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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Night on Bald Mountain

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners use appropriate terms to reflect a working knowledge of the musical elements. Then they use terminology from music and other arts to analyze and compare the structures of musical and other artistic and literary works. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes and the Blues

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
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Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
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Lesson Plan
2
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Carnegie Library

Creative Writing: Middle School Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers. 
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Scene Writing: Literacy and Playwriting

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Writing An Argumentative Paragraph: Argumentative Writing

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marvelous Mysteries

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore mystery stories.  In this reading and writing lesson, 5th graders complete a planning guide for an original mystery.  Students use the writing process to create a mystery story. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diary of Anne Frank: Act 1 Scene 1 & 2

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders read act 1 scenes 1 & 2 of the play Diary of Anne Frank. In this Diary of Anne Frank lesson plan, 8th graders discuss how the setting of the play affects the mood of the story and answer short answer questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Cask of Amontillado

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character instructional activity, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. Students make personal connections to the characters and create a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

B-movies and Plot: Story Elements, Writing, Media

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use old "B-Movies" as a springboard to discuss and analyze traditional plot structures. They form groups and make their own 'movie' to demonstrate their knowledge.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Stories in Art

For Teachers K - 12th
Students study how artists tell stories using visual images by identifying and comparing elements of narrative (setting, characters, and plot) in a painting and a Greek vase.
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Lesson Plan
University of Southern California

Coming to America After the War

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War II. To...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Photographic Memories

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson plan, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating Characters

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Young scholars then use the methods...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Novel Ending/ Closure Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students summarize a story, identify the plot structure, and create a symbol that represents the essence of the story.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Separate Peace: Chapter 10 Reading and Study Guide

For Teachers 7th - 12th
In this comprehension check worksheet, young scholars define 3 vocabulary words, define 2 literary terms, and respond to 10 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 10 of A Separate Peace by John Knowles in order to help them better...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Separate Peace: Chapter 13 Reading And Study Guide

For Teachers 7th - 12th
In this comprehension check worksheet, students define 3 vocabulary words, define 1 literary term, and respond to 6 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 13 of A Separate Peace by John Knowlesin order to help them better...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Outline and Shine

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders read and discuss a short story. They complete an outline of the story. They pair and share to evaluate each other's outlines.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars read and analyze the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. They take notes while reading the story, select an element to analyze, and write an essay about the characters, theme, or the setting.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mayan Myths/Folktales

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or legend.  They present...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Knowledge or Instinct? Jack London's "To Build a Fire"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students closely read " To Build a Fire," to explore the use of narrative point of view and debate the distinction between knowledge and instinct. The elements of literary naturalism and how they relate to Jack London's work is examined...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Science Fiction

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders read a variety of science fiction short stories. Using the text, they identify the components that make it science fiction and a well written piece of literature. They record their observations and share them with the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Storyboard for Persuasive Text

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students demonstrate their knowledge of the main elements of a story by creating a storyboard.  In this persuasive writing lesson students create storyboards that are intended to persuade a director to make a movie out of the short story...