Resources for Lesson Planning
There are so many wonderful resources available for lesson planning. Here are some that I use regularly:
Achieve the Core
http://achievethecore.org
Over 300 FREE Common Core aligned lesson plans, resources for Common Core professional development, and how to tell if you are achieving the core in your classroom! One unique aspect of this website is that they provide exemplars of student work.
Avocabo Vocabulary Series
http://www.bookhooks.com/avocabo.cfm
AVOCABO is a FREE dynamic vocabulary series for high school classes. Each unit, available in convenient PDF files, highlights 20-25 vital words presented with a variety of challenging exercises. Choose from over 80 vocabulary units!
Best Evidence Encyclopedia
http://www.bestevidence.org/index.cfm
If you want to research your current classroom practices or want to provide a parent or administrator with research regarding a practice you use, check this out! FREE
Better Lesson: Master Teacher Project
http://betterlesson.com
A FREE resource with over 5,000 complete Common Core-aligned lessons from our 130 Master Teachers.
California High School Proficiency Exam
www.chspe.net
Working in high school, I sometimes encounter the student who might not be motivated to graduate. As an alternative to dropping out, I provide them with the information about the CHSPE.
English Questions Answered
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Need a quick reminder on how to start a letter of recommendation, or the appropriate order for MLA format? Make sure your information is accurate by using the Online Writing Lab from Purdue University.
Florida Center for Reading Research
http://www.fcrr.org
FCRR really focuses on the fundamentals of reading: decoding, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. They provide PDF activities for grades K-5, but I have successfully used some of their activities with struggling readers in middle and high school. Additionally, even if a particular activity seems "young," they provide such a thorough outline it can easily be adapted to fit your audience.
Fun with Words
http://fun-with-words.com
Show students that it is easy to confuse the English language by using examples of funny headlines, signs, and the history of various words, phrases, and expressions.
Inference Activity Book
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/inferencing-activities.html
Most of the resources I post are free, but this book is a great buy for only $15.00! I use it everyday for warm-ups, and it teaches the higher order skill of making inferences using the perfectly scaffolded progression from pictures to paragraphs.
The J. Paul Getty Museum
http://www.getty.edu/education/
Learn how to teach a variety of subjects using the Getty’s artwork, get FREE lesson plans and lesson guides for K-12 and adult ESL learners, and access online games, videos and activities for students.
Multiple Intelligence Survey
http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm
Tailor your lessons to fit your students' specific intelligences. Find out your class composition: are they primarily visually learners or verbal?
Powerpoint
http://www.edtechnetwork.com/powerpoint.html
Most of us have been using Powerpoint for a while, but this site offers a variety of ways for teachers and students to use Powerpoint, including Jeopardy* templates for quick, fun assessments.
*Jeopardy Hint: If I divide students into groups for Jeopardy, I hand out individual whiteboards to each person on the team, and in order to get the point each team member must have the correct answer written down. This ensures maximum student participation.
Puzzlemaker
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=13610116&CFTOKEN=30265839
Choose from a variety of 10 different puzzles to create. This FREE resource can be a fun way for you to reinforce lesson vocabulary, or better yet, have students create puzzles for each other!
Readability Graphs
www.readabilityformulas.com
If you want to make sure the text your using is at the right level, just cut and paste (or type) a 300 word sample into the box, and this website will give you the grade level of your text!
Reading Rates by Grade Level
http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/post/2010/07/19/Optimal-Silent-and-Oral-Reading-Rates.aspx
For fluency practice, I have students set their "personal goal," which is one that they create, but I also provide them with my goal for them that comes from this list of optimal oral reading rates by grade level.
ReadWriteThink
http://www.readwritethink.org
ReadWriteThink's mission is to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials. They provide very engaging, FREE lessons.
Rubistar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org
The longer I teach, the more I use rubrics. This site provides a starting place for setting clear, objective expectations for a variety of student assignments, and the clearer I am with my expectations the better the assignments are!
Teachers Pay Teachers
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com
Buy materials that teachers have created; or sell and share your own!
TubeChop
http://www.tubechop.com
TubeChop allows you to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.
The Teaching Channel
www.teachingchannel.org
An easy way to get lesson ideas and check out some inspiring videos!
Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org
A place for educators to find thought-provoking news, conversation and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity and respect for differences in schools.
Text Project
http://textproject.org
So many words, so little time! This website has wonderful word lists (1,000 most frequently used words in middle and high school) among other resources.
Transition Questionnaire
http://www.mynextmove.org
This is a great motivator, especially if you work with older students. Have students take a transition questionnaire that matches their interests and skills with a career path. Then you can relate your lessons directly to their post high school career.
http://achievethecore.org
Over 300 FREE Common Core aligned lesson plans, resources for Common Core professional development, and how to tell if you are achieving the core in your classroom! One unique aspect of this website is that they provide exemplars of student work.
