Curated OER
Raising Buffalo
Fifth graders investigate the significance of buffalo in Native American society. In this Native American history lesson, 5th graders discuss construct a survey to identify what should be learned about buffalo and buffalo ranching....
Curated OER
The Story of Sitting Bull
Students complete activities with the book The Story of Sitting Bull by Jeffrey A. Rucker. In this literature lesson, students review new vocabulary and practice finding capital letters. They read the story, answer...
Curated OER
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Legend of the Blue Bonnet. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer...
Curated OER
Exploring the West Using Fiction
Students explore post Civil War development of the American West. They investigate the conflict among various groups involved in the settlement of the West and select a novel by a western writer and complete questions from the Exploring...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Bookmark
In this literary devices worksheet, students use the bookmark format to help them when reading and looking for literary devices. Students define the devices and use the questions to help them find the devices within the text.
Curated OER
Social Effects of WWII
Fifth graders study the social effects of World War II on America. In this WWII effects lesson, 5th graders read paragraphs about the history of World War II. Students watch a video about the period and formulate questions for Veterans...
Curated OER
"Where in the West" Guided Reading Lesson
Students complete a vocabulary chart, review proper/common nouns, discuss and review comparative adjectives and make "self to text" connections before reading. For this language arts lesson, comprehension questions are completed during...
Curated OER
Intermediate Guided Reading Lesson Plan
Students read Knots on a Counting Rope, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. In this guided reading lesson, students evaluate the characteristics of a realistic fiction piece. They are asked comprehension questions during and after...
Curated OER
Brown Bear
Students read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and respond to the questions asked by the teacher. In this comprehension lesson plan, students respond to the animals in the book.
Curated OER
What's My Tone?
Students answer a question in the same tone of voice that you ask it in. In this tone lesson plan, students respond to the volume and expression of the teacher's voice.
Curated OER
The First (and Last) Words
What does "freedom of speech" mean to your class, especially in the context of Internet communications? In round-table discussion format, middle and high schoolers address the issues discussed in "State Legislatures Across U.S. Plan to...
Curated OER
Why Do We Remember Revere? Paul Revere's Ride in History and Literature
Students examine primary documents regarding Paul Revere's ride and its role in the Revolutionary War. They consider how Revere's role has been written about by Longfellow and others and discuss the discrepancies between accounts.
Curated OER
Black Power
Use this New York Times lesson to research contemporary leaders in the African-American community. After reading the article "Blacks Weigh the Impact of the Post-Jackson Years," middle and high schoolers discuss the varying viewpoints of...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson plan, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Dramatic and Theatrical Aspects in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”: A Common Core Exemplar
“So I’m going to have a copy of this play put in the cornerstone and the people a thousand years from now’ll know a few simple facts about us.” Our Town is used as the text in a Common Core exemplar that examines the dramatic and...
Microsoft
Plagiarism Fair Use Copyright
Nothing makes junior high and high school teachers more frustrated than plagiarism. Instruct young writers about copyright laws and the correct ways to paragraph information without copying the exact words. A set of secondary-level...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Early American Poets
The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...
Curated OER
Mini-Lesson Planning for Inferences
Making inferences and drawing conclusions is a key component to successful active reading. Encourage your class to use context clues and prior knowledge to infer different elements of a story, including the setting, plot, and character...
Curated OER
Determining Importance
Students hone their skills at identifying the principle story in a work of art and text. Through discussion, students assess the central and supporting stories of a work of art that is characterized by multiple layers of action and meaning.
Curated OER
Setting Goals
Fourth graders view a PowerPoint presentation "Setting goals." They use Kidspiration to organize long and short term goals for academics. Students write essays about Goal Setting. Students work in groups and create a dialogue involving...
Institute for the Professional Development of Adult Educators
Using Context Clues with Signal Words
When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...
Reading Shakespeare
Shakespeare Literature Circles Role Sheets
Tired of those blank stares after your class reads a particularly complex passage from a Shakespearean play? Help high schoolers untangle that prose with a literature circle activity. Ten different roles prompt class members to focus on...
Curated OER
How Weather Affects Our Lives
English learners practice basic weather terms from listening to two books. They keep a daily weather record for two weeks to record the type of weather, as well as the high and low temperatures for each day. Next, they complete a simple...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Cultures
Using informational text to make cross cultural comparisons is a great way to build a global understanding and comparative analysis skills. With several handy worksheets and a Venn diagram the class will read to make cross textual...