Curated OER
"Standing Woman" by Yasutaka Tsutsui
Students explore the key concepts of the story, "Standing Woman" which portrays futuristic settings, and the search for artificial happiness. Parallels are drawn to Orwell's "Brave New World" and the movie, "Solent Green."
Curated OER
Mayan Myths/Folktales
Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or legend. They present...
Curated OER
"Spelldown" by Becky Mushko
Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...
Curated OER
Coming of Age Readings: Experiences in Korea and by Asians in America
Bring multi-cultural experiences and literature into your language arts class with this lesson. Here, young readers explore the points of view of first and second-generation Asian immigrants with a list of various fiction and nonfiction...
Louisiana Department of Education
How to Write a Memoir
Who are we and what shapes our identities? Seventh graders work to answer this question as they learn how to write a memoir. Full of non-print resources and supplemental texts that range from fiction to non-fiction, scholars write their...
Curated OER
Who Invented English Anyway?
In these English lesson plans, students use video, the Internet and non-fiction essays to research the history of the English language. They write a short research paper and design a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their findings.
Curated OER
Coal Camps and Mining Towns
Young scholars should gain a better understanding of the processes involved in extracting coal from the Earth as a result of this lesson. They reearch the history of coal mining, look into coal mining towns, and create a short story...
Macmillan Education
A Wrinkle in Time Discussion and Activity Guide
As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...
Curated OER
After I Read Strategy Sheet
After readers finish the story Deep-Sea Monster, they utilize this two-page worksheet to write short-answer responses to questions about the story. The questions posed require critical thinking, not simply recalling details from the...
Curated OER
First Day of School
Primary learners complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book First Day of School. They will complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have discussions, and much more.
Curated OER
Figurative and literal language through the study of Shakespeare
Sixth graders explore figurative and literal language. They study literary devices through short pieces of Shakespeare's work. Then investigate Shakespeare's works and life.
Prestwick House
Wuthering Heights
How many ways can you break down a classic novel? Based on the acclaimed Romantic-period novel by Emily Bronte, the Wuthering Heights activity pack includes a pre-reading exercise. Next, learners create a resume for one of the...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Funny Epitaph Poem
What can happen if you eat too much cafeteria food? Or wear dirty clothes every day? Or talk back to your mother? Use a lesson on humorous poems as a way for students to practice silly rhymes as fictional epitaphs.
American Immigration Law Foundation
An Immigrant’s Experience
After interviewing an immigrant about their voyage to the United States and first impressions of the country, young learners create a fictional series of journal entries and design an iMovie depicting their interviewee's story.
Louisiana Department of Education
The Scarlet Letter
Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...
PBS
Myth of the West: Kit Carson to the Rescue
There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...
Curated OER
Storytelling
Pupils explore, as a basis for their poem, their own personal observations and understandings of a specific person's character which might include exploits, actions, mannerisms and personality. They write a brief poem that tells a story.
Curated OER
The Time I Got Lost
Third graders go through the writing process but substitute paper and pencil with the computer to create a story about "The Time I Got Lost".
Curated OER
My Secret War - The WWII Diary of Madeline Beck: Lesson 2
Fifth graders explore world history by reading historical fiction. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders read the story My Secret War and identify the importance of fiction when analyzing history. Students answer study questions about...
Curated OER
Do-deca-he-dron-It's Greek to Me!
Students create a dodecahedron shaped visual report of the literary elements of a short story.
Curated OER
And Tomorrow's Forecast Is...
Students create original short stories that feature distinctive weather phenomena, such as rainbows, snowstorms, tornadoes, thunder and/or lightning. They use a story map, imbedded in this plane, to help them organize their story.
Curated OER
How Tall, How Short, How Faraway
Second graders determine the correct unit of measure to use for different situations. In this measuring lesson, 2nd graders are introduced to different unit of measure. Students study the origin of measurement and practice measuring....
Curated OER
Read and Get Smart
Use the class textbook to read a full story about Martin Luther King, Jr. The class writes facts about him and outlines his life, then they read the author and illustrator summaries at the end of the story. They compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Prince Ibrahima
Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...