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Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.
| Name |
Description |
| We the Kids: The Preamble of the Constitution:: Preamble Summary and Presentation: | This is lesson #5 in the text unit series for We the Kids by David Catrow. In small groups, students will use the KWL chart that has been filled in throughout the unit to support them in identifying the central idea and relevant details from the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Small groups will then share their retelling through a presentation (act out, posterboard, etc.)
This unit will help students develop the meaning of the Preamble as part of the Constitution of the United States and its direct effect on their daily lives. Students will engage in various activities such as debating parts of the Preamble and complete a play interpreting patriotism. Throughout the unit students will have to identify and interpret vocabulary, analyze the provided text, and demonstrate an understanding of the Preamble by providing relevant details. The teacher’s role in this unit will be to support their students' knowledge of the Preamble by facilitating research, reviewing student writing, and work.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| Delving into the Declaration of Independence: | Students will read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence. They will use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words and explain the author’s perspective about the Founders and their reasons for seeking independence in this integrated lesson plan. |
| A Friend of the Everglades: Part 2: | In this lesson, students will use the information from lesson 1 and the internet to conduct research on the Everglades to illustrate a book about Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Everglades for children ages 5-6. This is lesson 2 of 3 in a mini-unit integrating civics and English Language Arts. |
| A Friend of the Everglades: Part 3: | In this lesson, students will use the information from lesson 1 and their research from lesson 2 to continue to illustrate a book about Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the Everglades for children ages 5-6. |
| A Friend of the Everglades: Part 1: | In this lesson, students will read informational text about Marjory Stoneman Douglas (MSD) as well as the Everglades. Students will annotate and summarize the text using a summarizing strategy. Then they will complete a graphic organizer to organize the information for their children's book. This is lesson 1 of 3 in a mini-unit integrating civics and English Language Arts. |
| The Congress of the United States: How to Become a United States Citizen: | In this lesson, teachers will engage students in learning about the naturalization process and how becoming a United States citizen gives you the right to participate and be part of a Constitutional Republic while focusing on a The Congress of the United States' central idea and relevant details as well as text features including headings, photographs, and captions.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| The Congress of the United States: Creating a Law from an Idea: | In this lesson, students will use the central idea and relevant details from a section of the text The Congress of the United States to explain the role laws play in government. Students will also identify and explain how the text features in the book help convey how Congress creates laws.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| The Congress of the United States: What is Congress?: | This lesson can be used with the text The Congress of the United States, by Christine Taylor-Butler.
Students will identify how the United States government is founded on the principals of a constitutional republic.
This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource. |
| United States Symbols: The Statue of Liberty: | Students will participate in research to describe how the Statue of Liberty is a symbol that represents the United States. Students will use a graphic organizer to write facts about the Statue of Liberty and take notes using details gathered from photographs and other text and graphic features, which will be creatively interwoven into a drawing of the Statue of Liberty utilizing a variety of materials and techniques. |
| People Who Represent Florida: Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Important Things She Did & Why She Represents Florida: | Students will participate in digital research, explain how text features contribute to the meaning of the text, use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words, and incorporate multimedia to enhance their written work in this integrated lesson plan. Using two sections from an Interactive Research Page, students will learn about Marjory Stoneman Douglas, her contributions as an environmentalist, and why she is an individual who represents Florida.
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| Give Bees a Chance!: | Students will read the text Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton and use textual evidence to explain why governments might create and enforce laws to protect bee species, in this integrated lesson plan. |
| What Is a Government? Lesson #5: Keeping People Safe, Connecting to Daily Life: | In lesson 5 of a 6-lesson unit plan based on What Is a Government? by Baron Bedesky, students will revisit the relevant details that support the central idea, the government helps keep people safe, from lesson #4. Students will use the relevant details to draft personal narrative writing which identifies how the government helps keeps them safe and create a collage that reinforces their writing.
