Virginia Department of Education
Grade 5 Writing Prompts
Looking for something to write about? Try out one of the prompts from three and a half pages of ideas. The list includes a variety of different topics that you can pick and choose from when planning a writing assignment or unit.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the "Dagger of the Mind"
High schoolers read and analyze Shakespeare's play, 'Macbeth.' They analyze how Shakespeare uses metaphors, imagery and dramatic cues to demonstrate Macbeth's response to fear, and perform without words a scene dramatizing Macbeth's...
Curated OER
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
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The News Behind the Story
What a fun way to analyze plot, setting, and character. Learners review story elements, read a short fictional story, then turn the events of that story into a headlining news paper article. Not only does this lesson engage critical...
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Educator's Guide: A Christmas Carol
Planning on using Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol this year? Then give yourself a gift and download this colorful guide thats packed with goodies. Kids, as well as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are sure to find the...
K12 Reader
What is a Tribal Government?
How are tribal governments similar to local or state governments? After reading a short article on tribal governments, individuals draw evidence from the provided article to respond to this reading comprehension question.
Curated OER
The Importance of Storytelling
Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.
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History's Mysteries
Students propose a theme for an upcoming program on the History Channel, select a historical theme for the investigation, resarch topics that support the theme, and write a proposal to the producers of a television program.
Curated OER
Assignment #4 Time Capsule-Your Future
Class members create a PowerPoint presentation showing artifacts they would include in a time capsule. The artifacts and explanations reflect personal hobbies, grooming choices, school life, etc. A great way for class members to...
Curated OER
Masterpieces and the Mass-Produced
Students examine "masterpieces" and mass-produced objects as they discuss humankind's inventiveness and creativity. They also analyze the role of problem solving in the creation of masterpieces and mass-produced items.
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Objectivity
Help young readers examine historic artifacts to determine if they were designed to help people survive or to create enjoyment. They identify objects that were designed to help people to survive and to enjoy themselves. Then compare and...
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The Magic Apple
A fun and delicious lesson can help your kids learn about plural nouns and story sequencing. After reading The Magic Apple by Rob Cleveland, kids match pictures to story segments and add s to nouns to make them plural. They then cook...
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Poetic Elements
Poetry is all about sound and rhythm. The sound of the words, the rhythm of the lines, and the emotional atmosphere created by these elements and the literary devices poets use, compress whole stories into a few stanzas. The specialized...
Curated OER
Create a Youth Consumer Magazine
To underscore the importance of being informed consumers, kids check out youth consumer magazines and websites and then create their own. Although no detailed plans are included in the resource, it is packed with ideas and suggestions.
Curated OER
Creatively Creating Expository Essays
Learners, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.
Curated OER
The Progressive Era in Illinois
High schoolers collect photographs on the Progressive Era in Illinois, then write three newspaper articles, using one photo per article. The article will highlight an event in Illinois during the Progressive Era. The newspaper must also...
Curated OER
Radio Commercial Assignment
Testing, testing! Following the provided script, class members are asked to create a radio commercial, complete with sound effects and background music.
Curated OER
A Tale of Two Schools
Students create different photographs using photographic techniques of camera angles, lighting, and composition. They write non-fiction stories about people they interview and create two school newsletters that portray a fictional...
Curated OER
Find The Hidden Message: Media Literacy in Primary Grades
Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...
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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?"
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"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"
Mozart was an amazing composer and "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" was one of his best-loved orchestral pieces. This handout provides a brief description of the instruments for which it was written, and how each section and part should be...
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Ballet and Classical Music
Fourth graders explore ballet. In this dance and music humanities lesson, 4th graders practice ballet positions and play a card game using French ballet vocabulary. Students count beats in rhythm patterns and listen to classical music...
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Voice of History
Way before the digital age radio was the medium of popular culture. After listening to excerpts from radio programs (easily available on the Internet), participants return to the radio age by creating a two-minute sketch based on a...
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Men of Steel
Students explore early 20th century steel making. For this U.S. history steel making lesson, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry. Students listen to a poem about Joe...