Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...
Curated OER
Analyzing Poetry
Use this poetry analysis worksheet to help your learners understand a poem of their or your choosing. This resource asks class members to summarize the poem and analyze it by looking at voice, word choice, imagery, and theme. The...
Macmillan Education
Sine and Cosine Graphs
Learners compare and contrast sine and cosine graphs in order to describe their characteristics in a collaborative activity. As they explain their reasoning, learners strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills associated with...
Curated OER
Poetry Passport
Passport photos are notoriously unflattering but here's an activity that encourages youngsters to create a poetic picture of themselves using each category on the passport as a prompt for a poem.
Curated OER
Ordinary People: Cubing Strategy
Readers of Ordinary People employ a cubing strategy based on Bloom’s Taxonomy to analyze, from multiple perspectives, an excerpt from Chapter 10 of Judith Guest’s novel. The excerpt, a rationale and complete directions for the...
Curated OER
Geo Jammin' By Design - Day 7, Lesson 38: Kool Cups
Create geometric cups by interpreting directions, informational text, and mathematical concepts. Critical thinkers apply geometric theory (congruent shapes, patterns, symmetry) to actual directions to create a cup that holds Kool Aid....
EngageNY
Inferring About Characters Based on How They Respond to Challenges (Chapter 4: "Los Higos/Figs")
How do you know what a character's personality is like if an author doesn't tell you? With a focus on character development in Esperanza Rising, pupils complete a jigsaw activity to analyze the actions of Mama, Abuelita, and Miguel. Once...
EngageNY
Gathering Evidence and Drafting a Two-Voice Poem (Chapter 13: "Los Duraznos/Peaches")
Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Problematic Situation
Are you enjoying the use of all five senses? Imagine that you have to lose one of them; you can choose which one, but it's gone forever. Work through a lesson based on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis that asks class...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Narrative Essay
Finish a unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a narrative essay. Based on Santiago's harrowing adventures, the essay prompts readers to think about a time when they were faced with a challenge, overcame a...
Poetry4kids
Onomatopoeia Poetry Lesson Plan
Two exercises boost scholars' knowledge of a onomatopoeia with excerpts from famous poems. In exercise one, participants circle onomatopoeia words. Exercise two challenges writers to choose three words to use in an...
Poetry4kids
How to Write an Apology Poem
Put a silly spin on making amends with an apology poem. Budding poets think of a time they were made to apologize although they didn't mean it. They then turn their experience into a poem that offers details and ends with an explanation...
Curated OER
Chasing Metaphors
Students use metaphors in order to see commonly experienced objects, events, and people in new and more meaningful ways.
Curated OER
Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
Curated OER
Sentence Completion: High Advanced
Even your best readers will be challenged by this worksheet that asks learners to pick the word that best completes each sentence. An answer sheet not only identifies the correct response but also details the strategies used to determine...
Federal Reserve Bank
The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
Make a study of producers and consumers with an updated version of the classic story The Little Red Hen (this one is called The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza). After reading and discussing the story and terms, learners practice being...
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.
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment and Discussing Themes in Esperanza Rising: (Chapter 9: "Las Ciruelas/PLums")
Give this skills-based assessment halfway through your unit on Esperanza Rising. After a brief review, class members take the test, which asks them to show that they know how to analyze the novel independently. They are asked to...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Wormy Spaghetti
What do spiders' legs and an octopus's eyeball have to do with metaphors? The fourth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl uses disgusting foods to teach about metaphoric writing.
Open Oregon Educational Resources
Conventions 101: A Functional Approach to Teaching (and Assessing!) Grammar and Punctuation
Let's eat kids. Let's eat, kids. Commas make a difference! Conventions 101: A Functional Approach to Teaching (and Assessing!) Grammar and Punctuation explains ways to teach the importance and use of conventions. Learners take part in...
Curated OER
Ancient Civilizations: The Ancient Israelites
Planning a study of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia (1800-500 B.C.)? Here's a resource packet loaded with activities, exercises, worksheets, and background information that integrates social studies and language arts curriculum.
Federal Reserve Bank
Less Than Zero
Perry the penguin wants to buy a new scooter, but he doesn't have any funds! Walk your kids through the short book Less Than Zero, and have them track his borrowing, spending, and saving on a line graph while you read. Pupils will learn...
Ware County Schools
Simple Directions
When teaching someone how to do something, it's important to give clear directions. Your youngsters can practice their skills by completing these worksheets meant to help learners describe the steps in a process. It's not just any...
Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Biopoem
Middle schoolers describe the characters of Walk Two Moons as they write biopoems. Following the pattern provided, young writers depict their chosen characters' traits and experiences to make their poems unique.