This lesson will begin with students discussing ways that we can feel the sun's energy even though the sun is very far away from Earth. Then, the teacher will introduce the three methods of heat transfer (radiation, conduction, and convection) utilizing an online video clip, and the students will take jot notes while viewing the video clip. Next, the students will perform an experiment to investigate radiation as a form of heat transfer by recording how the temperature of ice changes when exposed to an energy source (solar energy or heat energy from a clamp lamp). Then, students will perform an experiment to investigate convection as a form of heat transfer using blue dyed ice cubes and warmed red food coloring, to create a convection cycle within a container filled with room-temperature water. Lastly, students will apply the data gathered from the experiments to write a response to the question: "How is heat energy from the sun distributed between Earth's surface and the atmosphere?" This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Young students may think the sun is the biggest and brightest star in the universe since it appears to be the brightest star in the sky when viewed from Earth. In this lesson, students will use flashlights to construct a model of the difference in stars' appearances due to their distance from Earth. Then they will use the Internet to research the sun and stars to create a poster, picture book, or digital presentation to explain that the sun is not the biggest or brightest star--it only appears that way due to its proximity to Earth. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

When we hear the words Civil Rights Movement, we have visions of Dr. Martin Luther King and a few others. Through pictures, students will identify ordinary leaders in the crowd. Students will have the opportunity to analyze those pictures by doing a picture walk. Students will learn more about some of the people in the crowd, and how they made a difference in our beloved community. This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

In this seminar you will understand the importance of choosing your topic and researching and naming facts about your topic. You will also learn how to figure out your subtopics that you will be using to write your informational piece of writing. You will be able to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion. Time order words are also very important when you are writing a multi-paragraph piece.  You will learn how to quickly organize your thoughts and your writing. StandardsCC.1.4.4 C Develop the topic with facts definitions, concrete details, quotations and other information and examples related to a topic including illustrations and multimedia.

Students will analyze a primary document and read a secondary source about the Marquis de Lafayette's Grand Tour of the United States in 1825. The Marquis and his entourage toured lower Alabama for a few days in April. Students will create an annotated timeline detailing his days and the events that occurred in Alabama as the country prepared to celebrate America's 50th birthday. The timeline will include dates and descriptions of the people, places, and events in informative summaries as well as appropriate illustrations. This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

In this article, the author shows how school librarians and elementary teachers can help students create science lapbooks. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which is structured on the seven essential principles of the climate sciences.

In this seminar, you will be introduced to common Greek and Latin root words and their meanings. You will gain a basic understanding how knowing etymology (a word’s origin) helps  a reader pronounce multisyllabic words and define unknown words that are found in more complex texts. You will be exposed to common Greek and Latin roots, common prefixes and suffixes, and have opportunities to practice breaking down multisyllabic words and defining them based on the meanings of each part of the word. You will compare parts of new words to words you already know to help decode and define the new words. You will classify the parts of a multisyllabic word into prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Knowing a word’s origin is helpful in defining unknown, multisyllabic words. After this seminar, you should have a solid introduction and foundation in word origins.StandardsCC.1.1.3.D/ 1.1.4.DKnow and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. • Decode words with common Latin suffixes. • Decode multisyllable words.

A brainstorming activity and class discussion will begin the lesson and provide the background knowledge students have regarding zoos and how the animals in zoos impact our environment. Students will select an animal for further research using an online survey created by the teacher to determine their research group. Afterward, students will view an informational video pertaining to the origin and purpose of zoos, and complete an exit slip stating new learning that has been added to their background knowledge. This lesson was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

The lesson will begin by reviewing the groups and animals assigned to each group. Students will begin working in their Zoo Booklets by discussing vocabulary that is associated with their animal. Students will use various types of text and other resources to find the information needed to learn more about their animal. Students will work cooperatively in groups to complete their animal research and complete their final project. This lesson was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

This lesson may be taught as part of the Unit Plan - Solutions to Lessen Human Impact on the Environment . In this lesson, the solutions to lessen the human impact on the environment will be explored. Students will communicate their plan during journal writing by producing an informational writing piece that uses the conventions of Standard English such as capitalization and punctuation. At the end of the lesson, the students will peer edit their writing using the provided writing anchor chart. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

This lesson may be taught as part of the Unit Plan - Solutions to Lessen Human Impact on the Environment . This lesson will culminate the lessons on recycling that have been previously taught. Students will work collaboratively in groups to discuss texts and factual information they have learned from previous lessons taught on recycling. The students will make a poster or brochure to share with the class. The shared portion of the lesson will be videoed so that the students can share with parents, other family members, and the local city council members. This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development.

Using the web-based lessons highlighted in this article, students learn how to pose questions before, during, and after reading nonfiction, fiction, and diagrams. This reading comprehension strategy is included in the literacy column of the magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, a free, online publication for K-5 teachers.

Different approaches to teaching the reading comprehension strategy of inferring in K-5 classrooms are identified in this article. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which is structured around the essential principles of climate science.

Making predictions is a skill readers need for comprehending fiction and nonfiction. Three lessons are identified here to give young readers opportunities to make predictions about nonfiction text found in print or on web pages. The lessons are aligned with the national standards for English language arts. The article appears in the free, online magazine that focuses on the seven essential principles of climate literacy.

This article identifies online lesson plans that can be used to introduce visualizing, a comprehension skill important to both science and literacy learning. Each of the lessons meets NCTE/IRA English language arts standards. The article appears in the free online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which is structured around the seven essential principles of climate science and literacy.

Help Spanish-speaking English-language learners unlock the mysteries of their new language by using a bilingual book to recognize unfamiliar words and construct meaning from the text.

Students are asked to write a brief essay to their new ELA teacher advising them of their likes/dislikes of the course and thier interest in being in the advanced class. 

In this lesson, students will explore the invention of the steamboat and the role it played in the economy, transportation, and culture of the lifestyles of plantation owners, yeoman farmers, slaves, and townspeople of early nineteenth-century Alabama. Students will compare and contrast steamboats, wagons, and stagecoaches as different modes of transportation for goods as well as people. Students will create a steamboat advertisement to illustrate the importance of the invention of the steamboat in Alabama. This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

In this lesson, students will investigate objects' appearance in varying levels of light to help them construct an explanation that objects can only be seen when light is available to illuminate them. Students will discuss why objects look different in a dark room and graph their preferences for sleeping with a light on or off. Then, they will investigate how an object's appearance changes in different lighting conditions in small group centers. Finally, they will model the moon's path around the sun to see how light from the sun causes the moon's appearance to change as it orbits Earth. At the conclusion of the lesson, students will use their experiences as evidence to explain that light is essential for sight. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

The interactive explores the ways that poets choose line breaks in their writing. After viewing the demonstration, students are invited to experiment with line breaks themselves.