Curated OER
Using Effective, Evocative Writing as a Model
Students study an author's style to strengthen their own writing. They read an author's account of the resiliency of the Malian people and about their culture. They examine her focus on Malian women.
Curated OER
What Lives in Water?
Students learn about a variety of sea creatures. They look at sea creatures pictures and identify the creatures by name and by their unique characteristics. Phonemic Awareness skills are reinforced using the beginning sounds of the...
Curated OER
Summertime
Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.
Film English
Paper Is Not Dead
Now that much of people's lives center around their electronic devices, paper is being used less often. However, sometimes you do need paper. Have your class brainstorm the uses of paper and of electronic devices and compare their...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Walt Whitman to Langston Hughes: Poems for a Democracy
Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...
Curated OER
Categorizing Objects
Kindergartners practice the important skill of placing things in their correct categories. They must discern between items of clothing and items of food. The use of the Inspiration 7 educational software is effectively used in this...
Curated OER
Nature Poems
Students explore the visual, auditory, and verbal worlds offered by iLife applications to create a project that engages all learners and learning styles. They create a class book and CD of nature poems and artwork.
Curated OER
End-of-the-Year Celebration Program
Students sing songs, recite a poem, share what they can now do that they couldn't before and explain how they see their accomplishments. They read "Leo The Late Bloomer" and create graduation hats.
Curated OER
Arkansas Festivals of the Land
Middle Schoolers research Arkansas community festivals which are tied to the landscape. They create brochures that reflect the festival from a geographical and historical perspective and share them with the class. This ambitious and...
Curated OER
Reading Primary Source Documents: Historical Content
Why do we read primary source documents? What can they give us that other writings cannot? Provide your learners with any of the primary sources attached here (there are seven), and have them complete the graphic organizer (which opens...
Curated OER
Struggle for Equality
Students read and discuss a selection of news clippings, sermons, and narratives that depict the continued struggle for equality and mistreatment of African American citizens. They present a "60 Minutes"-style news program with the...
Curated OER
Using Primary Sources to Study the Holocaust
Engage your middle schoolers with Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous poem that begins, "First they came for the communists." Now that you have their attention, send learners to the various work stations you created to have them explore...
Curated OER
Newspapers: A Connection to Our Past
Students discuss current events and importance of understanding historical context for events today. They research current event and its historical context, and plan, shoot, and edit iMovie video essay using AppleWorks storyboard.
Curated OER
Class Memorial
What is a memorial and what should it look like? Learners will choose what they believe is important to remember about September 11 and how it should be displayed. They work in groups and brainstorm details about the memorial and present...
Curated OER
Holes
In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "Why was Stanley sent to Camp Green Lake?"
Curated OER
Mattimeo
In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "How did Slagar and his slavers get into the abbey?"
Curated OER
A Story About Tom
In this reading worksheet, students read a short story about a boy and what he likes. Students answer 4 questions, then write a story about themselves.
Curated OER
Module 8---Things You Can't Live Without
In this necessities worksheet, students choose eight out of ten various necessities to write a definition for utilizing relative clauses. Students read and edit/proof-read an email associated with a party.
Curated OER
Who Knows the Letter?
Help learners identify initial consonant sounds and letters that represent that sound. They indicate awareness of consonant sounds and letters by responding with a physical movement. They also sing using "Sing Your Way Through Phonics"...
Curated OER
Long Vowels
Now here is a great set of activities that will make learning about long vowel sounds a snap. The activities cover two days and include vowel identification, reading, and several great games. Kids will hunt for long vowel words, play...
Curated OER
Teens Making a Difference
Is your opinion significant? Help your class discover the influence their opinions hold and encourage them to make a positive change in their community. To start, they get in teams and brainstorm why their school should have more healthy...
Curated OER
Gender Roles: Exposing Stereotypes
A series of activities help middle- and high-schoolers identify and explore gender stereotypes and how they can lead to violence and abuse. Use think-pair-share to activate whole class brainstorming about what it means to "be a man" and...
Curated OER
Creating Interesting Characters
What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Alexander, Who Use to be Rich Last Sunday (Viorst)
Although this vocabulary-in-context activity is focused on Judith Viorst's book Alexander, Who Use to Be Rich Last Sunday, the strategy can be applied to any book budding learners read with you. First, introduce the three...