Curated OER
Children's Books Teach Diversity, Respect
Students compare aspects of children's books that teach diversity and respect. They examine universal values such as courage and bravery, respect and apathy. They create a final project based on their ability to recognize the values in...
Curated OER
Book: The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity
Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity,"begin to analyze the motivation behind European colonization. They convey the setting of the scene into a writing piece to illustrate the...
Curated OER
Guest Readers
Young readers explore reading comprehension by creating a class presentation. In this storytelling instructional activity, puils read an assigned text in class and analyze the characters, settings and story. They create an illustrated...
Curated OER
Guided Imagery: Canyons, Chapter 8
Individuals use words or illustrate what they experience during a reading of a passage from chapter eight of Gary Paulsen's Canyons. Complete directions for the guided imagery exercise, and a suggested passage, are included with the...
Curated OER
Questioning
Practice making predictions by looking at the cover of a book. You can use The Hungry Thing, as suggested here, or any other book you may be reading in class. Use the predictions to talk about good reading strategies. A chart is included...
Curated OER
Picture-Perfect Story Settings
Using common picture books, teachers can help learners develop the setting for their next creative writing projects.
Curated OER
Picture a Tarantula
Students create an illustration based upon a read-aloud. In this visual arts lesson, students listen to the book The Tarantula Scientist and listen for details. Students create a picture based upon what they imagined during the read-aloud.
New York Public Library
What's for Lunch?: New York City Restaurant Menus
Do you remember the days when a cup of coffee cost five cents? At A.W. Dennett restaurant in 1894, you could buy a five-cent cup of coffee and as well as a five-cent slice of pie to accompany it. The menu from that year is a primary...
Curated OER
Tissue, Please!
Students study the proper manners to reduce the risk of spreading or catching colds and flu. They discover good cold-season manners from reading aloud Tissue, Please! They complete an art project to reinforce good cold-season manner
Curated OER
Bridge to Terabithia
Students explore scenes from Katherine Paterson's book, Bridge to Terabithia. For this visualization lesson, students listen to the story read aloud. The students then choose words and phrases that paint a picture in their heads....
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: George's Store at the Shore (Bassede)
Combine counting and vocabulary using Francine Bassede's book George's Store at the Shore, which has learners exploring new words and numbers 1-10. Suggested words for this text are: arrange, assortment, customers,...
Curated OER
Sharing African Culture
Students investigate African American culture by reading aloud an African folk tale and illustrating the tale. They use their illustrations to create a book or a bulletin board that retells the folk tale.
ReadWriteThink
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Me: Identifying with a Hero
Here, young historians compare their early lives to that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s. They listen to a read aloud of a story by Dr. King's sister, and then write in the provided reflective journal template. Lastly, they share their...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Vocabulary Bingo
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is one of the most fascinating pieces of literature from the 20th century, and its rich vocabulary is one of the reasons it has endured for over a century. Help learners of all levels work through new...
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....
Curated OER
Satire and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Does Mark Twain’s satire become sarcasm and does he cross the line of propriety in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? As an introduction of satire, class members view an excerpt from The Daily Show and discuss Stewart's use of this...
Zippy Brain
Earth Day Carol
Learn about the environmental three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) in a modern day version of Dickens' Christmas Carol with an ecological twist. Discover where plastic comes from, where it collects, and one potential fate as Plastic Bottle...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 2
Sometimes, sensory details can bring you back to a familiar place. Study the setting descriptions from a critical chapter in Amy Tan's A Joy Luck Club, and discuss how they enhance the book's plot and contribute to a central theme.
EngageNY
Analyzing Character and Theme: Tracking Control in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Pupils first participate in a drama circle as they continue reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream aloud with classmates. Next, scholars move around and discuss text-dependent questions about the play with a Three Threes in a...
Curated OER
Reading Research!
Young scholars observe the pictures in non-fiction books that focus on animals in the winter. In addition, they also listed to some read aloud books about hibernation, migration, adaptation and dormancy. Students draw pictures and write...
Curated OER
The Secret School: chapters 2 and 3
Second graders read chapters 2 and 3 of The Secret School and answer discussion questions as they read. In this reading lesson plan, 2nd graders also read aloud in pairs and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
"Now I Can Read"
Second graders divide into four groups taking turns as one person can read a book through once. They practice reading it again more smoothly with expression and then choose one of their favorite characters from the book. The members...
Curated OER
SWOOP Reading
First graders read fluently. In this phonics lesson students practice reading strategies for fluency. They write a response in their journal about the book read in class.
Curated OER
Birds in Flight
First graders begin a KWL chart about birds and listen to books read aloud by the teacher before accessing Internet sites. They use a hotlist of websites to find information and use software to make a computer based movie.