Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
West Side Story Suite and In The Night Fancy Free
West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo &...
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and active...
Curated OER
Learning to Give: Generosity of Spirit Folktales
Students read two Inuit folktales about life and death. In this language arts instructional activity, students study the models of giving found in these Inuit tales about life, death, grief, sacrifice, and generosity. As the class reads...
Curated OER
Angels of Generosity
Young scholars write a generosity journal which chronicals acts of kindness after reading the Surat story, Angel Child, Dragon Child.
Curated OER
Generosity
Students listen to music and imagine caring about others and wanting to show them your love. They hear the story, "Giving Isa," and answer a given set of questions. Students discuss their question answers with the class then they...
Curated OER
Philanthropy in A Christmas Carol
Students explore philanthropy in literature. In this cross curriculum literacy and character development instructional activity, students read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and note charitable acts described in the story. Students...
Curated OER
What Sharing Really Means
Students examine the meaning of generosity and how sharing can be a cultural trait. In this cultural trait lesson, students read a text about the culture of generosity in Africa. Students complete a discussion activity and journal activity.
Learning to Give
Asian Folktales
A great way to learn to understand people and their environment is to study their folktales. Stories from China, Vietnam, India, Iran, Persia, and Palestine offer an opportunity for readers to investigate the cultures of Asia. A list of...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Heroes
Three creative activities follow reading a fiction and nonfiction book about heroes. Scholars build hero action figures out of clay for make-believe play, explain in written form how they show bravery, kindness, patience, thoughtfulness,...
Curated OER
Newspaper Stories
Students examine the structure of the newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students look at the different types of articles about giving, sharing, and acts for the common good. They realize the types of voice that are used in the...
Curated OER
Tales From Around the World
Students read stories. In this culture lesson, students read stories from different regions around the world. Students look for each region on the map and listen for interesting cultural details in the story. Students then discuss the...
Curated OER
Property, Theft and Generosity
Students examine excerpts of Lewis and Clark's journal entries during their expedition. They identify any disputes with the Indians over land and discuss how they might have been avoided. They add entries to their journals.
Reed Novel Studies
Ruby Holler: Novel Study
A journey of a lifetime awaits you in Ruby Holler. Troublesome orphaned twins pair up with an older couple for a magical adventure. However, the journey must begin with the pairs staying together in Ruby Holler. Scholars soon learn of...
Curated OER
African Folktales
Students read African folktales. In this literature lesson plan, students share prior knowledge about South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria. Then students work in groups to read an assigned African folktale and answer response questions...
Curated OER
Gifts of All Sizes
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this stewardship lesson, students consider human capacity for generosity as they read folktales from different cultures that feature characters giving of themselves.
Curated OER
European Folktales
Learners analyze strong female characters infive different European folktales. In this European folktales lesson, students identify the setting and culture described in each folktale to gain understanding of the environment and people...
Curated OER
A Single Lucid Moment
Students examine a case study of contrasting values between cultures. They read and discuss a story of a family of Peace Corps volunteers in Papua New Guinea, write a response to the story, and write a script for a dramatization of the...
Curated OER
Examining What Sharing Really Means
After reading "The Senegalese Miracle" about the degree of sharing the author encounters upon arrival in Africa, class members read Mike Tidwell’s “Sharing in Africa” and compare the two stories. This cultural diversity lesson concludes...
Curated OER
Sleuthing A Writer's Skills
Students read The Train Ride Home by Robin Solomon. In this literature response instructional activity, students will inspect the writing of Solomon to determine how she established a certain tone through her word choice and paragraph...
Curated OER
What Sharing Really Means
Students read the story "Sharing in Africa". As a class, they brainstorm a list of holidays and celebrations in various cultures and identify the Congo on a world map. To end the lesson, they focus on one paragraph of the story,...
Curated OER
Giving Generously
Students explore philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students read Runaway Rice Cake, identify the elements of the story, and make rice cakes to share with others.
Curated OER
Eagle Boy: A Pacific Northwest Native Tale
Students read the story of the Eagle Boy. In this Native American Tale lesson, students discover the respect a boy has for wildlife. Students discuss eagles and what they symbolize. Students create song lyrics for the story and describe...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Learners examine the story for use of balanced sentences and parallelism-two literary devices-and then practice using those devices in writing of their own. They combine the simple sentences grammatically into one correct sentence. A. I...
Curated OER
Chinese Folktales
Young scholars examine Chinese folktales. In this literature and philanthropy instructional activity, students read Chinese folktales and analyze their literary elements. Young scholars consider the effects of generosity in the tales and...