Curated OER
Fish Book Report
Learners use previously prepared book reports about fish themed books to make a shoebox float that displays the theme of the book. Shoe boxes are decorated colorfully, using dolls or stuffed animals as the book character. They create a...
Curated OER
Picture Collage Book Report: Voltaire's Candide
Here's an alternative to a traditional book report for your class to demonstrate that they understand and can articulate the main character's evolution and the social themes presented in Voltaire's satirical novel Candide. Your young...
Curated OER
Book Ads
Learners observe book ads from Reading Rainbow and decide on a book to write an ad for. They prepare an ad and produce it using a digital camcorder and software.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities
It's not the best of guides nor the worst of guides, but time spent examining the guide to Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities is certainly not wasted. The 17-page guide includes book-by-book synopses of the novel, before, during, and...
Curated OER
Banned Book Week: Tips for Teaching Censorship
Consider how book censorship erodes our right to free speech and intellectual freedom.
Prestwick House
Fahrenheit 451—Activity Pack
The burning questions is at what point do readers of Fahrenheit 451 recognize the many literary devices Ray Bradbury employs in his dystopian classic that warns of a society that uses media to indoctrinate the public and denigrates...
Curated OER
Book Advertisements
Students engage in the practice of producing a report about favorite books. The show Reading Rainbow creates context for this instructional activity. The making of an iMovie is done to present the book as an advertisement for the whole...
Honking Donkey
Huckleberry Finn Coloring Pages
If you need a simple way to introduce your young readers to Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, use a coloring worksheet for learners of all ages. A great cover for a book report, addition to a reading unit, or even a contemplative way to...
Curated OER
Comic Books in the Classroom
You can use comic book projects to teach a variety of curriculum topics.
Curated OER
A Classical Maya News Report
Students research the culture of the Mayans. In this early civilizations lesson plan, students research selected Maya city-states including Tikal, Clakmul, Piedras Niegras, and Uaxactun. Students use their research findings to present...
Film Education
Nineteen Eighty-Four: Orwell
Warning or prediction? Nineteen Eighty Four is the anchor text for a series of tasks that ask readers to compare the novel to the film as well as current events to those pictured in George Orwell's dystopian classic.
Curated OER
Reading and Writing About the Solar System
Utilizing the classic Magic School Bus series, young scientists explore the solar system. Some excellent worksheets are included in this plan, such as Planet Roll Call and Solar System in Motion. This is an ambitious 5-day unit that...
Curated OER
The Rumpelstiltskin Story
Why didn't Rapunzel's hair stop growing? Why did it take the fairy godmother so long to intervene in Cinderella's affairs? Young writers consider unanswered questions like these and compose news articles investigating the true story...
Curated OER
Fashion Strategies
Discover fashion terms with your class, they will design details while examining the top designers and world fashion centers. Among the topics discussed are: marketing, specializing, and designer labeling. To complete the assignments,...
Curated OER
Forecast the Weather
Students analyze different weather conditions before creating their very own first-person report from the eye of a storm. They use maps to analyze different weather conditions, record an online weather script
and write a first-person...
Curated OER
Honing in on Hummingbirds
Young scholars explore ruby-throated hummingbirds. In this cross-curricular hummingbirds lesson, students listen to the book The Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds and choose related topics to research with a partner. Young scholars...
Curated OER
The Tale of Genji
Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: K-W-H-L
Prejudice is the theme of this Pudd'nhead Wilson KWHL chart. Learners fill out their charts, discuss how to find the answers to their questions, and spend some time researching a topic they want to know more about.
Wuthering Heights
The Reader’s Guide to Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights
Researching the characters, setting, and background history of a work of literature enhances interest and improves reading comprehension. An interactive website contains a wealth of resources related to Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering...
Curated OER
Constellations
Learners explore constellations. They read trade books about constellations and write notes including their locations, origins, and names. They research and report on one constellation in the Northern Hemisphere and share their report...
Curated OER
Telling A Story
Students discover that every story has a start, middle and end. In this literature lesson, the teacher models using a picture to show the parts of the story. Students each take a picture and tell a story using start, middle and end.
Curated OER
Debating Ethics with Literature
Use group discussions, analysis, and ethical dilemmas to build critical thinking and an empathetic perspective.
Curated OER
Interdependence: A Colonial Example
Students complete a variety of activities related to Colonial America and how people lived at that time. They conduct research on a selected colonial trade and present an oral report as role-playing that craftsman, and participate in a...
National First Ladies' Library
Writing (and Rewriting!) History
Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...