Curated OER
Arkansas Civil War Bandits and Outlaws
Young historians study civilian Arkansas during the Civil War. They look at the many challenges they faced to keep their homes in order while the men were at war. Learners hear stories of bands of outlaws who ravaged the state during...
Curated OER
Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism
Learners analyze "To Build a Fire" by Jack London and "The Open boat" by Stephen Crane. They write an essay in which they compare and contrast the narrators and plots in each story.
Curated OER
A New Point of View
Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....
Novelinks
The Color of Water: Word Square Instructions
Immaculate, accumulation, dissipation. Vocabulary drawn from chapter 16 of James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, can prove to be challenge for readers. To help kids understand the meaning of these words and what they add to the...
Curated OER
The Mastodon Kill
Using the book Bandits, Bears, and Backaches, learners develop an understanding of the pre-history of Arkansas. They follow the trail ofthe giants mastodons and paleo Indians who lived there long ago. The emphasis on this lesson is on...
Curated OER
Flying Freudian Fun: A Look At Ethical Decision Making
There are not many more apt examples of ethics gone awry than William Golding's Lord of the Flies.. Ninth graders focus the ethics of decision making with the examples provided in the plot. They focus on the concept of the psyche and how...
Novelinks
The Giver: Vocabulary Bingo!
Bingo! Combine the thrill of bingo with Lois Lowry's The Giver in a fun vocabulary lesson. Kids write selected vocabulary words from the novel onto a bingo chart, and then listen for the correct definitions in order to mark off their words.
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Chalk Talk
Discussion doesn't always need to be spoken. Before you begin The Tempest by William Shakespeare, have kids connect their ideas and experiences to central questions of the play with a silent discussion activity. Once they have...
Curated OER
Rhetorical Devices in a Primary Source
Analyze Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous and powerful "I Have a Dream" speech as a primary source document. After reading up on rhetorical devices and working in small groups to define terms, class members identify and explain the use of...
Curated OER
Classroom Capers: Creating a Magazine
Fourth graders build language skills in the context of creating a classroom magzine. They participate in activities which help students communitcate ideas and information for a variety of purposes and for specific audiences using the...
Curated OER
Say Aaah!
Students complete a variety of activities as they explore/review the letter 'o' as it makes the short /o/ sound. They recite short /o/ tongue twisters and practice writing the letter 'o'. They rewrite 'Skip to My Lou" using short /o/...
Curated OER
Regents High School Comprehensive Examination in English Session Two (2005)
Int this Regents High School English Comprehensive Examination pupils read passages from a short story and a poem and write an essay based on both passages.
Curated OER
Helping Children Read
Young scholars read books with younger children, incorporating context clues and vocabulary aids as reading strategies to help the younger children learn to read. They discuss the concept of community capital and how this activity relates.
Curated OER
Reading and Sketching Graphs
In this graphs worksheet, students answer 15 multistep questions about graphs. Students determine distance traveled, time, velocity, and create scenarios to fit the graph.
Curated OER
D.E.W. (Drop Everything and Write!)
Students gather, determine validity and reliability of, analyze and organize information. They employ the most effective format for purpose and audience. Students write fully developed paragraphs that have details and information...
Curated OER
The Outsiders: Anticipation Guide
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is always a favorite for middle and high school readers because it addresses issues that hit home to them, decades after the book is set. Have learners fill out an anticipation guide that encourages them to...
Curated OER
A Gift for Mama
Students read a novel about savings and complete activities to define short and long term saving goals. For this income and savings lesson, students read A Gift for Mama and answer discussion questions for it. Students define the terms...
Curated OER
Translation Into Reality
Students read a variety of short stories that focus on teenage protagonists. In groups, they answer comprehension questions and discuss the characters and setting for each story. Individually, they choose one writing assignment to...
Curated OER
Become a Detective
Young scholars participate in a simulation where they act as detectives to locate a missing item using questioning and prediction techniques. Then they read a portion of a story, write a prediciton paragraph, and then finish reading the...
Curated OER
An Unfinished Tale...
Challenge your writers to compose a proper ending for the short story "The Talisman." Class members start out by either listening to or reading the first nine paragraphs of the story. The rest is up to them! Encourage kids to resolve the...
Curated OER
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Students find the difference between fiction and nonfiction. For this fiction/nonfiction lesson, 1st graders read the story Johnny Appleseed and discuss what makes this a nonfiction story. They listen to a fiction story and see what...
Curated OER
Cause and Effect
Students identify cause and effect relationships in a short story. After reading a short story, they participate in a discussion of how one event in a story can lead to several others. Students are then paired for a matching task that...
Curated OER
Problem and Solution Lesson
Students explore problems and solutions in literature. In this literature lesson, students identify problems and solutions in short guided and independent reading samples. Students also discuss characterization techniques used to develop...
Curated OER
Wrapped in Mystery
Sixth graders can identify five basic elements that most mysteries contain. They put the elements of mystery into a graphic organizer they can follow. They construct meaning after reading Poe's short story and identify or infer the...