Curated OER
Growing Poems
Students write garden inspired poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students go out into the garden and write poems about how they feel, what they see, and what is going on in the garden.
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Introduction To Literary Analysis
Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...
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Coast-to-Coast Book Design-Part 1: What is a book?
In this first of four lessons on book design, young scholars are introduced to the vocabulary of book design through the use of bookwalks and a non-linear PowerPoint presentation in game-show (Jeopardy!) format.
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Anne Frank and Louisiana - There is a Connection!
How is Louisiana connected to the Holocaust? After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders complete a research report about a survivor of the Holocaust who currently resides in Louisiana. Though the idea is a good way to connect...
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Close Reading
Eleventh graders read and study Hamlet. Then they are introduced to close reading as a means of understanding what is being read--not only understanding the printed word, but also the nuances and connotations of language as it is used by...
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Jabberwocky-Identifying Adjectives
Elementary learners identify adjectives in sentences. They read the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll and highlight the adjectives. A good supplemental lesson if you are studying Lewis Carroll and/or "Jabberwocky."
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Guided Reading with Jazz Baby
Jazz music and musicians are the focus of this language arts lesson. Young readers independently read the book Jazz Baby. To build fluency and independence they read silently, but are guided by directive comments from the teacher. They...
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Character Baseball Cards
Create baseball cards for literary characters with this lesson plan. It introduces students to baseball cards, their components (stats, picture, etc.), and prompts them to draft and publish their own cards based on figures from...
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Chinese Lanterns
Learners research Chinese culture, the lunar calendar, and how the new year is celebrated in China. They research several different meaningful Chinese characters. Students paint animal figures and Chinese characters then cut and fold...
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Fantasy on My Fingers
Students translate story characters into three-dimensional finger puppet figures. They tell tales with wiggles and words and utilize their finger puppets to convey a story in front of their classmates as the curtain goes up and the...
Denver Art Museum
Checking for Accuracy
Young appreciators of art consider the sculpture, The Things I Have to do to Maintain Myself, by Roxanne Swentzell. Everyone gives their opinion as to what the figure in the sculpture is doing. After they learn that the image portrays a...
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The Story of Us: Mud Woman Rolls On
Young writers will literally step into art and creative writing as they become the figures featured in the sculpture Mud Woman Rolls On. Begin by showing your class a picture of the sculpture and having a discussion about its most...
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Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
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Mastering the Mighty Melville
“Bartleby the Scrivner” as an existential forerunner to The Office? Dense and often dark, Herman Melville’s stories abound with Biblical allusions and complex symbols. If you are considering using Melville’s novels or short stories with...
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The Witch of Goingsnake
Students identify figurative language in a proverb and write an interpretation of the proverb prior to reading The Witch of Goingsnake. In this The Witch of Goingsnake lesson, students read a native American proverb and determine whether...
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Come On, Rain!
Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson plan, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students research the...
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The Search for Identity: "Their Eyes Were Watching God"
High schoolers read the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God". While reading the novel, they identify and discuss the figurative language used and use a passage of interest to them and analyze it in a written paper. They also discuss...
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Dazzling Digital Poem Project
Eighth graders create a digital poem using PowerPoint, Audacity.com, and www.freeplaymusic.com. In this digital poem lesson, 8th graders write and edit original poems. Students utilize figurative language and imagery in poems and review...
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Similes
A simile is a non literal phrase that needs to be deciphered for contextual meaning. Similes are also fun to read and write. Third graders get cozy with similes found in the book If You Hopped Like a Frog by David M. Schwartz. They use...
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"Trails, Rails, and Roads" Lesson 1: "Language and Transportation"
Students, in groups, identify the origins of a number of transportation idioms. They search for current transportation idioms to have a partner explain.
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Baked Polymer Clay 3D People Portraits
Learners discuss methods of building forms with clay (ball and variations, snake, flat sheets). They draw a stick figure of what their sculpture may look like, including correct figure proportion.
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Get A Life
Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular saying "get a life." Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the phrase when used in varying contexts. They also consider the dervation of each...
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In Your Dreams
Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular saying "in your dreams." Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the phrase when used in varying contexts. They also consider the derivation of...
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Satire in Fiction
Twelfth graders identify satire in various fictional texts. For this language arts lesson, 12th graders will learn to define satire, parody, and caricature. Students will identify different forms of satire in historical and modern-day...