Curated OER
Random Acts of Kindness For Kids
Develop a world-wide, email chain on which class members can showcase their acts of kindness. After defining the meaning of random acts of kindness through discussion and through a reading of Random Acts of Kindness,...
Curated OER
Little Red Hen Bakes Bread
Students investigate the bread baking process through the use of literature. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the book, The Little Red Hen and discuss the steps the hen followed to bake bread. Students bake the bread...
Curated OER
The Giver: Lesson 1
Do “memories need to be shared?" Are “memories…forever?" Would you give up memory to live in a perfect world? Introduce a unit centered on Lois Lowry’s utopian/dystopian novel The Giver with a series of activities that has groups...
Curated OER
Getting to Know You
After going over the five steps of the writing process, pupils fill out "Getting to Know You" worksheets. They trade papers with each other, and have the task of writing a descriptive paragraph about the person whose worksheet they...
College Board
Teaching Students How to Write AP Statistics Exam Responses
But this is math—we don't need to know how to write! The article makes a point that class members in AP® Statistics should be comfortable writing as the exams require it. Individuals quickly realize that quality writing is crucial to a...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Contested History
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a lesson that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of scholars today...
Curated OER
Simon Says: Mother May I?
Student increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After discussing the importance of fluency, learners complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with the instructor, they read complete a timed...
Curated OER
Who Am I?
Students read a story together then choose a favorite character to portray. In this inference lesson, students pretend to be one of the characters in the story, they prepare drawings or actions then present them to the class. Students...
Curated OER
Irony in Poetry and Prose (Fiction and Non-fiction Texts)
Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language lesson, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.
Curated OER
In the Time of Butterflies: List-Group-Label
Use the list-group-label strategy to introduce your class to In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The teacher begins by writing a word on the board (dictatorship is suggested here), and then the kids write as many words as...
University of North Carolina
Application Essays
There's a lot riding on good writing! Often, an application essay is the difference between acceptance and rejection. As part of a series on specific writing assignments and contexts, a handout helps scholars craft the perfect personal...
Curated OER
Reading/English Language Arts/ Instructional Strategies
Students are given a line drawing that only that students sees. They are asked to describe the drawings to the reset of the class to see if they can draw it as the teacher describes it. Students work with a partner, and they are given a...
Curated OER
Reading About Estuaries
High schoolers practice their reading skills by reading information about estuaries. As a class, they discuss what they read and answer discussion questions. As they read, they use the right hand column of their paper to write down any...
Curated OER
In a Nutshell....
Young scholars examine how to summarize the most important details in a reading passage in order to increase their comprehension. They design a story web using the summarization skills. Before class, they complete a reading assignment...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pictures and Print: What's the Difference?
Students watch a PowerPoint presentation. In this early literacy lesson, students watch a PowerPoint presentation describing print from pictures and the difference between the two.
Novelinks
Things Fall Apart: Problematic Situation
If you could pick characteristics you would want your child to possess, what would they be? To better understand Okonkwo, one of the key characters in Things Fall Apart, class groups engage in an activity that asks them to consider this...
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Guided Imagery
Reader's of Wildwood Dancing engage in a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage them to visualize the setting of Juliet Marillier's young adult fantasy novel.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Guided Imagery
Willa Cather's novel My Antonia is full of vivid imagery. Encourage your pupils to visualize and translate images from the text into original writing with this guided imagery activity. Learners listen to an excerpt, take a moment to...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Four Corners
To generate interest in some of the major issues in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, class members engage in a four corners activity that asks them or agree or disagree with a series of statements and provide reasons for their stance.
Curated OER
Edgar Allen Poe And The Art Of Composition
High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...
Curated OER
The Last Lecture: Text Impressions
To pique interest in The Last Lecture, readers are given a list of key terms and ask to craft a story inspired by the terms.
Curated OER
The Writing Process- Prewriting Using Collaboration
After a class discussion on strategies pupils can use to pre-write, learners are given a topic which they use to guide them in selecting a book to read. Everyone uses a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to write down information from the...
Curated OER
"Desk Top Teaching" - Word Interrogation
Don't let your class get tripped up on the tricky words in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood! Instead, assign each member of the class one or two words and each can be an expert. Explicit directions are included, as well as a list of...
Curated OER
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
Upper graders write word problems and research the uses of multiplication. They start off by taking a pre-test on multiplication and then read the book, Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar. They make up word problems to go with their...