Students will choose an animal to research and write an expository writing piece to share their learning. This research project will conclude with students showing their creativity by making a diorama of their habitat out of a shoebox.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will use What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page to identify the main topic and relavant details. Students will complete a 3-2-1 card, a group poster and presentation, and an independent expository writing piece to demonstrate their new learning about some amazing animals.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will be amazed by the book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. This book will encourage students to ask questions about interesting animals and learn many new facts. For the summative assessment, students will gather additional information about their selected animal and write an expository paper.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, students will complete activities centered around the text, What Plants Need. Students will identify the topic and multiple details, answer discussion questions, and write an expository paragraph about what they have learned.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will participate in multiple readings of the text A Tree Is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla, They will complete a K-W-L chart about trees, answer text dependent questions in pairs, and learn about the parts of a paragraph when writing their own expository text. This paragraph will include a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion. This lesson provides great background information and extension activities to support learning in science as well as reading!

Type: Lesson Plan

The teacher will read the stories The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle and Chameleons, Chameleons by Joy Crowley. Students will use the texts as research to answer and discuss the question, “What kind of habitat is good for chameleons?” Students will be assigned to write an expository response about a chameleon’s habitat and draw a habitat for a chameleon.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will complete a KWL chart about bears with a few bear hunts in between. After they learn about topics and details, they will read a book about bears. Using their knew knowledge they will write a five-sentence paragraph. This paragraph will contain a topic sentence, three facts, and a closing sentence. Students will be given a checklist to assess their work.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on using text features to understand nonfiction text, specifically the Scholastic News Nonfiction Reader: Helping Out by Peggy Hock. The students will examine the particular text features found within the text and will organize the information read in a concept map. They will then use the concept map to write an expository paragraph about ways we can protect Earth.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will learn about the important jobs of the community helpers in their city or neighborhood. After reading Whose Tools Are These? and Helpers in Your Neighborhood, they will write an expository paragraph about a helper of their choice.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn about the importance of the sequence of steps in a recipe. They will explore student-friendly recipes and follow a recipe created in class to make a popular food for kids. Students will then write their own recipe for one of their favorite foods.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will listen to an informational text about an animal and critique a sample expository paragraph by giving suggestions about how to improve the sample writing. Students will then read an informational text about an animal of their choosing and write an expository paragraph about the animal. They will present their writing to the class and take suggestions from classmates to improve their writing. Students will also revise their writing through use of suggestions given by their peers.

Type: Lesson Plan

This unit focuses on using text features to understand non-fiction text, specifically National Geographic Reader: Frogs! by Elizabeth Carney. The students will participate in a whole group activity where a portion of text will be analyzed for its topic and details and the teacher will write a paragraph about it using shared writing. The students will then apply the skills they learned as they create a topic and detail table and write an expository paragraph.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn laws of the classroom and community all while determining the main idea.

Type: Lesson Plan

This Model Eliciting Activity is written at a first grade level. In teams, students will make decisions about how to select the best baby toy on various toy characteristics.

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 plan is an introductory lesson for first graders on the objects seen in the night sky and stars.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will use biographies to research individuals important to American history. The students will then create "Clue Bags" based on key details about the different individuals to present to the class with the question "Who Am I?" Additionally, the students will use the key details selected for the "Clue Bags" to write an expository paragraph about their selected individual.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students, will read three informational texts about fruit. Students will identify key ideas and details in each text and use illustrations to help them identify the key ideas. This lesson also incorporates a science standard that asks students to sort objects by color, shape, and size. After reading each text, students will participate in several hands-on activities to sort fruit.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on writing a summary using the topic and relevant details through the reading of a nonfiction text on bird beaks.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches main idea and details incorporating a science lesson on gases.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is intended to support students in finding the topic and relevant details in a text, also exposing students to the role and importance of scientists. Using an informational text, students will read about what scientists do and why they are important. After reading about scientists, students will write a summary identifying the topic and relevant details from the text. Then, they will share their summaries with partners in the classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will identify the text features of non-fiction books and use several informational texts on meat-eating plants to answer text dependent questions. Students will become "text detectives" and learn how to use the text to find the evidence to prove that their answers to questions are right. The students will learn to use evidence from informational texts to write explanatory paragraphs.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches main idea and details incorporating a science lesson on liquids.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this resource, students will form an opinion based on facts in a text. The text used is A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David A. Adler. Students will identify facts from the text and form and share opinions about each fact.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will work as a team to rank school lunch items from the most nutritious to the least nutritious.

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, students will work with two texts, Starfish by Edith Thacher Hurd and Discovering Starfish by Lorijo Metz. As they learn facts about starfish, they will also discuss an important text feature that readers use. Students will write an expository paragraph about starfish to culminate their learning.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches main idea and details incorporating a science lesson on matter.Teachers will utilize a KWL chart to help assess students' background knowledge, as well as what they want to learn, and what they have learned at the end of the lesson. An informational text entitled What is the World Made of? All about Solids, Liquids, and Gases will be used throughout the lesson. As a summative assessment, students will write a summary which identifies the main idea and key details from this text.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on using text features to understand nonfiction text, specifically the National Geographic Reader: Polar Bears, by Laura Marsh. The students will use a text features anchor chart to support student understanding of how these features contribute to the meaning of a text. Students will read and take notes to answer specific questions about the text and use those notes to write a paragraph about polar bears.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches the concept of main idea and details and writing informational/expository text using science content on solids.

Type: Lesson Plan

Identify key details as you answer questions about informational text in this interactive tutorial. Join Sam as he explores the seashore and answers who, what, where, and when questions about sea stars, sea urchins, hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs, and other sea-related topics.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Identify similarities and differences, use a Venn diagram, and describe connections in an informational text in this interactive tutorial. Join Luke as he compares and contrasts life long ago with life today using key details in informational text.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Identify paragraphs in a text, use key details to identify the topic of a paragraph, and identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph text using the topics and details from each paragraph in this Florida-themed interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this activity, students will identify the topic and key details in informational text. As an extension, students may also compare and contrast the important details presented by two texts on the same topic.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will identify the main topic and key details in a text.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will identify the topic and details in text using a graphic organizer.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will make and check predictions about text.

Type: Student Center Activity