Curated OER
Text as Texture Collage
Students explore the concepts of rhythm, movement, contrast and texture. They practice using new vocabulary and work on creating a college after designing the arrangement. They self-evaluate their collage and critique their classmates...
Curated OER
Parts of a Story
Young scholars read a short fiction book and demostrate comprehension by identifying the main characters, setting, conflict, theme, and summarizing the main points. They organize the information in Inspiration and create a powerpoint to...
Curated OER
Run-on Sentences
Second graders practice using punctuation in run-on sentences. In this punctuation mini-lesson, 2nd graders listen to the book Punctuation Takes a Vacation. They read their own sentences and try to find where they end.
Curated OER
Earthquake, Earthquake, Read All About It!
Students utilize the U.S. Geological Service web site. They research the various types of scales used to measure earthquakes and classify different situations on the scale. They write a story about a town that has just experienced a quake.
Think Like A Programmer! Puzzlets Cork the Volcano Curriculum
Curated OER
Homes of the West
Fourth graders read about homes in Utah over time and design models of the homes. In this homes of the west lesson, 4th graders draw and label five homes that existed in the west. Students research each home and gather information for...
Curated OER
Courtship and Marriage
Students research the concept of courtship and marriage as it pertains to early New England and explore the values and culture that shaped our history. In this courtship and marriage lesson, students examine primary source documents that...
Curated OER
Playing Vocabulary Basketball
Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 18
Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...
It's About Time
Adaptations
Congratulations! You exist, thanks to the wonders of biology and adaptations. The focus of the lesson explains many adaptations of plants and animals and how the environment has influenced the process. A hands-on activity demonstrates...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 11
As part of a study of how writers structure their text so that readers understand events, class members do a close reading of "Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?" a chapter in Aronson and Budhos' Sugar Changed the...
American Press Institute
High Five: Media Literacy and Newspapers
Teach the five different types of media with the first of three in a media literacy unit. Learners create and propose a final newspaper project, which must address information covered throughout the unit.
Curated OER
Teach a Mini-Lesson Sentence Variety
Help your developing writers spice up their writing by studying simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 3: Adventures of Don Quixote
Fifth graders explore the Adventures of Don Quixote in a four-week language arts unit. Scholars listen to and discuss a new chapter each day as well as examine vocabulary and practice word work including suffixes, subject-verb agreement,...
Curated OER
Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this instructional activity to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format...
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Scribbleboy
Fifth graders are introduced to the text, SCRIBBLEBOY, discussing the cover page for clues to the genre. They discuss the ordinary surroundings contrasted by the graffiti and the words and phrases used to provide information about the...
Curated OER
Anne Frank and Louisiana - There is a Connection!
How is Louisiana connected to the Holocaust? After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders complete a research report about a survivor of the Holocaust who currently resides in Louisiana. Though the idea is a good way to connect...
9/11 Memorial & Museum
Exploring Afghani Culture through Literature
Hosseini Khaled's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are the anchor texts in a semester-long course that explores Afghani culture and traditions.
Curated OER
What If?
Second graders read WHAT IF? up to the page that ends "Suddenly, across the field they saw..." and discuss how the animals are feeling. They then discuss their feelings and in pairs discuss a possible ending to the story.
Curated OER
Review of Literary Devices
Sixth graders review literary devices. They use both fiction and nonfiction texts to review metaphor, simile, alliteration, imagery, symbolism and personification. This lesson has a scripted guide for the teacher to follow.
Curated OER
Voice and James Joyce
After reading a text written by James Joyce, middle and high schoolers find examples of passive voice. They share their findings with the class. Use this lesson to emphasize the effect of passive voice in writing.
Curated OER
Gift of the Magi
While reading O Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," your class will define and identify situational irony and allusion. Use a study guide (not included, but easy to produce) to record and discuss examples of allusion as you read. Map the...
Curated OER
Literary Analysis of The Minister's Black Veil
After reading The Minister's Black Veil, by Nathaniel Hawthorne as a homework assignment your class will complete a literary analysis. Learners will analyze important element of the story and take notes to help support their essays....