Prestwick House
Vocabulary in Context: Inside the World of Wizards
Enter the world of Harry Potter and learn new vocabulary at the same time. A high-interest reading passage provides insight into the history of Harry Potter. Follow-up activities incorporate key vocabulary strategies, such as using...
National Park Service
How Theodore Roosevelt Became a Leader: Childhood of an American President
The beginning of the 20th century began with a shock: the assassination of President McKinley. The man who would take his place—the youngest American to ever become president—led quite a life before stepping foot in the Oval Office. An...
National First Ladies' Library
Latin: The Language of Ancient Rome
Middle schoolers gain understanding about where some of today's words originated by reviewing a list of Latin words and their meanings. They work in small groups to create dictionary pages which will then be compiled into a large...
Curated OER
Literature Quiz 5
In this literature quiz 5 activity, learners answer 10 trivia-style questions, not interactively, about literature, then scroll down to check their answers.
Curated OER
Newsletter Requirements Sheet
In this newsletter activity worksheet, students read a book and complete a newsletter activity as a novel analysis project. Students include a newsletter title, advertisements, news story, and obituary.
Curated OER
Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today
Students use Web technology to access immigration history and develop an understanding of the concept of immigration. Then they develop oral history writing skills, including note-taking and conducting an interview and read for detail....
Curated OER
A Month of Mapping Literature
Explore the world through literature! With push pins to mark where each story came from, learners examine cultural differences, geographical location, and how those elements affect story content. This lesson could use deeper development,...
Curated OER
Let's Go Shopping
Pupils explore how to become better observers, demonstrate point of view as a literary and human function, and learn an important lesson about how to explain differing perspectives in the same situation.
Curated OER
MiniZine Writing Project
Students write on a chosen topic. Students brainstorm topics and practice writing on the topic using a variety of templates. Students print a final work and fold it in half to create a Mini Zine.
Curated OER
How Do You Know?
What is the difference between primary and secondary sources? Help your middle schoolers develop a knowledge of appropriate sources to use when doing accurate research. They develop unique ways to incorporate literature in historical...
Curated OER
Five Elements of a Story
Here’s a graphic organizer that permits learners to chart the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution of a story. The PDF file can be customized to work with any narrataive.
Curated OER
Examining Persuasive Literature
Examine persuasive literature and writing. In this persuasive literature lesson, pupils work through a variety of activities over the course of three weeks (each week is planned by day). The unit's purpose is to examine examples of...
Curated OER
Use Literature to Teach Tolerance
Learners listen as teachers read a different book or a different passage that focuses on the theme of tolerance. Students then write a paragraph each day to tell how that day's book/passage taught them the importance of tolerance.
Curated OER
Picture a Business
Students create helpful books about local businesses to show what resources are available to their community.
Curated OER
Introduction to the Poetry Unit
Students explore, analyze and interpret one form of poetry writing called Poetry Slam. They hear several examples of unexpected poetry and view a video of "Slam Nation." The books, "Hey You! C'mere: A Poetry Slam," by Elizabeth Swados...
Curated OER
Historical Episodes
Young scholars choose a historical book set in the Civil War. They create a flow chart of the steps involved in producing a film. They select one scene and prepare props, costumes and setting for the scene.
Curated OER
Myths of the Wild West
Students examine the Wild West as it was depicted in films and books. In groups, they compare this information to what it was really like as they find out in books. They also discover the role of the Native Americans in the Wild West...
Curated OER
Across Five Aprils
Eighth graders are introduced to the novel "Across Five Aprils" written by Irene Hunt. They become familiar with the people, places, and events referenced in the story and comprehend the story of the Civil War. Students are given a...
Curated OER
Exploring the Eras of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement
Eighth graders utilize many sources (books, computer, magazines, etc...) to research the eras of the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil Rights Movement and create a T-Chart comparison.
Curated OER
Learning to Communicate with Dogs: The Importance of Training
Students learn the importance of communication especially when it comes to animals. Students are shown video clips of a dog displaying unwanted behavior. Students participate in a class brainstorm where they list ideas of how people...
Curated OER
WRITING AN ARTICLE FOR A CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE
Students engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of main...
Curated OER
Anne Frank Diorama
Students create a diorama of the Secret Annex in which Anne Frank and her family hid during the Holocaust. In this Anne Frank diorama lesson, students brainstorm a list of ideas about the Secret Annex. Students create the...
Curated OER
Courage of the Heart
Students research discrimination and how people fought against for the common good. In this discrimination instructional activity, students watch a movie about Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. Students generate a list of words about...
Curated OER
Dewey Decimal System -- Cataloging Collections
Students put their cataloging skills into practice. In this research lesson students examine the listed websites that feature Dewey Decimal classification. Students then collaborate to use the Dewey Decimal classification system to...