Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

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Patricia Turner

LEARN Author

K20 Center

Oklahoma Young Scholars/Javits

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Recent Publications

Looking Back in Time Using Fossil Evidence

Changes in the Earth Over Time: What’s the Evidence?

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 3rd - 5th

During this lesson, students are introduced to the significance of fossils in understanding past living organisms, gathering evidence about prehistoric life, and providing valuable insights into the Earth's historical environment and its transformations over time. As students progress through Discovery... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Looking Back in Time Using Fossil Evidence

Changes in the Earth Over Time: What’s the Evidence?

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 3rd - 5th

Subject Subject

  • Science

Course Course

  • Earth Science, Oklahoma Young Scholars/Javits

Tag Sponsor

  • National Science Foundation FRES-1925896 and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore OK., Sam Noble Natural History Museum

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 3.LS4.1.2, 4.ESS1.1 , 5.LS2.2 , 5.ESS2, 5.LS2.2.3
More 50 min. each session
Time Frame 4 -5 class periods
Making Ten with the Circus

Composing and Decomposing Numbers Up to Ten

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Kindergarten - 1st

In this lesson, students will begin by discussing their knowledge of circuses and create a circus Anchor Chart. Students will make predictions about the animals they might see in the book "Animals on Board" by Stuart J. Murphy. The class will count and practice representing numbers using counters on... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Making Ten with the Circus

Composing and Decomposing Numbers Up to Ten

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Kindergarten - 1st

Course Course

  • Elementary Mathematics, Oklahoma Young Scholars/Javits

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • K.N.1.6, K.N.2, K.N.2.1, 1.N.2.1
More 120 minutes
Time Frame 2 class periods
Adjectives Can Make Things: Bigger, Brighter, More Beautiful!

Adjectives

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 1st Grade

Using adjectives can make a story bigger, brighter, and more beautiful. The book "If You Were an Adjective” by Michael Dahl will be used as a catalyst to help students examine how exciting a story can be when adjectives are used to describe people, places, and things. Students will learn what adjectives... Read more »

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 1st Grade

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 1.5.R.3, 1.8.W
More 3 class periods
Time Frame 100 minutes
Help! Paisley Polar Bear is Freezing!

Human Problems Can Be Solved by Mimicking Animal Solutions

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 1st Grade

In this lesson, students will be given a picture of a polar bear missing some fur. They will also receive a handout with a picture of a cartoon person missing a coat in the snow. Students will be provided with art supplies to give the polar bear some fur and design a coat for the cartoon person so they... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Help! Paisley Polar Bear is Freezing!

Human Problems Can Be Solved by Mimicking Animal Solutions

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 1st Grade

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts, Science

Course Course

  • Life Science

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 1.4.W.1, 1.5.W.2, 1.LS3, 1.LS1.1.6
More 3-4 class periods
Time Frame 30 min sessions
SWBST: Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Kindergarten - Secondary

One of the hardest things for students to understand is summarizing a story without giving a play-by-play account of all the details. The “Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then” strategy is a way to help students figure out the main points of a story. This strategy is often used with fiction, but it works... Read more »

Strategy Instructional Strategy

User Group Group Size

  • Individual, Large Group (at least 30), Small Group, Whole Class

Copied To Clipboard Placement In Lesson

  • Explore/Learning Activity, Explain/Closing, Extend/Additional Learning Activity, Evaluate/Assessment

Time Frame Time To Complete

  • 10 - 20 Minutes

Tag Intention Or Purpose

  • Analyze, Critical Thinking, Cross-Curricular, Elaborate, Evaluate, Identify, Organize, Recognize, Summarize, Writing

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Kindergarten - Secondary
Scoot

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Preschool - 5th

Scoot is a strategy where students move to complete tasks that have been placed at different locations in the room. After spending a specified amount of time at one station, students move to the next task. Read more »

Strategy Instructional Strategy

User Group Group Size

  • Individual, Whole Class

Copied To Clipboard Placement In Lesson

  • Explore/Learning Activity, Extend/Additional Learning Activity

Time Frame Time To Complete

  • 20 - 30 Minutes, More Than 30 Minutes

Tag Intention Or Purpose

  • Active Engagement, Physical Movement, Problem Solving, Review, Self-assessment, Synthesize

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Preschool - 5th
Sporting Some Fun With Ten Frames

Using Ten Frames to Develop an Understanding of Numbers

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Preschool - 1st

In this lesson, students use ten frames to help them develop an understanding of numbers. This lesson starts with a Think and Read story called "Let's Play Soccer." The story is designed to capture students' interest in counting and solving age-appropriate real-world problems. Multiple games using mini... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Sporting Some Fun With Ten Frames

Using Ten Frames to Develop an Understanding of Numbers

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Preschool - 1st

Course Course

  • Elementary Mathematics

Subject Subject

  • Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 1.N.2.1, K.N.1.2, K.N.1.4, K.N.2, K.N.2.1, PK.N.3.1
More 3-4 class periods
Time Frame 40-minute sessions
The Moose is Stuck! The Duck is Stuck!

Using a Growing Pattern to Solve a Problem

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Kindergarten - 1st

Cumulative stories such as "One Duck Stuck" can illustrate mathematical growing patterns. In this lesson, the story shows how the number increases by one as animals come to help rescue the duck from the muck. As the growing pattern is revealed through the story, children get excited because they cannot... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
The Moose is Stuck! The Duck is Stuck!

Using a Growing Pattern to Solve a Problem

Grade Level Grade Level

  • Kindergarten - 1st

Subject Subject

  • English/Language Arts, Mathematics

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 1.N.1.8, 1.A.1.1, K.N.1.2, K.N.1.3, K.A.1.2
More 40 minute sessions
Time Frame 1-2 class periods
Survival: Traits and Advantages

Animal Adaptations

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 3rd Grade

This is the second lesson in a series called, "Survival." In an effort to understand animal characteristics and adaptations, this lesson invites students to make observations about a variety of animals, participate in a modified four corners activity, and create a class Anchor Chart. Learning is extended... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson
Survival: Traits and Advantages

Animal Adaptations

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 3rd Grade

Subject Subject

  • Science

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 3.LS3.2.2, 3.LS4.2, 3.LS4.2.1
More 3 Periods
Time Frame 120 Minutes
The Great British Breakup: Independence is Declared!

Declaration of Independence

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 5th Grade

This lesson introduces the Declaration of Independence in a fun and engaging way. The lesson explores the reason for the document, as well as modern day relevance. It also helps students to see how this document has guided our government, applies to equal rights, and how conflicts are handled. This... Read more »

Lesson 5E Lesson

Subject Subject

  • Social Studies

Course Course

  • U.S. History

Grade Level Grade Level

  • 5th Grade

Copied To Clipboard Standards

  • 5.3.2, 5.3.2B, 5.3.2D
More 45 minute sessions
Time Frame 4 class periods