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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
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Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core's Emphasis on Informational Text

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Nothing aids in comprehension more than an explanation and understanding of why things are done. Address why the Common Core requires the reading percentages that it established and analyze how this affects your readers. Learners read...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critical Thinking With Fables New and Old

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Explore the fables of today along with Aesop's ancient fables. Learners will understand the structure of a fable, critically think about the fable's message, and create a lesson that they would like to teach through a fable. Suggested...
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Lesson Plan
Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Storytelling: Performance and Art Learning Center

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders explore the process of telling stories without words.  For this literature lesson, 10th graders watch a music video performance made by Alaska Native students, and then examine art objects that may be used to tell a story,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blackbird Pie

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students research the history of the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence." They interpret the ideas in the rhyme and create a visual representation of a Blackbird Pie.
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Lesson Plan
Simon & Schuster

Les Miserables Classroom Activities

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Modern readers apply classic themes to Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables. After they discuss tricky vocabulary and plot elements from the novel, class members compare Hugo's written work to a stage or film adaptation of the musical.
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Lesson Plan
KindAPUSH

The Jungle Document Exercise

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Go with your gut! Scholars read excerpts from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and record their initial feeling from the reading as strong positive, positive, neutral, negative, or strong negative. They then discuss how their responses...
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Lesson Plan
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Teaching English

In Flanders Fields

For Teachers 7th - 10th
War is one of the most profound human experiences in history, and is often best depicted in works of art and literature. Introduce class members to the poetry of World War I with this resource that uses John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields"...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Prophet-able Are You? Ancient Advocates for Change

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers read and analyze classical literature of the ancient Hebrew prophets dealing with societal injustices. They identify present-day prophets, and write an essay about how the common good would be affected if people listened...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The History of Maple Syrup

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners explore the process of harvesting maple syrup. In this science and history lesson plan, students make their own maple syrup and create a picture book that shows the Native American and American pioneer methods of making the syrup.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latino Literature: Poetry

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Under construction, this instructional activity focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children's Literature and the Bill of Rights

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students read a variety of well-known studenT books and discuss concepts presented in the books as they relate to the Bill of Rights. They discuss the books and compare them to the Bill of Rights Amendments.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Women Who Shaped the Civil Rights Movement Explored Through the Literature of Eloise Greenfield

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Examine the women who contributed to the Civil Rights movement. In groups, children read excerpts of writings from Eloise Greenfield and research the women she mentions using the internet. To end the lesson, they create a timeline of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate the Underground Railroad. In this African-American history instructional activity, students listen to the book Clara and the Freedom Quilt and use map skills to identify the various locations in the book. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Under the Blood-Red Sun

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore U.S. history by reading an award winning book about World War II. In this Japanese internment camp lesson, 5th graders read the book Under the Blood-Red Sun and discuss the entrapment of Japanese-Americans on our...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of the English Language - Who Were the Anglo Saxons?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the Anglo Saxon world view, preparing them to fully explain Anglo Saxon literature.
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Lesson Plan
Japan Society

Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Taisho Modernists

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Page to Stage

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Timeline of Historical Fiction

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students create a historical fiction timeline. They review the literature through the perspective of history (writing prompts provided). Students create a book cover illustration to appear with the book review in the appropriate spot on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing the Use of Irony in a Short Story

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Legendary Life Cycles

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Upper elementary historians research a legendary person who had an impact in the the history of the United States. Learners research the life of their person of choice, and construct a legendary timeline using computer software which...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Personal Experience Narratives

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Help your middle schoolers identify personal experience narratives in their own lives through telling stories themselves and from family members or other adults. They study personal experience narratives in Swapping Stories and compare...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Louisiana's Land Down Under - The World of Kate Chopin's The Awakening.

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Visit 19th century Grand Isle, Cheniere Caminada, and New Orleans! Meet the inhabitants, learn about their history and culture, and view landmarks and industries! After reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, class groups research the...