Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Many Bens: Character Revealed in Writing
Benjamin Franklin may be known as a Founding Father, but he was also a prolific writer. Scholars examine his better-known pieces to learn about genre, voice, and early American history. The resource includes options for various...
Curated OER
Building Believable Characters
Students use descriptive strategies such as physical descriptions, background, and comparison of characters when writing narratives. They develop the topic with supporting details and precise diction to paint a visual image in the...
Curated OER
What Character Comes Next?
Students read the book Do You Want to Be My Friend? and then use pictorial clues to determine which animal would come next. In this character lesson plan, students look at the tail of the animal to predict it.
Curated OER
Lively Read of the Tale of Despereaux
Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...
Curated OER
Using Literature to Teach Bullying
Students explore signs and types of bullying. In this "building character" lesson, students listen to several read alouds based on a bully theme. Four groups are formed to discuss "gossip", "exclusion", "physical bullying", and "verbal...
Curated OER
Building Trust
Students complete activities about trust. In this trust lesson, students discuss trust and working together. Students work in groups to build a LEGO creation using trust and cooperation. Students discuss the overall process and the role...
Curated OER
Understanding Points of View
Develop an understanding of point of view in your young learners. Read narrative stories to your class and discuss who the storyteller is. Point out different points of view and discuss new vocabulary in order to introduce this concept....
Curated OER
Build a Connection
Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...
EngageNY
Making a Claim: Moon Shadow’s Point of View of the Immediate Aftermath
Body paragraphs are the building blocks of every essay. Pupils view and discuss a model essay using a rubric to evaluate one of its supporting paragraphs. Next, scholars use what they've learned to continue drafting their own literary...
Brigham Young University
Introducing the Text and Learning the Process of Script Analysis
Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Process of Reading
Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...
Curated OER
Earthquake! The Human Impact
Students explore the impact of natural disasters on communities. For this character education lesson, students examine poetry regarding an earthquake. Students discuss how to rebuild communities in the wake of natural disasters.
Curated OER
Identity, Belonging, and Social Inclusion
Students explore personal and social identity. In this character education lesson, students create identity profiles and design welcome plans for their school community in order to build personal and community identities.
Curated OER
School Manners and Student Behavior
Students write rules for good manners. In this character building lesson, students discuss and record showing respect in the classroom, playground, and cafeteria. They role play these behaviors in front of the class.
Curated OER
How Do Respect and Humiliation Shape Conflict?
Students explore the feelings surrounded by humiliation, resentment and retaliation in the context of school violence. In this character building lesson, students examine possible reasons for school violence and focus on possible ways...
Curated OER
Is That Fair: What is Fairness?
Learners discover the meaning of fairness. In this character education instructional activity, students create their own meanings of fairness and compare them to their classmates' definitions. The learners discuss fairness in different...
Curated OER
Cyberbullying:What is It? What Can We Do About It?
Students examine the prevalence of cyberbullying. In this character education lesson, students read articles about cyberbullying and its implications. Students respond to discussion questions.
Curated OER
Teaching Julius Caesar: A Differentiated Approach
While the themes of Julius Caesar may appeal to most readers, the act of reading the play can be a challenge. A unit plan related to the popular play by Shakespeare provides lesson plans and activities designed for differentiated...
Curated OER
Around Your School - Bonding Students to Staff
Middle schoolers participate in an interview of a school employee. In this interview instructional activity, students develop appropriate interview questions and carry out an interview of a school employee to show that all jobs well done...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Are You Balanced?
Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson plan highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
August House
Anansi and the Pot of Beans
Anansi is a tricky character, but can he realize he's wrong and write an apology letter? Learners use Anansi and the Pot of Beans to practice writing, art, and figurative language. A series of activities are engaging for both advanced...