Curated OER
Overcoming Poor Decisions
Fifth graders engage in a lesson that focuses on the outcomes of poor decisions. They investigate the character trait of perseverance and how it can build self-esteem after experiencing the consequences of a poor decision. Students use...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Shakespeare Uncovered
Women’s Roles in As You Like It
“There is nothing that becommeth a maid better than soberness, silence, shamefastness, and chastity, both of body & mind.” This line, from Thomas Bentley ‘s The Monument of Matrons published in 1582, typifies the way women were...
Curated OER
Catch-22
During or after reading Catch-22, have your high school scholars complete this research project. First they'll brainstorm a list of people they might like to research, then they'll dive into your library's resources! There are...
Curated OER
Heros and Heroines
Sixth graders will explore why: today children are faced with an increasingly fractured world where a variety of forces work to shape their final character. Positive role models like parents, teachers, and athletes are important for...
Curated OER
The Model of Fitness
Students measure their physical abilities. In this lesson on staying active, students record their physical abilities and try to improve upon their own results.
Curated OER
Poems that Tell a Story: Narrative and Persona in the Poetry of Robert Frost
Middle schoolers read and discuss poems by Robert Frost. Students collaborate in small groups to draw inferences about speakers' character and motives and to gather evidence supporting those inferences.
Curated OER
Give Me The C and D Canal!!!
Pupils estimate the distance from Baltimore to Philadelphia via the water route before the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built. Students study canals and how transportation and economic necessities dictate the building of a canal.
Curated OER
Give Me the C and D Canal!!!
Students estimate the distance between Baltimore to Philadelphia via the water route before the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built. They familiarize themselves with canals and how transporation and economic necessities dictate the...
Curated OER
Introducing the Olympian Gods
Young scholars compare and contrast characteristics of the Olympians with the character of the One True God. In this mythology instructional activity students work in groups and are assigned one god and one myth to compare and...
Curated OER
Horses
Students discuss the importance of the horse as a "beast of burden" animal in Japanese culture and create a legend, myth or tall tale set in Japan with a horse as the central character.
Curated OER
Word Bank; Theater
Students are given a word bank relating to theater. In this word bank lesson, students are introduced to a list of words and their definitions. Students then build their vocabulary regarding theatrical concepts.
Curated OER
Setting the Story: Techniques for Creating a Realistic Setting
“It was a dark and stormy night.” Thus begins the 1830's novel Paul Clifford and, of course, all of Snoopy’s novels! Encourage young writers to craft settings for their stories that go beyond Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s often-mocked phrase...
Curated OER
Poems that Tell a Story: Narrative and Persona in the Poetry of Robert Frost
Students investigate and explore the poems of Robert Frost. They read and discuss poems by Frost, define narrative and personal, write narratives in a journal, and present a dramatic reading of a poem to the class.
Google
Animate a Name
What's in a name? Pupils use the Scratch code blocks to animate letters in a name. They learn about events, sequencing, and loops in computer science by taking part in the project.
Curated OER
Sailing Through History
Pupils research examples of different types of sailing ships, investigating the vessels as well as the politics, economy, and people at the historical time and place the boat was launched. They create displays for a museum exhibit about...
Curated OER
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Fourth graders read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow aloud, make predictions, compare characters, discuss plot and setting, and rewrite the ending to the story.
Morningside Center
Challenging the Boy Scouts of America's Anti-Gay Policy
This straightforward plan invites class members to consider Boy Scouts of America's position on barring homosexual members. It includes readings outlining the position of those against such discrimination, but little from the perspective...
Curated OER
Picturing a Story
Students view slides from the movie "Hoot" and discuss characters, setting and the caption. They identify where in the rise and fall of the plot this scene takes place. They brainstorm elements needed to create a story from a picture....
Curated OER
Stump the Dump Maze Game
Students complete reading Because of Winn-Dixie individually or as a class. As students reunite Opal and Winn-Dixie in this timed reading comprehension maze game, they demonstrate their understanding of the novel's plot, theme, and...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss Author Study
Learners listen to a story, then use the same format to write a class book.
Curated OER
Tomie dePaola Author Study
Using Tomie de Paola's books for an author study can get students thinking about characters, plot, and illustrations.
Curated OER
And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street Writing Activity
Students are read a Dr. Suess book. They use the same format found in the book to create a class book about what they see on the way home from school. They practice writing sentences and illustrate them for the book.
Curated OER
A Year of Reading
Utilize literature books for youth as a means to engage new readers and celebrate reading accomplishments.