Curated OER
Matthew Henson
Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...
Curated OER
Childhood Lost: Child Labor in the United States, 1830-1930
Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...
Curated OER
Cut and Paste Biographies
Students explore the influence of African-American artists, writers, and musicians on American culture. After researching different figures in these areas, they create collages representing each person's life and legacy.
Curated OER
Navajo Code Talkers
An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter as a...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss Author Study
Students listen to a story, then use the same format to write a class book.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Yellow Journalism
What role did yellow journalism play in bringing the United States into war with Spain? As part of their study of the Spanish-American War, class groups examine newspapers of the times and other texts and then produce their own...
Curated OER
Alexander The Great
Students investigate the historical person of Alexander The Great. They view a video in order to create the context for the activity. They read some biographies and conduct research using a variety of resources. Then students create...
Curated OER
A Trip to Wonderland: The Nursery "Alice"
Primary learners explore elements of wonder in The Nursery "Alice" by Lewis Carroll. They analyze the plot point after listening to the text. Next, they describe the imagery in various works of children's literature using the given links...
Curated OER
Who is on that Bill? Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers
Students, who are adult learners, participate in an Internet scavenger hunt in order to assimilate information about the biography of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers. They look at the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers...
Curated OER
After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
Students investigate the life of African Americans in the North during the American Revolution. They analyze how authors use various techniques to write biographies, read about Sojourner Truth, conduct research, and write an excerpt...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Use of Irony in a Short Story
Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...
Penguin Books
White Fang Teacher's Notes
If you're looking for a way to structure your unit on Jack London's White Fang, use a well-organized guide to bring the intrigue of the novel to your middle school classroom. Covering a biography of the author, main background and...
Curated OER
Creating Children's Books
Students collaborate to create a children's book. In this visual arts lesson, student study the components and procedures that go into making a children's book including the shape, size. layout, biographical information about the author,...
Curated OER
Charles Darwin Meets John Paul II
If you teach AP English language and composition and are looking for a way to address the differences between written and spoken arguments, consider this lesson. Over the course of three days, class members research Charles Darwin or...
Curated OER
When I Set My Hat at a Certain Angle: Trying on Zora Neale Hurston's Voice to Dress-up Prose
After reading and evaluating examples of prose nonfiction by Zora Neale Hurston and other authors, high schoolers write a personal reflective essay rich in figurative language. By incorporating this strategy, they utilize voice within...
Curated OER
Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat"
Learners examine the relationship of man and nature as portrayed in Stephen Crane's, The Open Boat." The third person, omniscient point of view, the depth of character analysis found in the story, and the emotions evoked by the author...
Curated OER
Valentine's Day: Love Letters
Oh the joys of love! As a special Valentine's Day assignment, budding authors research the life of one of the most romantic poets, Keats. They read the letter, "To Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819," then compose a love letter of their own....
Curated OER
"Rikki-tikki-tavi"
“Rikki-tikki-tavi” provides an opportunity to model for readers how to use background information to enrich understanding of a story. Class members observe animal behavior, listen to biographical background on Rudyard Kipling, study...
Curated OER
Literary Tour of California via Podcast
Young scholars explore California's authors and their lives. In this author study, students research different authors from California. They create podcasts about their authors, walking the audience through the author's life and points...
Curated OER
Happy Birthday Tomie dePaola
First graders examine biographical information about Tomie dePaola and create a birthday card for him. They play an Author Guessing Game, listen to the book "The Art Lesson," explore the Tomie dePaola website, and illustrate a birthday...
Curated OER
Literature Awards: Beehive Award Nominees for Children's Fiction 2003-2004
Students examine information about books that were nominated for Utah's Beehive Award in 2003-2004.
Curated OER
Patchwork Adventure Poetry
Third graders explore poetry by completing a worksheet. In this poetry instructional activity, 3rd graders create a quilt using images students have drawn based on imagery. Students practice using vocabulary from the poem "Adventures...
Curated OER
Much Ado About Something (Lesson 2)
Students view more video clips of Shakespeare's plays. They answer comprehension questions over the video. They are introduced to the language Shakespeare used as well.
Curated OER
Author Study: Robert Munsch
Learners use the Internet to access information about author Robert Munsch and his many books. They read biographies and book reviews and complete word searches, worksheets, etc.