Curated OER
Ingredients of a Mystery
Students explore the concept of mysteries. For this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book. Students also discover the...
Curated OER
Writing Folktales
Students consider the structure of folktales. In this writing skills instructional activity, students list the attributes of folktales that they read in class. Students then complete handouts based on the elements of the tales as well as...
Curated OER
Foods and Languages of the World
Students study world cultures with an emphasis on languages and cultures. In this world cultures activity, students study the countries of Spain, China, Italy, and the United States. Students read the story Everybody Cooks Rice and move...
Curated OER
A Christmas Carol Exploration
Seventh graders explore the history of Christmas by researching classic literature. In this holiday lesson, 7th graders read the story A Christmas Carol and discuss the tone of Charles Dickens' classic literary work. Students answer...
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Beatrix Potter's Naughty Animal Tales
Students gain insight into the unusual, solitary world of Beatrix Potter's Victorian childhood and can compare/contrast it with their own world to explain why Potter wrote such simple stories and why she wrote about animals rather than...
Curated OER
Literature Circle Role Descriptions
In this literature circle role descriptions worksheet, students identify the role they play in the literature circle. The different roles include: summarizer, vocabulary finder, questions writer, story mapper. Each role has three to...
Curated OER
Cinderella Is A Fella
Second graders identify the universal theme in the Cinderella story. In this fairy tale lesson, 2nd graders develop their vocabularies as they read a variation of Cinderella.
Curated OER
Readers Who Struggle Can Learn From Wonderful Teacher/Student Created On-Level Reading Projects
Learners create their own books. In this book making lesson, students pick a subject and take photographs of it. They use these photographs to write their own story using their sight words.
Curated OER
Book Trailers
Students develop a list of criteria for a book trailer. In this book trailer lesson, students review book trailers, create storyboards and use Photo Story 3 to create book trailers. Students create a mini-webquest to review copyrights.
Curated OER
Landforms
Learners study how landforms affect all aspects of a community. Students work in groups to identify landforms from other works of art. In cooperative groups Learners select a work of art depicting a particular land form and create a poem.
Curated OER
Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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Horse and Toad
First graders identify key elements of folktales and the countries in which they are told. They compare and contrast folktales they have previously heard with the Haitian folktale Horse and Toad. Reading materials and maps are included.
Curated OER
Picturing Shakespeare: Creating Illuminated Texts
Learners experiment with illuminating important text. In this fictional literature lesson plan, students research Shakespearean sonnets. Learners identify key elements of the sonnets, and examine the relationship between illuminated...
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Poetry
Fourth graders participate in reading and listening to poetry. They are exposed to a variety of poems and examine and identify basic elements of poetry. They write their own poems and recite a poem with enthusiasm, expression, and props.
Curated OER
Learning About Safety with Clifford
Students explore discussing stories with their children. They read and discuss Clifford's Sports Day and identify connections between the book and their daily lives. They simulate discussing the book with their children and note...
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Literature-based Skill Building: Holes by Louis Sachar
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students answer 5 general story elements questions about the book Holes by Louis Sachar. This can be used with any chapter.
Curated OER
Reading My Hero Stories
Students use the My Hero website to help them develop their reading skills. They create a KWL chart for the hero of their choice.
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Cesar Chavez Quilt Stories
Students create a 'quilt' to represent what they remember about Ceasar Chaves. In this reading lesson, students also complete descriptions of the picture that they decided to draw.
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Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Map for Me: An Original Story
Pupils read Blackbeard and brainstorm their knowledge of maps. In this language arts and geography lesson, students use landmarks on their playground to review north, south, east and west and discuss the compass rose. Pupils read This is...
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
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
Curated OER
The Outsiders Project Guide
Hand out these project ideas when working with The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Pupils can choose from six different options or propose their own. The idea is that they will complete more than one project to meet the point requirement. The...
Curated OER
Character in a Bag
Develop a mystery character using clues from a bag. This engaging activity will help learners understand character traits. They develop a list of the items from the bag, discuss and develop the character with a partner, and create a...
EngageNY
Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...