Slide, flip, and turn students’ thinking into the world of spatial relationships and geometric design with directed inquiries in song, dance, literature, games, poetry, and history. Develop students’ understanding of symmetry by investigating lines of symmetry to uncover congruent shapes, shapes within shapes, and reflections. Use of mirrors, geoboards, tangrams, and coordinate geometry help to build comprehension as students discover quilts and their geometric mathematics as an art form. Through history, students learn that quilts are rich in cultural heritage and epitomize conservation of resources, while meeting basic needs. Experiences are enriched by a visit with the local quilting guild, dyeing fabric swatches, and stitching an appliqu. Summatively assess student knowledge and applications as they perform slides, flips and turns with math manipulatives and unpack their mind to make a design to add to the classroom simulated quilt. Students write and publish a report on SiteMaker identifying the qualities of their selected quilt block pattern. As a grand finale, students read and follow informational text to fold a rectangle into a popper noisemaker. Enjoy the rigors of high-energy teaching and learning without the toil of planning. This unit assures a well-balanced literacy program integrated with content learning in Math and Social Studies. Lessons smoothly segue one to the other, and are challenging, interactive, and address multiple intelligences. All handouts, assessments, and teacher organizational tools are included.
Give your students a chance to be the sun! Creative dramatics are used to internalize knowledge of the process of photosynthesis. Students analyze and predict the relevance of photosynthesis as it relates to the food chain and survival of all organisms. Students construct meaning and assimilate new learning through sentence mapping, drawing, writing activities, and acting-out opportunities. This mini-unit addresses the Marion County objective as follows: The student will describe the process of photosynthesis.
In this mini-unit, students study factors controlling Florida population growth and related environmental impacts. Students research natural community types and make maps (including a life-sized Florida) to be used as part of a role play/simulation activity. Students have a chance to see first hand how specific factors and events affect the outcomes. This mini-unit is designed for six days and provides activities that will appeal to different learning styles. Although there are no separate lesson plans, each day’s instructions and assessment are described completely in the attached file, Unit Plan Overview.
In this unit, students learn about the sky. They learn why we have day and night, why the sun is important, and why the moon doesnt always look the same. Students also investigate the stars and planets. All the lessons are literature-based with hands-on activities and experiments. *Since it takes 28/29 days to fully observe the phases of the moon, send home the calendar observation sheet two weeks before you start the unit. See unit attached files to find the observation sheet.
Does the FCAT writing section have you worried? Maybe you’re not thrilled about your students’essays? This nine day mini unit is designed to help students understand and refine essays created for the writing section of the FCAT. Students should have a basic understanding of essays and conventions. This unit focuses on the five paragraph essay format as an option for students to use when creating their FCAT writing response.