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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Graphic Organizer

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
After completing the first five chapters of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle By Avi, use direct quotes to make inferences about how Charlotte feels about certain characters. Later, when the novel has concluded, revisit the text to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unwind: Discussion Strategy, Chalk Talk

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, engage in a silent discussion, posting their responses to a series of statements about characters in the story.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parrot in the Oven: Problematic Situation

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Prior to reading Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members are presented with a problematic situation and to rate their responses as well as predict the responses of a character from the novel.
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

Nightjohn: Bloom's Taxonomy Questions

For Teachers 6th - 8th
After completing Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen's young adult novel about slavery set shortly before the Civil War, readers respond to a series of questions crafted to reflect Bloom's taxonomy.
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Lesson Plan
University of Virginia

Analyzing Social Commentary in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn continues to be one of the most frequently banned books. The satire and social commentary present challenges when using the book as a core text. Direct readers' attention to how Twain uses plot,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Gatsby: Symbolic Story Representation

For Teachers 10th - 12th
The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story, and consider...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Picture Book Strategy

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Picture books aren't just for primary learners. Your scholars compare and contrast literary themes between the novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and the children's book, The Dream Tree by Winfried Wolf through...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wildwood Dancing: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Themes in Wildwood Dancing, Juliet Marillier's young adult fantasy novel, are the focus of an anticipation guide that asks individuals to agree or disagree with a series of statements.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parrot in the Oven: Socratic Seminar

For Teachers 6th - 9th
To conclude a study of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging in a Socratic seminar discussion of Martinez's novel.
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Lesson Plan
Brigham Young University

Out of the Dust: KWHL Strategy

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
A K-W-H-L chart is a great way to scaffold prior knowledge. As class members begin their reading of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, they chart what they already know about the Great Depression and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Problematic Situation

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Individuals read a series of passages from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, rank the statements from the least to the most racist or stereotypical, and share their rankings and rationales in small groups before a whole class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Uglies: Problematic Situation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
As part of a unit centered around a reading of Uglies, a 2005 young adult dystopian fiction novel by Scott Westerfield, Steven Cummings, and Devin K. Grayson, class members engage in an activity that asks groups to come to a consensus...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tangerine: Vocabulary

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Here's a great way to make vocabulary words drawn from Edward Bloor's novel Tangerine memorable. Kids create a word square, and in one quadrant write the word. A picture goes in a second quadrant, the definition in a third, and a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shizuko’s Daughter: Unsent Letter

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Have you ever wanted to tell a character what you really thought of him or her? Use a lesson based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter to encourage learners to write a letter in response to a character's actions. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oliver Twist Goes to Hollywood

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

Zach’s Lie: The K-W-H-L Strategy

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shizuko’s Daughter: Biopoem

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
The characters in Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori are complex and vivid. Compare their characteristics with a biopoem, which prompts learners to complete a format with adjectives, relationships, and additional details that describe each...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Cure: Vocabulary Bingo

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As part of their study of the vocabulary used in Sonia Levitin's The Cure, class members create a card, filling in words from the novel, and then engage in a bingo game.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Grapes of Wrath: KWHL Strategy

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Before beginning The Grapes of Wrath, readers create a KWHL chart recording what they already know about the Dust Bowl, the author, and the book, what they want to know, and where they might find answers to these questions. After reading...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Dark Is Rising: Problematic Situation Strategy

For Students 5th - 9th
What items would you need to save the world from an evil wizard? Prior to reading Susan Cooper's young adult contemporary fantasy The Dark is Rising, and to generate interest in the tale, class groups must reach consensus on a list of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tangerine: Cubing Strategy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Here's an activity that uses a reading comprehension strategy based on Bloom's taxonomy to focus readers' attention on key passages from Edward Bloor's Tangerine. Worthy of a place in your curriculum library.
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Of Mice and Men in the Great Depression: Background and Setting

For Teachers 9th Standards
What were living conditions like in the United States during The Great Depression, and how do those conditions compare with today? That's the question young scholars consider as they prepare to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Pearl: Found Poem

For Teachers 9th - 12th
It's hard to beat the beauty of John Steinbeck's prose, so borrow a little of it to form your own found poetry. After kids finish Chapter One of The Pearl, they select the most evocative and vivid words to create found poems.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: DR-TA Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Making predictions is an excellent reading strategy. Work on building this into your pupils' toolkit of strategies by trying out the process outlined here for reading the very beginning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The...

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