Curated OER
Folk Tales for ESL Students
Using the folk tale "The Man, The Boy, and The Donkey" (linked in the lesson) and a SMART board, teachers can help pupils access multiple skills. Reading the story allows learners to create a timeline of the sequence of events based on...
Curated OER
Metamorphosis Magic
Students make different motions for each stage in the butterfly life cycle and plant a garden. In this butterfly life cycle lesson plan, students can take the mini gardens home and discuss how butterflies help gardens.
Curated OER
Guided Reading with Here Comes the Bus
Second graders read independently to find out what happens when the bus moves on its route. Students are given strategies to help with words they aren't sure how to read. Students whisper read with a partner on the second reading. As an...
Curated OER
Lesson 4: Text-to-World Connections
Making connections to the text you're reading may help build a deeper appreciation and understanding of the material. Second graders practice making text to self and text to life connections as they read two passages; one about Martin...
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Encyclopedias
After being introduced to non-fiction texts, second graders meet a different type of non-fiction text that can help them locate factual information. They discuss and examine all of the features found in typical encyclopedias such as,...
Curated OER
British/American English Spellings
Ninth graders complete oral and writing spelling activities to practice British and American spellings. In this British/American spelling lesson, 9th graders complete an oral class spelling activity and then a worksheet to convert...
Curated OER
Second Grade Science Textbooks
Second graders create their own science textbooks. They work in small, cooperative science teams to plan and create their textbooks. In addition, they photograph their group work, projects, materials and specimens, and other images.
Curated OER
Beautiful Noise Poetry
"What a beautiful noise comin' up from the street; got a beautiful sound, it's got a beautiful beat..." Use Neil Diamond's "Beautiful Noise" to guide your class through a Six Trait writing activity, in which they write an original poem...
Curated OER
ReQuest Strategy: Reciprocal Questioning
Explore reciprocal questioning with this ReQuest comprehension strategy. After reading a passage, learners first question the teacher, trying to "stump" her. Then it is the teacher's turn to ask the pupils questions. All correct answers...
Curated OER
Symphonic Poetry
Young scholars interpret the themes in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, create a 6-line poem based on the themes in the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and define musical terms related to the study of programmatic...
Curated OER
Introduce Reading Connected Text
Get your scholars ready to read their first story...with a little assistance, of course. Projecting the short story (included) for all readers to see, point to each word so they can sound it out together. The strategy here is not to have...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Curated OER
Using Drama to Examine Communities: Walking in Others' Shoes
Encourage your readers to make connections between texts with this resource. After compiling notes for each text read (you choose the texts), groups craft skits in which major characters from each text meet. There is a rubric for the...
Curated OER
Finding James Fort
Welcome to Jamestown! Third and fourth graders read and analyze primary source documents about Jamestown or Fort James. They read and analyze descriptions of Fort James from primary sources. They access a website to explore more...
Curated OER
Dandelion Wine: Socratic Seminar
There are “a million things to talk about. . .” in Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine; however, the focus of this socratic seminar is the issue of living and dying. Class members prepare for the discussion by writing about their own views of...
Prestwick House
April Fool’s Day Vocabulary Lesson
Quandimonium will ensue when the class discovers you will be grading this April Fool's Day vocabulary activity, complete with made-up words and definitions, although the truly perspicacious will remain axomachilliax.
Curated OER
Fun With Fluency
Practice reading with fluency by blending words together. To start, prepare flash cards with pseudowords on them (words that can be pronounced but have no real meaning), and work with the class to sound out the words using known...
Curated OER
The Laundry News
In this reading worksheet, learners answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "What happened to the very first edition of the Laundry News?"
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Cricket's Supper
Interested in a special folktale to read with your class? Then this instructional activity might be for you. Readers will build an understanding of the food chain while creating a storyboard that includes the characters, setting, and...
San Francisco Symphony
Music Reflects History
Exploring the baroque era can be exciting and fun when it's done thorugh the arts. Middle schoolers examine the music and art history of the baroque era through research. They use their findings and class notes to create an expository...
Shakespeare Uncovered
Merely Players
“. . . one man in his time plays many parts,/His acts being seven ages.” Jaques famous speech from Act II, scene vii of As you Like It sets the stage for an examination of the roles people play. Class members not only consider the roles...
Curated OER
Creative Writing: Children's Building Blocks
Your class can participate in a writing program involving four building blocks. By exploring words, sentences, writing forms, and story organization, they improve their creative writing skills throughout this year-long unit. Early in the...
University of Arizona
Fusing Firecrackers with Narrative
Improve your youngsters' descriptive writing. They study an object and write about what they see as a warm-up, then they read an excerpt from Paul Guest's memoir, One More Theory about Happiness. The next part of the activity prompts...
Curated OER
Let Us Rhyme With Madeline
Listen to the book Madeline, and identify rhyming words with learners as they hear them in the book. Learners will engage in a class discussion about rhyming words. After listening to Madeline, they will circle pictures of words that...