Students will create a personal narraitve by generating ideas for writing from their personal experiences, write details of their experience in an organized manner, and revise their draft to add details.

Students will read and observer ants to discover how ants are the same and different than people.

Patricia Polacco's family stories provide an interesting and neutral way to begin discussions about families. Students can make connections from their own family experiences to some of her family experiences.

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is an online professional development magazine which focuses on preparing elementary teachers to teach polar science concepts while also integrating inquiry-based science and literacy instruction. The project draws on research showing that an integrated approach can improve student achievement in science, as well as in reading comprehension and oral and written discourse abilities. Ultimately, the project seeks to bring the polar regions “closer to home” for elementary teachers and their students.

This 3-day activity reinforces what students have learned about animals. The activities focus on farm animals: cows, pigs, hens and ducks.

Sharing quality literature provides the teacher with great opportunities for the class to discuss the interactions and feelings of people. It also allows the students to make connections based on their own feelings and experiences.

Cinderella stories and graphic organizers help students with their reading, comprehension, and oral presentation skills.

The use of multicultural versions of the story Cinderella helps students make comparisons and observations.

2nd grade Students will be integrating social studies cultural awareness with cultural stories of Cinderella. Students will listen to the Charles Perrault version of Cinderella and identify the main characters, plot and conflict. They will read another version and identify similarities and differences of the two stories. They will create Venn diagrams to look at similarities and differences of their own school cultures and then use Venn diagrams to look at similarities and differences of Cinderella stories. With this information, they will create their own Cinderella story.

Students will learn to identify information from a non-fiction text on weather, by asking questions, and focusing on the text features of the book.

What is "good" professional development?

Deeper Instruction is a framework for daily instruction that challenges, engages, and empowers students. This framework forms the spine of EL Education's book Learning That Lasts. The framework can also be used as a stand-alone tool for learning about deeper instruction.

Students will learn that there are rules to be followed or jobs to be done in the classroom. Students will also learn how to listen and speak to others.

Discuss different types of mediums used for illustrations.

Each student will create a sample paper using the mediums available.

Students will create an artifact using a holiday or historical event as a theme and/or students will match illustrations with the type of medium used.

Students will explore five different "Discovery Buckets". These buckets will give them opportunities to practice expressing both their thoughts and feelings.

Transformative professional development is a cornerstone of the EL Education model. EL staff members are known for their skillful delivery of professional development across PD settings. However, no two EL facilitators are exactly alike. Each facilitator has a unique style and voice, demonstrating that there is more than one way to be an effective facilitator. Regardless of this individuality, the following criteria delineate the skills required for masterful facilitation of professional development across settings.

Students will begin to understand the concept of maps by describing the path that Little Red Riding Hood took on the way to Grandma's house.

Students will help make a Five Senses and Four Seasons quilt and cinquain poem.