Curated OER
Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive
Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...
Curated OER
Philanthropic Behavior
Youngsters create class rules by determining the environment they would like to have in their classroom. They come to a consensus about how to have a safe, fair, fun learning environment by discussing the rules in the Karla Kustin poem,...
The Alamo
The Alamo
Remember the Alamo! Scholars investigate the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. Using models, maps, quotes, biographies, and the Oath of Allegiance, the Alamo comes to life as the stories of those who fought and died in...
Curated OER
Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars
Students read the book Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars about space. In this space lesson plan, students make their own poetry book about space.
Curated OER
Give a Hoot About Owls
Students research basic information about owls. They complete a class KWL chart, and conduct research on owls using the Internet and a variety of resource books. Next, they write an owl acrostic poem and a report using their research...
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...
Curated OER
Sybil Ludington's Ride - a poem
Fourth graders examine the role a teen from the Hudson Valley played in the American Revolution. They view the map of Sybil's ride and calculate the distance using the map's legend.
Curated OER
Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 8
Fifth graders explore the current jazz scene and how it reflects American culture. They listen to jazz recordings of current artists and speculate on which direction jazz is likely heading.
Curated OER
Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 6
Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.
Curated OER
Important Arkansas People
Famous people in the history of Arkansas are the focus of a history lesson plan for kindergartners. Pupils identify important Arkansas citizens, such as President Bill Clinton. They create an illustrated poem that features some of the...
Curated OER
We of the Sea: Tribal Native American Stories
A video featuring members of Oregon’s Astoria Native American fishing community launches a study of the oral tradition of poetry, and how traditions are passed down within different cultures. Activities, assessments, extensions and...
Curated OER
Modern Minstrelsy: Exploring Racist Stereotypes in Literature and Life
Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...
Curated OER
Look in the Mythic Mirror: I've Got Rhythm!
Learners explore the relationships between music, poetry, and visual art. Using the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, pupils develop an awareness of the compositional elements of the Classical style, and the aesthetic effects of those...
Alabama Learning Exchange
J. Alfred Hyperbolizes
Mermaids will sing to your class members as they engage in an activity related to T.S. Eliot's famous dramatic interior monologue. After engaging in a socratic seminar about literary devices in the poem, individuals choose one...
EngageNY
Developing Reading Fluency: Criteria for Reading Aloud
Third graders develop their reading superpowers in a lesson plan on fluency. After first listening to an audio recording or teacher read aloud, the class works together identifying criteria for fluent reading, focusing on phrasing, rate,...
Curated OER
Emotion in Art & Poetry
Fourth graders are introduced to famous works of art and begin to discuss the artist's work. Use art to explain and reflect their own emotions. The write about feelings in a work of art and make connections between art and other...
Alabama Learning Exchange
President's Day for Special Education/Early Elementary
Students investigate how both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington displayed the trait of honesty. They listen to read alouds of class books and poems that address both the lives of these men and the trait of honesty. They use a graphic...
Curated OER
My Secret War: Lesson 5
Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson plan, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem....
Curated OER
What Is Haiku
Students engage in a activity that is concerned with the study of poetry while focusing on Haiku as a format. They practice reading a variety of different pieces of literature in order to increase exposure. Students discuss the author's...
Curated OER
WHAT DO BEARS EAT AND HOW DO THEY WALK?
Students listen to the poem "Five Bears" read aloud several times, and study what bears eat by naming the foods (mentioned in the poem) out loud. They draw a picture to illustrate one line of the poem and practice choral reading.
Curated OER
“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women
Students examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry instructional activity, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.
Curated OER
Gyotaku Lesson Plan
Pupils examine and discuss the history and process of Gyotaku, or fish prints. They view images of Gyotaku, create a fish print, and write a haiku.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Patriots or Traitors - Point of View in the War for Independence
Patriots or traitors? Class members analyze images that present widely differing views of the Boston Tea Party, identifying the point of view of the image, the propaganda devices used, and the intended audience.
Curated OER
Hermeneutics: Teaching Students Author's Purpose
Your developing literary critics discuss 'perspective' and discuss how the same occurence can be interpreted by two different people in two different ways. They read Ryszard Kapuscinski's untitled poem, infer meaning of the poem, and...