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Organizer
Curated OER

"The Charge of the Light Brigade": Writing Prompt and Pre-writing

For Students 6th - 9th
Inspire your learners to experience poetry in an entirely different way with this resource. A writing prompt that goes along with "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, learners craft a reflective piece in the voice...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comprehension: Compare and Contrast Topics in Two Texts

For Teachers 3rd
A scripted activity can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comprehension: Identify cause and effect relationship in text

For Teachers 2nd
I do, we do, you do is the method and delivery of this lesson on cause and effect relationships in text. Second grade readers work with their teacher, then their peers, and finally on their own to read, identify cause and relationship,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comprehension: Answering Questions then Rereading the Text to Identify Details in Support of the Answers

For Teachers 1st
Even first graders can be exposed to good reading strategies and comprehension skills. The teacher demonstrates how to read informational text, look at the questions, reread the text, locate answer, then locate supporting details to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The nutritional value of snack foods

For Teachers 5th
This lesson is intended as preparation for a school health fair but could be used anytime. Learners discuss and compare the nutrition found in typical snack foods. They compose investigative questions, collect data, and research a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of Flight Timeline Activity

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Scholars are introduced to the significant events that led to the development of today's modern forms of air travel. They create a timeline to identify the vital events that are related to man's flight. In addition, they research various...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persuasive Writing - Anticipating Opposing Views

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Persuasion, when used effectively, is a powerful and effective tool. In groups, young writers develop a persuasive letter about something that they would like their parents to allow them to do. Then, independently, they use proper...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Messages in Various Media

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore communication through media by analyzing different advertisements and artwork. Budding artists view videos, websites, plays, and other artistic endeavors while discussing the true meaning of the work with their classmates. They...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Identifying Universal Themes Across Cultures

For Teachers 4th Standards
Have your class read the story "The Magic Lake," retold by Liana Romulo, from Filipino Children's Favorite Stories. Guide them to identify the problem, solution, and universal theme. They compare the theme of this story to the theme of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Text Features of Fiction, Poetry, Drama: Story Matrix

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Main Idea in Informational Text

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Thinking About Theme

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Writers use the literary element of conflict to develop their theme. Use the conflict between the Johnny and the ScreeWees in Terry Pratchett’s Only You Can Save Mankind to model how a major theme is revealed. The conflict between the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heartsongs Poetry by Mattie Stepanek

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Use a quick bell-ringer to interest your class in the art of persuasion. They brainstorm where they find examples of persuasion in their lives and identify who is trying to persuade them. Then they either fish through magazines or look...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Which Story Matches the Given Theme?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Model for young learners how to determine the theme of a story. Read aloud Aesop’s The Fox and the Stork. Chart the plot and the main idea of the fable, showing class members how these elements support the theme. Fable titles for guided...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solid Foundation

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Young community members explore philanthropic foundations. They discuss the work of community foundations, and then they listen to a guest speaker describe the vision and activities of a local foundation. Is there a way they can join the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Treasure Tales

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Create an artifact kit to engage your young learners. Then, assign small groups a section of chapter three. They will identify the main idea and three supporting details for their section. Then, they select one artifact from the kit that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deciding Theme

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Read aloud to your class the fable "The Lion and the Mouse" as you explore characters' choices and the effects they have on a story. Apply what is discussed to finding a theme of the chapter "Not Giving Up" from The Wizard of Oz. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry As Oral Performance

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tell Me More

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders demonstrate research techniques in addition to endeavoring to display focus and stay on topic. Using books and stories, they gather, organize, and share information about a topic. Additionally, they explain to the class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Story Elements that Support the Theme

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
Three great graphic organizers guide readers to see how the elements of plot and main idea can be charted to reveal the theme of a story. Model the process on the provided Direct Teaching Teacher Graphic Organizer using Aesop’s The...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Paragraph

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Now that they've mastered the word and the sentence, it's time to tackle the paragraph. This strong presentation provides all the basic information needed to help learners construct well-organized paragraphs. The topic sentence,...
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Curated OER

Persuasive Writing II

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Help your young writers use logic in their persuasive writing. Discuss the characteristics of a persuasive paper, and have pupils work together to explore and solve a syllogism. They will write a short persuasive paper which includes a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Time Machine

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Challenge your class with this instructional activity! Learners read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, discuss context clues, identify main ideas and details, and analyze story elements. Discussion questions and activities are broken down...