Cluster 3: Research to Build and Present KnowledgeArchived

This final lesson in three-lesson unit guides students through the process of writing and revising an essay based on the concept of freedom and using text evidence from two sources - the poem "Sympathy," and the folk tale "The People Could Fly." The lesson consists of a review of the two previous lessons in the series, three days of organizing thoughts and getting teacher and peer feedback on each step in the essay and producing a final copy. An assignment sheet and detailed organizer are all provided. Students must have completed lessons #1 and #2 in this series to complete this lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is the first in a series of three focusing on the importance of freedom. In this lesson, students begin with a journal entry about freedom. Students then read the poem - "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar - analyzing the poem according to literary and poetic elements. Text questions, a poetry chart, sample answer keys, and a PowerPoint are included.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will learn about the musculoskeletal system with a focus on the skeletal system. In addition, students will be able to incorporate the importance of bone density and ways of improving it by helping to select the best weight bearing cardio machine for their fitness center.

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 close read a short section (chapter 23) of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, gathering and organizing evidence to collaboratively defend a position with textual support in a debate-style activity. They will use this experience to assist with the creation of an extended written response addressing the development of theme in Twain's novel, this time citing evidence in writing to support their assertions.

Type: Lesson Plan

This three-block lesson includes an interactive collaborative vocabulary activity, a guided read of the short story "The Enchanted Raisin," and culminates in a narrative storyboard planning activity and creation of a picture book with the goal of retelling the story to a younger audience.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is a Library of Congress lesson plan about "seeing" the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl through the eyes of children by reading the novel Out of the Dust.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will compare two characters from the novel, The View from Saturday, analyzing how many of their physical and emotional needs were met by the time the story ends. This determination will be reached by using Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" as a guide. Students will also explore the influence of gender on how many human needs are reached in someone's lifetime. As a summative assessment, students will compare two characters from the novel, identifying the needs each character fulfilled and interpreting their findings in the form of a written analysis. Students will use their analysis and comparison as the basis for an informal class debate.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will debate the issue of whether a character was justly punished for his violation of a school rule: standing in respectful silence during the national anthem. They will assume the identities of administrators, teachers, parents, and students while arguing the issue in a mock PTSA meeting held in a school library or auditorium. In preparation for the debate, students will be asked to speak and write from the perspective of a character, stating their opinions in a slanted or biased way in both a newspaper article and persuasive paragraph using text evidence to support their perspective.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will be helping Lily Rae find the most efficient delivery route by using speed and distance values to calculate the shortest time to make it to all of her customers.

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 lesson, students create text sets and use them to practice three strategies for reading for information. Students select a topic they want to explore and work in small groups to compile a set of texts related to their topic. Each group discusses their topic, jotting notes and images on a large piece of paper as they talk. They then explore the texts they have gathered, adding more information to the paper to create a "graffiti board" focusing on their topic. Next, students generate a list of key words they think that they'll find if a text contains specific information that they're looking for. After the teacher models skimming text for key words, students use the strategy on their own text sets. Finally, students are given sustained reading time, followed by writing time without the text, allowing them to put the information they have learned into their own words.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson was designed to provide students the opportunity to conduct research using a variety of resources to gather information about the countries of Poland and Germany during World War II. In small groups, the students will conduct research using a variety of resources. They will create a digital presentation with the accompanying information to share with the class. This lesson can be taught at the start of a Holocaust novel study unit for Daniel's Story by Carol Matas or another novel.

Type: Lesson Plan

This activity emphasizes the importance of teaching reading and writing strategies for students to use with informational text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this multi-day lesson, students will work collaboratively to conduct brief research and create a presentation on one of the habits, from the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. After sharing their multimedia presentations with the class, students will determine which one is most important to them personally. Students will write a response to explain how that habit can provide a positive personal impact.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students learn to set a purpose for reading informational text before reading by turning the title and subtitles into questions.

