Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Poems vs. Lyrics
Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Apples, Apples, Apples
Young scholars complete activities using apples that help improve their science, math, and reading skills. For this apple lesson, students read the book Apples, Apples Apples and visit an orchard or farmer's market to buy a variety of...
Curated OER
Night on Bald Mountain
Students use appropriate terms to reflect a working knowledge of the musical elements. Then they use terminology from music and other arts to analyze and compare the structures of musical and other artistic and literary works. Students...
Curated OER
Cinderella Folk Tales: Variations in Plot and Setting
Young scholars examine plot and setting of Cinderella, and how it changes as it is translated into different cultures, discuss universal literary elements of the Cinderella story, and write narratives with original settings and plots...
Curated OER
Chocolate Chaos
Second graders demonstrate the ability to examine the elements of a story (theme, plot, setting, mood) and characters, by discussing and writing about each. They have fun with chocolate related activities and enjoy reading about some...
Curated OER
Evaluate the Main Characters? Problem-Solving Processes
High schoolers read passages from several sources and evaluate the text for various criteria. In this problem solving activity, students evaluate character problem solving processes after reading passages. They will use a Venn Diagram to...
Curated OER
Monster and Myths: Scripts
Students explore characteristics of the myth genre. In this myth lesson, students become familiar with various myths and the cultures they were derived from. Students compare in a graphic organizer. Students write...
Curated OER
The Poetics of Hip Hop
The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...
Curated OER
Pioneering Children on the Move
Students inquire about life for pioneer children. In this pioneer period lesson, students analyze photographs of children, make information foldables, and create a covered wagon that was typical of the ones of the past. Students will...
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Come On, Rain!
Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students research the...
Curated OER
Multimedia Book Report
Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...
Curated OER
MONSTERS AND MYTHS: SCRIPTS /SCULPTS
Seventh graders are introduced to myths formed by many cultures as a unique genre of literature. They use critical thinking skills to compare and contrast mythic tales, compare versions of the same story, and respond to literature in...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...
Curated OER
Fan(tom) of the Opera
Students explore the ways in which the worlds of popular music and opera can work together to complement the other. They work in small groups to analyze plot, characters, setting and themes of a popular opera using a summary of that...
Curated OER
Somewhere Under the Rainbow--The Romantic Period in British Literature
Students create 2-3 poems, a children's story, or a two or three dimensional piece of art. In this Romantic Period lesson, students discuss the historical background of the Romantic Period and relevant literary terms. ...
Curated OER
Oedipus The King: An Introduction To Greek Drama
Students gain insight into Greek tragedy and such concepts such as fate, hubris, and (dramatic) irony. They recognize the Greeks concern with fate, self-determination and the role of gods and oracles in everyday life and compare and...
Curated OER
Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition: Corridos
Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition lesson, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In addition, students...
Curated OER
Poetic Justice: A Study of Poe's Famous Works
Students explore Edgar Allan Poe's most famous short stories. In this Edgar Allan Poe lesson, students complete a 25 page packet of activities where they recognize the features of genres and literary devices Poe uses. Students read "The...
Curated OER
Science Fiction
Young scholars write a science fiction story. In this science fiction lesson, students read selections of science fiction and compare them to supernatural stories from the Bible. Young scholars identify themes and discuss...
Curated OER
Science Fiction
Students complete compare and contrast activities for two stories about racism and tolerance in the science fiction genre. In this literary analysis lesson, students read a Ray Bradbury short story and Walter Mosley poem, watch a related...
Curated OER
Integrating Anime and Manga into an Art of Motion Picture Course
Students examine the art of Anime and note its characteristics. Using scenes, they identify the plots, characters and themes trying to be portrayed. In groups, they compare and contrast the animation in America to that of Anime and...
Curated OER
Poetry-The Essence of Life
Students analyze and appreciate various types of poetry. In this poetry unit, students read classic and contemporary works to discover ways in which poetry expresses strong feelings. Students identify key vocabulary used to analyze...
Curated OER
Pizzeria (reading Encouragement)
Students create a pizzeria atmosphere in the classroom with Italian music, pizza menus and checkered table cloths. They compare their different tastes in pizza toppings to different tastes in reading. Then they use a reading menu to...
Curated OER
Investigating Fables
Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable. Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...