Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.5
Your young scholars already know when they like a story and when they don't, but they may not know that the plots of these stories are shaping that opinion. Like all resources in this series, the two activities and quizzes provided here...
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What Makes a Novel a Novel?
They always say to write what you know. This approach is used to get middle schoolers prepared to write novels of their own. Using a favorite book as a model, potential novelists respond to prompts that ask about characters, plot, main...
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Lesson Plan 3: Great Book, Gross Book
It's time for your scholars to become book reviewers! Start with a fun review of foods: are they good or gross? Learners apply these evaluation techniques to books, recording their thoughts on large pieces of butcher paper. Simply have...
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A Song By Any Other Name Would Be a Poem
Young scholars examine the poetic elements of a piece of music. They discuss favorite songs, select a song, and write a persuasive essay identifying the poetic qualities of the song lyrics.
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The Odyssey
Students write a dramatic scene based on The Odyssey and perform it for the class. In this living literature lesson, students work in small groups to discuss the way the characters look, act, and sound. They then choose scenery and...
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See Me, Feel Me, Hear Me, Describe Me!
Fifth graders read the poem "Root Cellar" and then close their eyes and describe objects that are placed in their hands.
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Revision is Part of the Writing Process: Peer Workshops
Twelfth graders go through the peer editing process by reading each other's work and talking about it. They realize revision is part of the process of writing poetry.
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Mother's Day
Third graders write a poem describing why they love a special family member. They use decorative paper and illustrations for their poems. Students give thanks and praise to their family members.
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify forms of...
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There's a Writer Waiting Inside Me
Eighth graders are introduced to the concept, What Makes Good Poetry? They are asked to explore the writer within.
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Imagery
Students listen to poetry and discuss the imagery. They write a creative poem demonstrating imagery. They write about imagery of a picture and visit a website to read poetry tips. They evaluate poetry using an evaluation form.
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Two Haiku
Eighth graders, in pairs, discuss what they already know about Haiku poetry. They try to remember the rules, history, and focus of traditional Japanese Haiku. they read more examples of Haiku and then write and illustrate their own...
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Mary Had A Little Lamb
Fourth graders listen and observe the role play of the various versions of the poem. They take notes while listening and observing and develop their own versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".
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Discovering Angel Island: The Story Behind the Poems
Students watch a video, view websites, and discuss the Chinese Exclusion Act that took place on Angel Island. In this Chinese exclusion act lesson plan, students discuss the interrogations that went on and fill out worksheets bout the...
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Key Figures of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition
Pupils gain general knowledge of the goals, route, participants, and significance of the 1899 Harriman Expedition. They link names of glaciers, fiords, mountains, flora and fauna with names of the 1899 Harriman Expedition participants. ...
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The Star-Spangled Banner
Get your kids moving as they learn about the history of the United States National Anthem. Scholars examine the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key, and the meaning behind The Star Spangled Banner as they listen to an 18-minute...
Schmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2
Although the ideas on how to implement the skill RI.9-10.2 are lacking, the assessment would work well for challenging learners to summarize, and identify the main ideas of presidential speeches that are of similar topics. One could use...
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Applying SQ3R to Texts
After a review of the SQ3R strategy, readers use the provided prompts to respond to a text. The value of this worksheet is in the additional questions that move the learner into higher levels of reasoning.
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Johnny Appleseed
Students engage in a study of apples using children's literature. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Student list facts about apples and compare them while answering some guided questions. They plant some apple seeds and...
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Citizens for Responsible Change
Third graders write a petition to a school figure, get signatures from other students, share the petition with the appropriate authority, and then work as leaders to carry out the group's solution.
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A Courtin' We Will Go
Students investigate dialect in poetry as an indication of a people's culture in literature. They write a poem about dating in this era.
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Safe from the Storm
Fourth graders read the poem "Snowbound" after brainstorming what a place of refuge is and why it's needed. They, in pairs, meet and write a list of ten attributes that describe a refuge. They write a paragraph describing the look, feel,...
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Symbolism: Finding the Hidden Meaning In Chinese Art
Pupils study and interpret Chinese art to find its symbolism, or the "hidden meanings" in this middle level lesson well suited for the Language Arts or Art classroom. An enrichment activity is included that allows each student to write...
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The Profound Simplicity Of Scrolls
Students create art scrolls in the Chinese style using individual examples of landscape pictures and poetry in this lesson for the middle-level Language Arts, Social Studies, or Art classroom.