Type: Lesson Plan

These games and activities help students investigate the relationship between fractions and decimals, focusing on equivalence.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this second part of a three-part unit, students will read and analyze the folktale "The People Could Fly" for its use of figurative language and literary elements using a chart similar to the poetry chart from Lesson #1 (resource ID 43909). Short answer questions have also been included. In the closure activity students will compare and contrast the folktale with a poem they read in the first lesson in the unit as to how each text approaches the topic of freedom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn all about the skill of paraphrasing in this two-part tutorial. You'll learn how to paraphrase effectively as you read about several of the most interesting locations on the planet.

Make sure to complete Planet Paraphrase - Part One before diving into Part Two.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn all about the skill of paraphrasing in this two-part tutorial. You'll learn how to paraphrase effectively as you read about several of the most interesting locations on the planet. 

Make sure to complete both parts! Click here to launch Planet Paraphrase - Part Two.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn more about that dreaded word--plagiarism--in this interactive tutorial that's all about citing your sources and avoiding academic dishonesty!

Type: Original Student Tutorial

This teaching idea describes a project sixth graders participated in after studying Ancient Egypt. Students created topics to feature in a children's alphabet book, and they researched, wrote, and illustrated a page for each letter of the alphabet on Egyptian related topics.

Type: Teaching Idea

This text resource from Cornell University includes brief information on the what, why, how, and when of documenting sources in a research paper. The resource provides information on what plagiarism is, when and how to document sources, the difference between primary and secondary sources, and definitions of the following words: documentation, citation, and reference. The resource also provides a quiz to identify whether the writing sample in each exercise uses sources properly.

Type: Text Resource

Use this interactive tutorial to explore how to select print resources for a research assignment. The tutorial demonstrates tips on how to evaluate the author, select images, and use text features to gather information prior to writing. To get started, click on the Go to Demo arrow to learn more about these tips, then select the Try It arrow to download a worksheet that will allow you to use these tips on your own project.

Type: Tutorial

This unit plan uses the book "The Bully" by Paul Langan, which is from the Bluford series, to teach tolerance. There are a plethora of resources and activities including graphic organizers, reflective journals, and reader's theater. Students work together to gain an understanding of the effects of bullying and an awareness of this important issue.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit using the collection of short stories in "America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories" by Anne Mazer. Students will examine point of view, multiple perspectives, character development, and setting in these varied texts. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This sixth grade unit is based on the mystery novel Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. Students will analyze clues and motives, study plot, and make predictions while learning about the artist Johannes Vermeer. It includes a complete packet with creative activities, graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit on the sci-fi novel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. Students will examine the characteristics of scientific and futuristic fiction including vocabulary, setting, and plot development. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit on the verse novels Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith and Chess Rumble by G. Neri. This unit explores narrative and lyric poetry, figurative language, author's purpose, voice, and symbolism. It includes games, graphic organizers, and a complete student packet, and includes a pacing guide and assessment with sample student answers.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit on the verse novel Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. This unit explores narrative and lyric poetry, figurative language, author's purpose, voice, and symbolism. It is rich with games, graphic organizers, and a complete student packet and includes a pacing guide and assessment with sample student answers.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit on the mystery novel Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy by Wendelin Van Draanen. Students will analyze characters, study the plot, make predictions, and draw conclusions to solve a mystery in this forensic-themed unit. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit on the mystery novel Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen. Students will analyze characters, study the plot, and make predictions in this forensic-themed unit. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This sixth grade unit on Rosa Parks is a thorough examination of an autobiographical novel and includes the study of author's purpose, main idea, and fact and opinion. It includes a student packet, graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and a unit assessment with sample responses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

This is a sixth grade unit on the mystery novel "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. Students will analyze the character's motives, identify clues to solve the mystery, make predictions about the conclusion, and identify 'red herrings'. This unit on detective fiction includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Set the stage for high-interest reading with a purpose through a biography project. In this lesson, students work together to generate questions they would like to answer about several well-known people, then each student chooses one of these and finds information by reading a biography from the library and doing Internet research. Students create a graphic organizer (a web) to organize the facts they have found and share what they have learned about their subjects through oral presentations. Students evaluate themselves and their classmates by using a rubric during the research and graphic organizer-creation process and by giving written feedback on one another's presentations. Teachers also evaluate the students' presentations with a rubric that is included in the lesson.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence