Cluster 1: Conventions of Standard EnglishArchived

This lesson asks students to recommend which cookie the owners of The Cookie Jar should add to their menu. Before they make their decision, the students have to convert decimal notation and fractions with denominators 10 and 100 to fractions with like denominators. Then they will be able to see exactly how many people voted for each cookie and they can factor in that information along with additional cookie facts to make their final recommendation.

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 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

Students will learn and practice the rule for correctly ordering multiple adjectives modifying a noun to ultimately improve the precision of their descriptive writing skills.

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

This lesson will provide students with an opportunity to be able to identify and apply their knowledge of prepositions and prepositional phrases.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

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

Students will be asked to rank the different floor tiles for the playrooms in activity centers throughout community parks. They will need to take certain factors into consideration when making their rankings. They will also need to calculate the costs of installing the floor tiles using the given measurement of the playroom and the floor tiles. The "twist" will be that the client now needs to include a storage room for some of the playroom's equipment. They will need to decide if to use the same floor tile or different from the playroom and the additional cost of the storage closet. After, they will add the total costs of the playroom and the storage closet. They will report their findings and reasons by writing letters to 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 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

Students will work in groups to assist a client in purchasing different fish for a fish pond. From a data table, they will need to decide which type of fish and how many fish to purchase according to the size of the each pond. After, they will need to revisit a revised data table to make different selection of fish and calculate costs for the purchase of the fish.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

This Engineering Design Challenge is intended to help students apply the concepts of weathering and erosion from SC.4.E.6.4 as they build devices to stop beach erosion. It is not intended as an initial introduction to this benchmark.

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

This Engineering Design Challenge is intended to introduce students to Native Floridians, their basic needs, and the challenges they faced in Florida's environment. Students will be designing and constructing a tool out of Florida native materials (items found in Florida's environment) that could meet one of the basic needs of humans. They will be discussing whether Native Floridians were engineers based on their ability to construct tools and shelters out of native materials in order to solve problems.

Type: Lesson Plan

This Engineering Design Challenge is intended to help students apply the concepts of pollination from SC.4.L.16.1 as they design an apparatus that will pollinate a field. It is not intended as an initial introduction to this benchmark.

In this Engineering Design Challenge, students will make a 2-dimensional model (a graphic illustration) rather than build a prototype.

Type: Lesson Plan

An integral part of students' vocabulary and spelling development is to learn and understand the meaning of homophones. In this minilesson, students will identify and discuss homophones in a song. Then, student groups will create a skit that depicts the meaning of a homophone. Finally, student groups will create a comic strip version of their skit using homophones.

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. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

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

In this activity, students will choose the correct homophone to complete sentences.

Type: Student Center Activity

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 match and correctly use homophones while playing a game.

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 tutorial you will learn how to write an interesting prepositional phrase to begin your writing. Press the button until you find the prepositional phrase you like…then finish the sentence on your own. Next, use the sentence you created to begin an amazing story! Or a poem! Or a descriptive paragraph!

Type: Tutorial

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

This page has many worksheets designed to help teach young ESL students. Some work on general language skills; others reinforce particular elements of grammar.

Type: Worksheet