Curated OER
Where in the World is Flat Stanley?
Second graders analyze the proper form of a friendly letter and send flat Stanley letters all over the United States. In this letter writing lesson plan, 2nd graders read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and create their own Flat...
Curated OER
Samuel's Choice - Social Studies Using Children's Literature
Fifth graders read a book about independence, freedom, and slavery. Students create a story map of the book. They research the causes of the Civil War. Students write a newspaper article from the point of view of an American colonist.
Curated OER
Underground Railroad
Fourth graders use internet cites to explore the Underground Railroad. They also learn the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Focus questions are included.
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss Rhyming
Students complete activities with the book Green Eggs and Ham. In this rhyming lesson, students read the book and focus on the rhyming words. They try teacher made green eggs and ham and write a rhyme describing where they would or would...
Curated OER
Making Reading Assignments Meaningful
You can make your reading units more successful by adding a few simple additions.
Curated OER
Sequential Curriculum for Advanced Writing Workshop
Twelfth graders engage in a ten-month long elective course focusing on college board review and an advanced writing workshop. Both course components focus on thinking and reasoning skills. Various approaches include sentence combining,...
Curated OER
Mosaic America: Paths To The Present
Seventh graders study the ideologies of life, values, love, peace and struggle of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans as citizens of the United States. Authors and artists are used as tools to open the eyes of the students...
Curated OER
Water-The Liquid Gold
Learners investigate the necessity of water for the survival of plants, animals, and people. They explore the affect that water has on human and natural environments through literature, field trips, and discussions.
Curated OER
Trash or Treasure?
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson plan, students pull together to clean up a community park and reflect on the experience through literature.
Curated OER
Jewish Folktales
Students write an essay and create illustrations of Jewish culture. For this literature-response lesson plan, students read various Jewish folktales. As they read, students study the geographical, cultural, and historical background of...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is a classic novel that readers have enjoyed for years. Resources within the study guide such as discussion and guided reading questions, extension activities, and graphic organizers aid comprehension...
Curated OER
Activity 3: Composing Personal Narratives
What was your most (exciting, maddening, nervous, thrilling, etc.) experience in school? A part of a unit on narrative writing, in this lesson class members review the elements of the form and then choose an event when they learned a...
Curated OER
Literary Analysis of Theme
Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...
Curated OER
Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers
Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 10: Character Development
Make a study of Timothy and his development as a character over the course of the first half or so of The Cay. This idea focuses in particular on chapters 10 through 12. Learners start out by working on double-entry journals created in...
Curated OER
A Statistical Study of the Letters of the Alphabet
Students gather appropriate information for simple statistical analysis. Then they will calculate probability working with a piece of literature that makes this lesson ideal for teaching across the whole curriculum.
San Francisco Symphony
Beethoven's Sixth Symphony and the Expression of Feeling through the Arts
Here is an activity used originally to finish off a unit on country life and nature. It requires learners to have a basic understanding of harvest, rural life, and autumn. They'll use what they know to construct dance movements showing...
Curated OER
Incorporating Archaeological "Time-Outs" into the Latin Curriculum
Here is a lesson whose focus is on classical archaeology. In groups, high schoolers read various myths and legends to examine the how the culture was passed between different groups. They participate in a role-play activity in which they...
Curated OER
Introducing Tolkien and His Words
Students identify and describe the types of narratives that made Tolkien the writer he was. In groups, they examine different myths and folktale motifs. They discuss what Tolkien meant by "faerie" and "eucatastrophe." As a class, they...
Curated OER
Tolkien's Moral Universe
Young scholars analyze the landscape used in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". In groups, they discuss how Tolkien developed Elrond's promise and develop a case assuming Tolkien rejected "Manichaean dualism". They also compare and...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Themes in Literature - Langston Hughes "Thank You Ma'm"
Eighth graders study Langston Hughes, "Thank You Ma'am" to discover the elements of plot, character motives and reactions. They express the effects of trust and kindness by writing a reflective personal narrative. They illustrate the...
Curated OER
Shadows
First graders measure how a shadow changes over the course of a day. They write about what they would do if they lost their shadow, and make silhouettes of themselves. Students make up a shadow dance and read stories about shadows.
Curated OER
Focus Story: The Mitten
Students explore language arts by analyzing a story with their classmates. In this poetry identification activity, students read the book The Mittens and identify the characters, plot and settings in the story. Students recite poems...