This unit will support students as they explain why people form governments, the role of laws in government, the impact of government on daily life, and the ways the government protects the rights and liberty of American citizens. Students will engage in a read aloud of the text, What is Government, spread out over several lessons, emphasizing text features, vocabulary, central idea, and author’s purpose. In addition, the teacher will facilitate research, student presentations, expository writing, artwork, computer science, and identifying Florida symbols to help students solidify their interpretation as to why people form governments. |
| Thomas Jefferson Biography: | In this lesson plan, students listen to a book about Thomas Jefferson and identify relevant details related to important events in his life. This is part one of a four-part Civics and Coding integrated series. |
| What Is a Government? Lesson #4 Keeping People Safe: | Students will identify the central idea and relevant details in a passage from What Is a Government? By Baron Bedesky, in this lesson plan. They will draw a picture to match the relevant details and central idea written in their journal/graphic organizer. Students will share their work, explaining how the government positively impacts their daily life.
This lesson focuses on pages 8-11 and is lesson #4 of a 6 lesson unit plan based on this text.
This unit will support students as they explain why people form governments, the role of laws in government, the impact of government on daily life, and the ways the government protects the rights and liberty of American citizens. Students will engage in a read aloud of the text, What is Government, spread out over several lessons, emphasizing text features, vocabulary, central idea, and author’s purpose. In addition, the teacher will facilitate research, student presentations, expository writing, artwork, computer science, and identifying Florida symbols to help students solidify their interpretation as to why people form governments. |
| What Is a Government? Lesson #2 Laws and Government: | Students will use text features to help understand and explain the meaning of academic vocabulary from What Is a Government? by Baron Bedesky in this lesson plan. Students will read a section of the text about the role of laws and create a drawing of text vocabulary that includes text features. This is lesson 2 of a 6-lesson unit plan based on this text.
This unit will support students as they explain why people form governments, the role of laws in government, the impact of government on daily life, and the ways the government protects the rights and liberty of American citizens. Students will engage in a read aloud of the text, What is Government, spread out over several lessons, emphasizing text features, vocabulary, central idea, and author’s purpose. In addition, the teacher will facilitate research, student presentations, expository writing, artwork, computer science, and identifying Florida symbols to help students solidify their interpretation as to why people form governments. |
| United States Symbols: U.S. Capitol Scratch Coding: | This lesson is Part 2 in a 2-part Integrated Civics Unit. Students will use their expository writing from United States Symbols: The U.S. Capitol Part 1 to plan, write, and publish a Scratch coding program. With support from the teacher and peers, students will use one sprite, images, narration, and backdrops to explain why the U.S. Capitol is a symbol that represents the United States.
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| United States Symbols: The U.S. Capitol: | Students will participate in research to describe why the U.S. Capitol is a symbol that represents the United States. Students will use a graphic organizer to write facts about the U.S. Capitol and take notes about the building using details gathered from photographs and other text and graphic features, which will be used to create a multimedia presentation showcasing their learning. |
| United States Symbols: The White House: | Students will participate in research to describe why the White House is a symbol that represents the United States. Students will use a graphic organizer to write facts about the White House and take notes about the building using details gathered from photographs and other text and graphic features, which will be used to create a multimedia presentation showcasing their learning. |
| Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World: | This story is an informational text that is sure to get the attention of any second grader. The author takes the reader around the world to examine different traditions children have when they lose a tooth. A series discussion questions are provided along with practice on text features and author's purpose. Also included is a culminating writing task along with a rubric for scoring. |
| Text Features: An Introduction: | In this lesson, students will receive an introduction to nonfiction text features and their purpose. They will search for a variety of text features in nonfiction books and test their understanding with an assessment. |
| Ace High Flying Writers!: | In this lesson, students will work with teacher and peer support on an informational text about whales to study the text features and determine the central idea. Students will use information from the text to complete a brainstorming organizer to prepare to write an expository paragraph. In the end, through this scaffolded practice, students will become Ace High Flying Writers! |
