PJ Library
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the holes in...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 3: The Archetypal Approach to Literary Criticism
As class members continue their study of approaches to literary criticism, readers examine the symbolism and archetypal patterns in John Knowles' A Separate Peace, and how these parallels are used to develop a theme in the story.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1
Where does a writer find inspiration? "Go into yourself," says Rainer Maria Rilke in "Letter One" from Letters to a Young Poet. Readers of Rilke's letter to Franz Xaver Kappus examine the words and figurative language Rilke uses to...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 10
Is man's character his fate? Can actions change character? To track the development of the central ideas in Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” groups compare Hundert's actions in the original "Mr. Julius Caesar" competition...
Public Schools of North Carolina
Democratic Republic of Congo - Map Skills
Work on your map skills with a packet of activities about the river basins in the Democratic Republic on Congo. Learners study the maps provided before answering the geography questions and writing an acrostic poem about the region.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 6
Guided by the provided questions, readers of David Mitchell's "Hangman" examine the author's figurative language to develop the constant struggle in Jason and Hangman's relationship.
Newseum
Case Study: The Execution of Ruth Snyder (1928)
The case of the 1928 execution of Ruth Snyder takes center stage in a lesson that asks young journalists to consider the ethics involved in publishing an image of an execution. A series of discussion questions ask individuals how they...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 3
Readers of "The Palace Thief" continue examining Ethan Canin’s short story and consider how the narrator's actions develop the central idea of how one's expectations and the expectations of others influence behavior.
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 11
Is identity unchanging? Do events in our childhood forever influence our character? Groups ponder these questions as they examine Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief.”
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 4
Can a life gone wrong be blamed on a single childhood incident? Hundert, the narrator of "The Palace Thief," and readers struggle with this question as they ponder events in Ethan Canin's story.
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 1
The complex relationship between a teacher and his student takes center stage in an instructional activity that asks readers to pay close attention to how author Ethan Canin introduces his characters and how he develops the character of...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 3
Just like in real life, characters in short stories show their true personalities through their words and deeds. Decipher the character development in Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a set of activities...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 7
Readers analyze David Mitchell's techniques for introducing and developing the mystery surrounding Madame Crommelynck in the "Solarium" chapter of his novel Black Swan Green.
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1
As part of a study of narrative writing, class members analyze how Leslie Marmon Silko structures the beginning and orients and engages readers in her narrative, "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit."
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2
Where to begin? This lesson plan, part of a series designed to help seniors compose a narrative response to a prompt found on the college Common Application, focuses on the techniques writers employ to craft an engaging introduction to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3
How do writers develop a central idea in a text? How can readers identify this central idea? These are the challenges class members tackle as they continue their analysis of "Letter One" from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet.
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 5
As class members conclude their reading of Leslie Marmon Silko's "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit," they consider how the story of Kochininako, Yellow Woman, not only provides a satisfying ending to the narrative but also...
Curated OER
Patterning Lesson Plan
Open the eyes of young mathematicians to the patterns that are found everywhere in the world around them. After a shared reading of I See Patterns by Linda Benton, children complete a series of hands-on activities that teach them how to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 10
To prepare for the end-of-unit multi-paragraph essay, class members review Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and identify central ideas in both texts. Writers then formulate a...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2
As part of their reading of Leslie Marmon Silko's "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit," class members analyze how the author develops her narrative through dialogue, description, and multiple plot lines.
Curated OER
Reading Meet Writing
Thinking about introducing your middle schoolers to reading log journals? Try the approach suggested by this resource. After reading to the class an article or portion of a novel, demonstrate a Think Aloud and then model how to transform...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Before, During, After Lesson Plan
Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori presents a vivid picture of Japanese culture and history. As kids read through the third chapter, they find novel-specific vocabulary to enhance their understanding and use context clues to determine...
Curated OER
Reading With Fluency And Expression
Practice makes perfect, and this lesson provides a rubric to prove it! To improve their ability to read with fluency and expression, readers listen to a series of online stories in order to hear how a well-read story should sound. They...
Curated OER
Make a Social Skills Superhero Comic Book
Get creative as you teach a lesson on positive peer and social interactions. Discuss good social interactions through a scenario, brainstorm a positive response to the scenario, then creat a comic book superhero that exemplifies the...