Curated OER
Predict and Clarify with The Old Woman & Her Pig
Primary readers predict and check for understanding by using comprehension strategies. Prepare readers the first day by frontloading vocabulary and using pictures to visualize the words. On the second day, read the story The Old Woman...
BBC
Sweet Tooth - Full Stops
Young writers engage in a activity which reinforces the concept of when to use periods, "full stops" as they're called, when writing. There is a terrific online activity built into the plan which gives the kids valuable practice, then a...
Curated OER
Dragonwings: Explore Chapters 1-5
If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...
Curated OER
A Glimmer of Beauty: Lesson Plan
Fully analyze the elements of art and unexpected beauty in the William Merritt Chase's Still Life with a Fish. The class will examine the painting very closely, then use photography to express unexpected beauty in still life. This is a...
Curated OER
Hypothetical Heights
Students participate in an interdisciplinary lesson to discuss improvements that would make them want to return to a previously poor neighborhood. In this civics lesson, students work in a budget to make a plan to better their...
Media Smarts
Looking at Newspapers: Introduction
A scavenger hunt introduces class groups to the different sections of newspapers and the different types of articles found in each section.
Curated OER
Active and Passive Sentences
Work with active and passive voice in several different sentences. Fifth graders learn the difference between active and passive voice, and change nine sentences from passive to active and vice versa. Great practice in your writing unit!
Curated OER
Shakespeare Was A Black Woman
"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2
Identifying the theme or central idea of a text is a skill many young readers struggle with. It is also the second standard for reading literature in the Common Core. This resource, one from a series of Common Core lessons, can provide...
Macmillan Education
A Wrinkle in Time Discussion and Activity Guide
As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Body Biography Book Report
Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where students choose to...
American Bar Association
News Literacy Model Curriculum in Social Studies
Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: On-Demand Informational Paragraph About How the Poison Dart Frog Survives
A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...
Curated OER
Short Story Commercials
Middle schoolers read short story selections, and work with classmates to produce commercials using digital video equipment.
Scholastic
My Favorite Activity (Grades K-2)
Scholars discuss the many ways they use persuasion in their everyday lives and brainstorm specific ideas for encouraging someone to do something. With the list of persuasive techniques they made, young writers complete a graphic...
Curated OER
Mo Willems Author Study
Who is Mo Willems? Explore the author with your class. Learners read books written by Willems, compare and contrast the characters therein, and make predictions about what will happen. Finish off this author study by having small groups...
Worksheet Web
Heteronyms
Challenge scholars to identify and use heteronyms in a sentence with a two-page worksheet designed to boost grammar skills.
Curated OER
Summary and "The Fallacy of Success"
Suggested to accompany a class reading of The Great Gatsby, this plan begins with a discussion emphasizing the reputation of Vanderbilt University. Then, after the class has a working knowledge of the wealth associated with the school,...
Curated OER
Reference Materials
After a class discussion where kids share how they find answers to their questions, learners explore the world of reference materials such as, an atlas, an almanac, and an encyclopedia. The Internet is also discussed as a way to access...
Academy of American Poets
We Sing America
Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...
North Carolina State University
Integrating Your Research
Employ this resource to expand efficient ideas on how to present and organize activities that describe how researchers can implement their research by using direct quotes, paraphrasing, and summarizing—without plagiarizing. Activities...
Bright Hub Education
"The Kid in the Red Jacket": Book Activities
Learning stations aren't just for little ones; middle schoolers can have fun while learning about the main character in the book, The Kid in the Red Jacket. Outlined are three different activities that are completed as each small group...
Film English
Make It Count
Where would you go if you were to take a trip around the world in 10 days? After a discussion about famous inspirational quotes, pupils view a short film that shows a trip around the world in 10 days paired with these quotes. Class...
Film English
Pay It Forward
Centered around a film about giving to others freely, this plan incorporates collaborative work, discussion, and kindness. A still from the film starts off the plan as well as the prediction process. Class members then watch the film and...