Poetry4kids
How to Create a “Found Poem”
Writers compose an original found poem by searching for words that inspire them. Words are taken from everyday conversation, books, cut from magazines, the mail, or an already written poem.
Road to Grammar
Fame
Smile for the camera and find out how your English language learners feel about fame! Class members read three different points of view on fame and then discuss ten questions about the topic.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
The Writer’s Toolbox: What You Need to Master the Craft
Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 11
What is Hamlet's attitude towards life and death in Shakespeare's Hamlet? Scholars continue reading the play to answer the question, paying particular attention to Hamlet's most famous soliloquy. By holding a discussion and completing...
Education Closet
West Side Shifts
Combine math, language arts, music, and dance with an activity focused on "America" from West Side Story. After listening to the song, learners compare the film to Romeo and Juliet, analyze the song's meter, design choreography, plan...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, Part 1
It is all in the details. Scholars read The Life of Miné Okubo and pay special attention to details that reveal Okubo's character. Completing their Understanding Miné: Character Traits graphic organizers and recalling the descriptions...
K12 Reader
MLK: Complete the Speech
Take a close look at a few paragraphs of Martin Luther King, Jr.s' famous speech, "I Have a Dream." Class members fill in the missing words using the bank of words provided and then respond to a question about the speech and modern day...
Curated OER
A Zoo Book for All
A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...
Film English
The Man Who Planted Trees
Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Twelfth Night
Whether you choose to include Twelfth Night in your course or whether Shakespeare's comedy has been thrust upon you, be not afraid to incorporate an interactive resource into your study of Shakespeare's tale of loss, love, and identity....
Curated OER
Exploration of Utopias and Dystopias
If you are considering adding or expanding a unit on utopian and dystopian literature you simply must check out this fabulous resource. Packed with plans, activities, project-based and 21st century learning opportunities, the unit...
Scholastic
Narrative Writing
If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing...
Curated OER
Teaching The Great Gatsby with the New York Times
East Egg, West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and the green light. Bring Gatsby, the Jazz Age, and the American Dream to your classroom with a resource designed for teachers. Included in the treasury are six great teaching ideas for F. Scott...
Curated OER
"The 1,000,000 Pound Bank Note" by Mark Twain
Compare real events from Mark Twain's life to events in the story. Middle school readers identify point-of-view, its purpose, and its reliability by citing two examples. They describe the tone of the story using four examples and...
EngageNY
Documenting Research: Sorting and Recording Information About the Wheelwright
Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...
Poetry Society
War Horse and WWI Poetry
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library. As part of their study of War Horse individuals create an anthology of World War I poetry.
Curated OER
Daily Life in Ancient Greece
Sixth graders discover what everyday life was like for Ancient Greeks. In this Greek history lesson, 6th graders examine the cultural diversity of Ancient Greece and how it affected daily life for its citizens.
Curated OER
Daily Life in Pennsylvania's Historic Cloistered Religious Communities
Study the daily life of three religious communities from Pennsylvanian history. Learners research the religious communities of the Ephrata Cloister, Bethlehem, and Harmony. They study primary sources for each community and complete...
Curated OER
Primary History: Children of World War 2 Extension Activity- Daily Life
In this World War 2 worksheet, students choose to complete one or more of the three listed extension activities. All activities pertain to daily life of children during World War 2.
Curated OER
Making Inferences While Identifying Similes and Metaphors
Use this lesson to study similes and metaphors and the inferred meaning. In this language arts lesson, 5th graders write their own similes and metaphors. A worksheet is provided for extension work or to check understanding as homework.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.3
Tired of simple sentences? Bored by brief sentences? Plagued by boring sentences? Enrich your life and the writing of your pupils by modeling how to combine sentences to create more varied syntax. Groups then find a number of ways to...
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie: Life and Art
Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...
Curated OER
Writing Prompts for High School
Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2
There is nothing more frustrating than discussing theme in literature, and now the Common Core requires that your learners determine two or more, and discuss the development of it throughout the text. This is crazy, but manageable with...