Curated OER
Our City, Our Words
Students write poetry that captures their feelings about their city or town. After presenting their poetry at a class reading students compare their poetry to the work of published poets who have written about the same city.
Curated OER
Painting Portraits with Words
Students examine how an exhibition of an author's writings can become a portrait or biography of that author . They work in small groups, analyzing various poems by Yeats.
EngageNY
Researching and Note-Taking: Becoming an Expert on a Colonial Trade
Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...
Curated OER
Once Upon a Word
Students explore the derivations and usage of common slang terms. Through internet research and discussion, students consider the Latin and Greek roots of contemporary slang terms. Groups complete an etymology chart documenting their...
Institute for Humane Education
Not So Fair and Balanced: Analyzing Bias in the Media
Life is not always fair. Who's heard that before? This same concept moves to a larger scale using prejudice and bias. Pupils discuss where prejudice attitudes derive and how they develop throughout life. Reading comprehension...
Scholastic
What Happened Next? (Grades K-4)
Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis During Reading Activity: Problematic Situation
Imagine waking up to find a giant bug staring back at you in the mirror! Think about the plight of Franz Kafka's Gregor in The Metamorphosis with a group discussion activity. Class members reflect on what it would be like to suddenly...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Anticipation Guide
Begin your unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea with an anticipation guide. As kids read 12 statements that relate to the novel's themes, they decide whether each is true or false in their own opinion.
Curated OER
The Heart of Your Paper: 11 Methods for Writing a Topic Sentence (or a Thesis Statement)
Help your young writers produce high-quality topic and thesis statements that go beyond basic wording and really illustrate complex ideas and critical thinking skills. From however and compound sentence statements to using rhetorical...
Salmon Schools
Presentation Preparation Guildeline
What's next? Once seniors have completed a job exploration project (or any project for that matter) they prepare a speech for judges in which they describe their project, reflect on what have learned about the subject, and what they...
University of North Carolina
Qualifiers
A lot of writers really struggle very much with adding a lot of qualifiers and intensifiers in their writing. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, a handout on the topic provides tips to help reduce a reliance on these...
Sargent Art
Rainforest Mural
Whether you are an art teacher or a teacher looking for a great project to finish off a unit on the rainforest, this instructional activity is for you. Here are some great teaching tips and instructional practices that can help you and...
Write Away!
Voices In the Park
Explore the impact a narrator's point of view has on a story with a reading of the children's book, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Written in four different voices, the story is told and retold from different perspectives to...
Global Oneness Project
Flamenco: A Cross-Cultural Art Form
Notes of pride and persecution, exclusion and isolation resonate in flamenco. Introduce this musical art form to your social studies or Spanish language classes with a resource that follows a young flamenco guitarist as he practices his...
Reed Novel Studies
The Outsiders: Novel Study
The greasers and Socs, both gangs in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, came from opposite sides of the tracks, yet seemed to live in two different worlds. Scholars answer comprehension questions, create alliterations, and work with vocabulary...
Museum of Disability
Don't Laugh at Me
You can prevent bullying in your classroom by addressing kindness, empathy, and acceptance with your littlest learners early on. After reading Don't Laugh at Me by Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin, kids discuss the ways that words can...
K12 Reader
Describe It with Adjectives
Put children's descriptive writing skills to the test with these fun collaborative writing activities. Presented with the picture of an object, young writers are are tasked with creating a description that provides enough detail for one...
K12 Reader
National Symbols
What are the most prominent symbols of the United States? Learn about the bald eagle, the American flag, and the Statue of Liberty in a reading comprehension activity that includes a short passage and five reflective questions.
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Differentiate between Formal and Informal Language
The Pledge of Allegiance, the Gettysburg Address, the National Anthem, and the Preamble to the Constitution all get close attention in an exercise that asks learners to rewrite these formally-worded documents into informal language....
Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the anchor text for a three week unit that focuses on responsibilities, ethics, and virtues. While specific lesson plans are not included in this overview, a focus and discussion...
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
A Search for Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...
ELA Common Core Lesson Plans
American Romanticism
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...