Curated OER
Taha Moana - The Sea
Students discuss language, meanings and ideas in a range of texts related to the sea. They write instructions, explanations, arguments and factual accounts, express personal viewpoints on topics related to the sea.
Curated OER
Regions of the United States
Your learners practice writing ideas on paper and logically presenting them in an organized manner. They brainstorm ways to write down ideas while creating a travelogue about a particular U.S. geographic region. When they present...
Curated OER
Memoir Writing Based on Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed
Using chapter 1 of Jerry Spinelli's Milkweed, middle schoolers write a personal memoir based on Spinelli's style and a Six Trait writing activity. The lesson suggests several ways to activate prior knowledge, including a picture book and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Same and Different
A take on "If You're Happy and You Know It" opens a lesson about similarities and differences. Scholars speak in-depth on the unique characteristics that make up their classroom. The teacher or counselor records responses. Class members...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Conflict Mediation – Part 1: Getting Ready
Two scholars walk into a room arguing, what is happening? Peers observe the two actors in preparation for a whole-class discussion about conflict. Learners establish a conflict, name the three approaches—passive, aggressive, and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Express Yourself!
Encourage scholars to express themselves with help from an engaging song. Sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down," participants sing phrases that offer tips for dealing with emotions—sad, happy, worried, proud, mad, and...
Minnesota State University
Writing Sample Constructed-Response Assignment
Class members practice their writing skills by completing a prompt about maturity. They develop a constructed response about something they once thought was important, but may not be as important now.
PBS
Women's History: Glass Windows; Glass Ceilings
Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...
National Gallery of Canada
Morphosis
Experience anthropomorphism and metamorphosis in action with flipbooks! Instead of giving human characteristics to animals, though, pupils will show a transformation from human to animal or vise versa through their drawings. The...
University of North Carolina
College Writing
No matter how difficult high school writing may seem, college writing presents challenges of its own. The fourth in a series of 24 handouts from The Writing Center at UNC breaks down the expectations for college writing. Scholars learn...
Curated OER
Kiwi Story Chain
Write a story as a class. For this writing lesson, each person takes turns writing one to two sentences onto the paragraph given about Kim the Kiwi bird, including characters and events. Altogether, brainstorm a title for the story....
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Problematic Situations
Bring the drama of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea to class with a fun role-playing activity. Given a list of survival items, readers decide which items would be the most necessary for an adventure like Santiago's, and rank...
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 2)
Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...
Curated OER
School Newspaper
Students investigate writing a school newspaper. In this writing a school newspaper lesson, students choose topics that will be included in the school newspaper. Students view online sites about writing articles and break into groups to...
Curated OER
School-Home Links: Brainstorming
In this brainstorming instructional activity, students brainstorm ideas about weather and then write a story about the weather. Parents or guardians must sign the instructional activity.
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Eighth graders practice pre-writing skills using brainstorming methods. Using music and meditation, they examine the difference between directed and undirected free-writing, as well as how and when to apply them to the pre-writing process.
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Analyze the free-writing method of brainstorming to explore how to write an essay. Middle schoolers plan their writing from the beginning after reading two samples of free-writing, then creating their own. The lesson includes extension...
Curated OER
Flat Stanley Visits....Your Imagination in Claymation!
In this literature lesson, students read the Jeff Brown book Flat Stanley and collaborate to create claymation characters from the story. Students create a claymation video and discuss using word cards during hte movie.
Little, Brown and Company
The Catcher in the Rye: Vocabulary Bingo
After finishing The Catcher in the Rye, review new vocabulary with an individualized bingo game. Class members develop a list of new vocabulary drawn from the novel or literary devices studied during the unit. Individuals then place...
Curated OER
Journal Writing Idea - Pets
Carve out some time for your youngsters to write in their journal. Today, they write a story about pets. They learn the value of a journal and how to keep up with it, and they enhance story development by planning their story before...
Notion
Popplet
Add color to the mind-mapping process! Users double tap to create a bubble and everything flows quickly from there as they drag, draw, type, and more.
Qrayon
Inkflow: Think Visually!
Save trees! Save graphite! Save ink! Go paperless! Make a list, mindmap, sketch an idea. Import, scale, rotate, and add text to images. Save content into books and share your creations. All this and more is yours with a free visual...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Think Positive!
Following an attention-grabbing read-aloud, scholars brainstorm ways they can change negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Small groups plan and perform a skit that showcases one of the new ideas to uplift one's feelings....
Curated OER
Skill Building: Alphabet Poem
Amateur poets explore alphabetical poetry. They choose a topic and brainstorm vocabulary that relates to the topic using each letter of the alphabet. The class then generates ideas for a group alphabet poem. After creating one as a whole...