Curated OER
The Grapes of Wrath: KWHL Strategy
Before beginning The Grapes of Wrath, readers create a KWHL chart recording what they already know about the Dust Bowl, the author, and the book, what they want to know, and where they might find answers to these questions. After reading...
Reed Novel Studies
Stuart Little: Novel Study
Author E.B. White once had a dream about a small boy who acted like a rat, and that is how he conceived of his classic children's novel, Stuart Little. Using the novel study, scholars answer some questions based on their reading. Next,...
Reed Novel Studies
Peter Pan: Novel Study
J.M. Barrie's classic book Peter Pan is about an adventurous boy who never gets old. Scholars read the first two chapters about Peter and three young friends. They then complete worksheets by filling in sentences with vocabulary words,...
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Guided Imagery
Reader's of Wildwood Dancing engage in a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage them to visualize the setting of Juliet Marillier's young adult fantasy novel.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The World of Haiku
Students complete a study of Japanese culture through haiku. They read and interpret haiku poetry and write haiku of their own.
Curated OER
Scene Writing: Literacy and Playwriting
Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The activities...
Curated OER
Celebrate Comprehension with Classical Characters
Students listen to books and answer questions using reading skills. In this reading lesson, students develop reading strategies such as decoding, understanding characters, and comprehension. Students relate characters and events in the...
Curated OER
Living in a Community
Students understand the differences in communities by reading "City Mouse, Country Mouse" by Isabelle Chantellard. In this types of communities lesson, students find that although communities are different, one is not better than the...
Curated OER
Romans in Britain, or Classical Colonialism
Learners identify the extent of the Roman Empire on a map of Europe and North Africa. They discuss the reasons behind Roman expansion and occupation. They read Cymbeline and write about the attitudes of 3 characters. Groups stage the scene.
Curated OER
Poetry In the World Around Us
Students engage in a lesson plan which is designed as a literacy connection to science lessons on the effects of water on plants. This lesson plan uses an excellent Reading Rainbow episode on the effect of drought, and then rainfall,...
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
Identifying the Theme in a Story
Students recognize Theme through the use of simple, short stories. Using Pro Quest, students begin by researching the literary element, theme, and how it can be identified. They then identify the themes in Aesop's Fables and other short...
Curated OER
George Washington in Song
Middle schoolers establish similarities to George Washington's time in office with the song "Yankee Doodle." In this U.S. History lesson, students learn the song "Yankee Doodle" then create a timeline of the song and a timeline of...
Curated OER
Aqueduct Architecture: Moving Water to the Masses in Ancient Rome
Ninth graders compare ancient and modern technology in water transporting. In this instructional activity on the evolution of the aqueduct, 9th graders build a working aqueduct model and examine its components. They explain the...
Curated OER
We've got the whole world in our hands
Students explore spatial sense in regards to maps about the globe. In this maps lesson plan, students label oceans, locate the continents and poles, follow directions, and explain the symbols on a map.
Curated OER
Wateropoly: Life in the Desert
Students explore water properties by participating in a drought related board game. In this water conservation lesson, students play a game titled "wateropoly" which is based on the classic board game Monopoly. Students utilize cards and...
Curated OER
Long Vowel Phoneme - i_e
The vowel/consonant/vowel combination of /i_e/ is one of the most common in our language. In this activity, kindergarterners share the book, The Doctor's Line to gain practice in reading these kind of words. A brainstorm session ensues,...
Curated OER
I Can Do Anything
Students investigate what boys and girls can do after participating in readings and class discussions. They examine how gender stereotypes and name-calling can influence what students think they can and cannot accomplish.
Ms. Effie's Lifesavers
Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man in the Spotlight
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...
PBS
The Diary of Anne Frank
While designed to supplement a viewing of the PBS Masterpiece Classic The Diary of Anne Frank, this resource can also serve as an excellent informational text and activity source for your students on the historical context and timeline...
Math Solutions
Dr. Seuss Comes to Middle School Math Class
If you think Dr. Seuss has no place in a math classroom, then take a look at this resource. Based on the classic children's book Green Eggs and Ham, this sequence of activities engages children learning to model real-world contexts with...
Dream of a Nation
Writing Interdisciplinary Essay
The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a classic...
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...
Planet e-Book
Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have captured the heart of readers since Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813. An eBook version of Jane Austen's novel gives learners a chance to read about the classic characters.