Curated OER
Identifying Themes in Children's Literature
Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 2
Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 12: Story Event
Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....
Speak Truth to Power
Elie Wiesel: Speaking Truth to Genocide to Power
Invite your learners to discover the efforts of Night author Elie Wiesel to promote awareness of genocide in the world. After watching and reading an interview of Elie Wiesel, high schoolers work to create a living Holocaust museum by...
Student Handouts
Comparing Countries’ Constitutions
Analyze the constitutions of five different countries and see how they relate to each country's culture and traditions. Pupils read the preambles to the constitutions of India, Ireland, Russia, Suriname, and the United States. After...
Read Works
Bat News
Get the bat facts with a short nonfiction reading passage. After reading the passage, readers respond to questions that focus on main idea, inferencing, vocabulary in context, and author's purpose.
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 3 - Grades 4-5
Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles Times...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
Reed Novel Studies
Flush: Novel Study
Standing up for beliefs sometimes leads to trouble! The father in Flush takes knows this all too well when he sinks a boat in protest to its illegal dumping. With his dad behind bars, the son, Noah, takes matters into his hands by...
Reed Novel Studies
I Am David: Novel Study
Many people dream of getting a fresh start or starting over again. David, a main character in I am David, gets that chance and must learn to live life outside of the concentration camp. Scholars read about David's adventures as they...
Reed Novel Studies
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: Novel Study
If the walls could talk, you might hear Hugo from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo lives in the walls of a train stations in Paris. Scholars read and complete worksheet activities as they discover Hugo's secrets. They show their...
Reed Novel Studies
James and the Giant Peach: Novel Study
Everyone wants to feel like they belong. James, in James and the Giant Peach, finds a feeling of belonging in a very odd place—inside a peach! Scholars read the story of James and the Peach and work through vocabulary, language, and...
Reed Novel Studies
Julie of the Wolves: Novel Study
Blood may not always be thicker than water. Julie, in Julie of the Wolves, soon depends on a wolf pack to be her family. Scholars read about Julie's adventures as they complete sentences with vocabulary words, answer comprehension...
Reed Novel Studies
The Lightning Thief: Novel Study
Maybe dark clouds do have a silver lining. Just when Percy from The Lightning Thief thought of his life as doomed, he learned that his father is a Greek god. Scholars work through activities as they read how his life took a drastic turn....
Reed Novel Studies
Lawn Boy: Novel Study
A mountain of grass becomes a mountain of cash in the case of a young entrepreneur in the novel Lawn Boy. Arnold, a main character, begins a lawn mowing business and meets a stockbroker client that helps me manage his money. Scholars...
Reed Novel Studies
Lassie Come-Home: Novel Study
If only all best friends could be like Lassie! Lassie Come-Home offers a glimpse of the special relationship between man's best friend and a beloved owner. Scholars complete worksheet activities while reading about Lassie's adventures to...
Reed Novel Studies
The Light in the Forest: Novel Study
"Make new friends but keep the old" is a wise saying. However, True Son, a main character in The Light in the Forest, struggles doing just that. Once living among the white people, he was taken into an Indian tribe for several years....
Reed Novel Studies
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: Novel Study
Are there secret worlds? The four children in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe answer the imaginative question when they discover a magical land in a wardrobe. Scholars read the first chapter to match vocabulary words and meanings,...
Reed Novel Studies
The Lemonade War: Novel Study
Sibling rivalry or all-out war? The Lemonade War tells the story of a brother and sister who begin a competition selling lemonade. Scholars read to find out who will win. The resource includes vocabulary words, comprehension questions,...
Reed Novel Studies
Little House In The Big Woods: Novel Study
Author Laura Ingalls Wilder takes readers back to the good ole days. In Little House in the Big Woods, she tells scholars about a family living in the woods during the 1870s. While reading, they complete sentences with vocabulary words,...
Reed Novel Studies
Gone Crazy in Alabama: Novel Study
Life isn't always sweet in Alabama. A study guide for the novel Gone Crazy in Alabama introduces readers to life in the rural South and explores one character's experiences there. In addition to answering basic reading comprehension...
Reed Novel Studies
Old Yeller: Novel Study
Fred Gipson's Old Yeller tells of a stray yellow dog who becomes the best friend a boy could ever have. While reading the novel, learners complete sentences with new vocabulary words, answer comprehension questions, and create...
Reed Novel Studies
Mr. Popper's Penguins: Novel Study
Antarctica is actually a desert. Using the novel study that explores Mr. Popper's Penguins, pupils find four of their own interesting facts about the amazing continent. They also practice putting words in alphabetical order and answer...