| Ants in Your Pants! - Part 4: | Students will take their research and turn it into an expository writing piece about ants. They will learn about how to structure a five paragraph text and what needs to be present in each paragraph. Students will take this text through the writing process, ending with a published piece that they can share with the class. |
| Choosing a Host City for the Olympic Games: | In this model eliciting activity, students are asked to help the International Olympic Committee rank prospective host cities for upcoming Summer Olympic Games. Students are provided with data about a list of applicant cities and then must rank the cities and write a proposal to the IOC explaining their rankings. At the end of the MEA, the students will write an opinion piece for the International Olympic Committee that tells their final decision about which city should be the next host of the Summer Olympic Games. |
| Helen Keller: A Journey in Time: | After reading the biography, A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David Adler, students will retell the life of Helen Keller using the central idea and relevant details by answering who, what, when, where, why and how questions. In addition, students will write a nonfiction narrative piece retelling the events of her life in proper sequential order using transition words. |
| Coming to America: Central Idea and Relevant Details: | Students will learn to identify central idea and relevant details while learning about immigration in the early 1900s. After reading informational texts about immigration, students will write an expository paragraph about why immigrants came to America. |
| Ant Text Features and Writing Picnic: | In this lesson, students will learn all about ants by reading National Geographic Kids: Ants. They will investigate the use of various text features in the book and describe how they help readers to understand a text. Students will use their new knowledge to compose an expository paragraph explaining how ants live and work together in their colony. |
| Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Learning About Text Features: | In this lesson, students will use nonfiction texts to learn about how text features help readers. Groups will be assigned a text feature to become an expert on. They will create a poster about their text feature and teach the class about what they have learned. Students will be given a group presentation self-assessment to think about what the group did well together and what could be done differently the next time. |
| Cookie Cravings: How to Read and Understand a Recipe: | This lesson begins with a read aloud of The Gingerbread Man by Eric Kimmel. After that, students will learn how to read a gingerbread recipe. They will discuss author's purpose and the genre of the writing. Students will bake their own gingerbread cookies following the recipe. While the cookies are baking, they will be assessed on their ability to read and comprehend a recipe by doing a "cold read" of a different recipe and answering comprehension questions. |
| Digging Deep for Dino Details and Discussion: | In this unit, students will read appropriately leveled informational text on dinosaurs and identify the relevant details of the text. The students will create a detail web using evidence from the text and will then write an expository paper about their choice of dinosaur. The students will also participate in a guided class discussion. The students will practice the guidelines and procedures for successful discussion and will also practice how to come prepared for discussion by providing supporting information from texts that have been read. |
| Becoming a Butterfly: Writing about the Life Cycle of a Butterfly: | In this lesson students will read the informational text The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Lisa Trumbauer. Students will use elements of nonfiction, such as photographs and diagrams, to aid in their understanding of the text. They will create a graphic organizer and use it to produce an expository piece of writing that explains the stages of a butterfly life cycle. |
| A Writing Activity- Learning about Penguins: | Let's learn about penguins! Students will explore text features and the author's purpose for writing National Geographic Kids: Penguins. Using new knowledge, students will write an expository paragraph on penguins, including what they look like, what they eat, and where they live. |
| Ants in Your Pants! - Part 1: | This is the first lesson in a series about ants. In this lesson, students will create a KWL chart. New learning will occur as the students read an informational text about ants and talk about how text features help readers while they highlight important details. Students will complete an exit ticket to show their knowledge at the end of this lesson. |
| Ants in Your Pants! - Part 2: | In this lesson, students will learn how to find the central idea of the passage, Ants in Action. Students will also discuss what makes a fluent reader and participate in paired reading with a partner. |
| Ants in your Pants! - Part 3: | Now that your students have become interested in this amazing animal, it is time to learn more by starting a research project. Students will use multiple sources and a graphic organizer to record new facts about ants in preparation to complete an expository writing piece in the next lesson. |
| Footsteps that Changed Society: | Students will learn various contributions made by famous African Americans throughout history. They will answer questions about informational text while identifying the central idea and relevant details in the text. They will then write about two famous African Americans and the contributions they made, using information from the text. |
Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.