Avocabo Vocabulary Series
http://www.bookhooks.com/avocabo.cfm
AVOCABO is a FREE dynamic vocabulary series for high school classes. Each unit, available in convenient PDF files, highlights 20-25 vital words presented with a variety of challenging exercises. Choose from over 80 vocabulary units!
Best Evidence Encyclopedia
http://www.bestevidence.org/index.cfm
If you want to research your current classroom practices or want to provide a parent or administrator with research regarding a practice you use, check this out! FREE
Better Lesson: Master Teacher Project
http://betterlesson.com
A FREE resource with over 5,000 complete Common Core-aligned lessons from our 130 Master Teachers.
California High School Proficiency Exam
www.chspe.net
Working in high school, I sometimes encounter the student who might not be motivated to graduate. As an alternative to dropping out, I provide them with the information about the CHSPE.
English Questions Answered
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Need a quick reminder on how to start a letter of recommendation, or the appropriate order for MLA format? Make sure your information is accurate by using the Online Writing Lab from Purdue University.
Florida Center for Reading Research
http://www.fcrr.org
FCRR really focuses on the fundamentals of reading: decoding, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. They provide PDF activities for grades K-5, but I have successfully used some of their activities with struggling readers in middle and high school. Additionally, even if a particular activity seems "young," they provide such a thorough outline it can easily be adapted to fit your audience.
Fun with Words
http://fun-with-words.com
Show students that it is easy to confuse the English language by using examples of funny headlines, signs, and the history of various words, phrases, and expressions.
Inference Activity Book
http://www.speechlanguage-resources.com/inferencing-activities.html
Most of the resources I post are free, but this book is a great buy for only $15.00! I use it everyday for warm-ups, and it teaches the higher order skill of making inferences using the perfectly scaffolded progression from pictures to paragraphs.
The J. Paul Getty Museum
http://www.getty.edu/education/
Learn how to teach a variety of subjects using the Getty’s artwork, get FREE lesson plans and lesson guides for K-12 and adult ESL learners, and access online games, videos and activities for students.
Multiple Intelligence Survey
http://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm
Tailor your lessons to fit your students' specific intelligences. Find out your class composition: are they primarily visually learners or verbal?
Powerpoint
http://www.edtechnetwork.com/powerpoint.html
Most of us have been using Powerpoint for a while, but this site offers a variety of ways for teachers and students to use Powerpoint, including Jeopardy* templates for quick, fun assessments.
*Jeopardy Hint: If I divide students into groups for Jeopardy, I hand out individual whiteboards to each person on the team, and in order to get the point each team member must have the correct answer written down. This ensures maximum student participation.
Puzzlemaker
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=13610116&CFTOKEN=30265839
Choose from a variety of 10 different puzzles to create. This FREE resource can be a fun way for you to reinforce lesson vocabulary, or better yet, have students create puzzles for each other!
Readability Graphs
www.readabilityformulas.com
If you want to make sure the text your using is at the right level, just cut and paste (or type) a 300 word sample into the box, and this website will give you the grade level of your text!
Reading Rates by Grade Level
http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/post/2010/07/19/Optimal-Silent-and-Oral-Reading-Rates.aspx
For fluency practice, I have students set their "personal goal," which is one that they create, but I also provide them with my goal for them that comes from this list of optimal oral reading rates by grade level.
ReadWriteThink
http://www.readwritethink.org
ReadWriteThink's mission is to provide educators, parents, and afterschool professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials. They provide very engaging, FREE lessons.
Rubistar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org
The longer I teach, the more I use rubrics. This site provides a starting place for setting clear, objective expectations for a variety of student assignments, and the clearer I am with my expectations the better the assignments are!
Teachers Pay Teachers
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com
Buy materials that teachers have created; or sell and share your own!
TubeChop
http://www.tubechop.com
TubeChop allows you to easily chop a funny or interesting section from any YouTube video and share it.
The Teaching Channel
www.teachingchannel.org
An easy way to get lesson ideas and check out some inspiring videos!
Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org
A place for educators to find thought-provoking news, conversation and support for those who care about diversity, equal opportunity and respect for differences in schools.
Text Project
http://textproject.org
So many words, so little time! This website has wonderful word lists (1,000 most frequently used words in middle and high school) among other resources.
Transition Questionnaire
http://www.mynextmove.org
This is a great motivator, especially if you work with older students. Have students take a transition questionnaire that matches their interests and skills with a career path. Then you can relate your lessons directly to their post high school career.
