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Afraid! Who, Me?
Students confront fear through literature. In this literary elements lesson, students discuss fear and what they know about the horror genre of literature. Students then examine the painting "The Scream," by Edvard Munch and listen to a...
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When This World Was New
Second graders participate in a guided reading activity and read about and immigrant family. In this guided reading lesson, 2nd graders answer questions that focus on their new homeland. Students write a response to literature.
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Classroom Guide for The Birthday Swap
Young scholars complete activities with the book The Birthday Swap by Loretta Lopez. In this literature lesson, students answer pre-reading questions, locate new vocabulary, and read the story. They answer comprehension questions,...
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The Piano
Second graders read The Piano and become familiar with racial discrimination. In this racial discrimination book lesson, 2nd graders answer comprehension question to focus on the importance of the book. Students discuss the reader's...
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Changing Perspectives on the Japanese Internment Experience
Students explore the issue of Japanese-American internment. In this World War II lesson, students analyze historical biases regarding Japanese-American internment as they analyze literature, research print and Internet sources, and...
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Text Elements—Vampires
Learners explore the tone and style of passages from horror genre literature. In this literary elements lesson, students read The Vampire by John Stagg and the War of the World script by H.G. Wells, Learners write about the way the...
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Horror Tales: What Makes Them Spooky?
Before you jump into this instructional activity, be aware there is little to work with. That being said, the ideas are solid and will be brought to life with a little Halloween spirit. Learners examine horror as a sub-genre, and...
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Questioning
Practice making predictions by looking at the cover of a book. You can use The Hungry Thing, as suggested here, or any other book you may be reading in class. Use the predictions to talk about good reading strategies. A chart is included...
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Guided Reading: Chicken Sunday
Students write about giving a gift. In this writing lesson students read the book Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco. Students read silently and discuss the story with their classmates. Students write about wanting to buy a gift for...
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Sound Devices
Young scholars examine the impact of sound devices in poetry, prose, and non-fiction. In this figurative language lesson, students read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of alliteration, repetition, consonance, rhythm,...
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Floating Along – Identifying Slang
Students examine the use of slang in the works of Mark Twain. In this literature instructional activity, students read selections from Roughing It, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Life on the Mississippi. Students paraphrase the slang...
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A Raging Tide – Identifying Dialect
Students examine the use of dialect in the works of Mark Twain. In this literature lesson, students read selections from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Life on the Mississippi. Students paraphrase the dialect found in the passages and...
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Rollin’ on the River: Identifying Jargon
Learners identify jargon in poetry, prose and fiction. For this literature lesson, students will read selections from Mark Twain and identify figurative langauge, focusing on jargon.
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A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
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Call of The Wild
Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...
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Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture to...
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The Underground Railroad
Fourth graders participate in a literature circle after reading a book about the Underground Railroad. They discuss their selected book with their literature circle group, and complete a handout about their role in the circle. Students...
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On Stage Tonight . . .
Eleventh graders explore the World Wide Web for information concerning the period known as "The Harlem Renaissance." They study the contributions made by African Americans in the areas of literature, art, and music during this period in...
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Cooperative Jigsaw Expert Report of Fables
Students research literary elements of fables. In this literature instructional activity, students analyze literary elements of fables. Students work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.
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Abuela's Weave Teacher's Guide
Young scholars read and response to the book, Abuela's Weave. In this African-American literature instructional activity, students discuss pre-reading questions, that focus on family traditions and make predictions about the text. Young...
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Analyzing Irony in Nonfiction
Students examine the use of irony in non-fiction works. In this literature lesson, students read non-fiction war texts and explore the use of irony in the piece as they respond to discussion questions.
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Analyzing and Evaluating Literary Works
Students evaluate the literary elements found in short stories. In this literature lesson, students read short stories of their choosing and list the examples of the literary elements they encounter in the story on the provided graphic...
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Using Imagery in Poetry
Students examine the use of imagery in poetry. For this literature lesson, students read "Thought of Hanoi," by Nguyen Thi Vinhand use the provided graphic organizer to chart the poem imagery. Students then describe the imagery found in...
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Exploring Sensory Details in Fiction and Nonfiction Text
Second graders analyze storytelling devices by examining sensory details in literature. In this descriptive writing lesson, 2nd graders define the 5 senses and practice using descriptive vocabulary words in their writing. Students read...