Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 7: Pronouns
Take a break from literature study to address some grammatical concerns. Using a text you've already read in your class, show how to analyze pronoun use. After watching the master, pairs analyze a short excerpt on their own, identifying...
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Writing a Query Letter
Students examine how to write a query letter to a publisher. They plan a short story they would like to write, conduct Internet research about possible publishers, and write a sample query letter.
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Christmas Around the World
Students learn how other countries celebrate Christmas. In this Christmas lesson, students read a story about Christmas celebrations in other countries, discuss how they differ from U.S. celebrations, color pictures of traditional...
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Front Page News
Students write original earthquake articles typically found on the front page of a newspaper. Each student has the freedom to write in a variety of writing styles (lead story, human interest story, editorials, etc.). They research...
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Cause And Effect
Fourth graders read the book Stellaluna and cite sentences that show cause and effect in the story. In this cause and effect lesson plan, 4th graders also write sentences that show cause and effect in their own lives.
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The Black Snowman
Sixth graders write a paper. In this writing and retelling lesson, 6th graders read the book The Black Snowman and answer comprehension questions. Students learn how to write good paragraphs and how to retell a story. Students write a 3...
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James Welch's Fools Crow
Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...
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The Woman Who Slept for Thirty Years
Students are given a bit of information, but must share their information with other students in order to learn enough to solve the puzzle. When students have all the clues, they construct a theory to explain the facts. The teacher adds...
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Women in History: Research for Expository Writing
After reading an excerpt from Amelia Earhart's autobiography, The Fun of It, learners explore various nonfiction resources about her life and write a short newspaper article on a specific event. They then develop a longer piece of...
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Keats' Poems by John Keats
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 41 short answer and essay questions about poetry by John Keats. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the selections at the bottom of the page.
Reed Novel Studies
Flush: Novel Study
Standing up for beliefs sometimes leads to trouble! The father in Flush takes knows this all too well when he sinks a boat in protest to its illegal dumping. With his dad behind bars, the son, Noah, takes matters into his hands by...
Reed Novel Studies
Moon Over Manifest: Novel Study
Manifest, Kansas is a town where anything is possible. Scholars explore the fictional setting using an engaging novel study on Clare Vanderpool's Moon Over Manifest. After answering questions about the text and complete a vocabulary...
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Most Wanted Villians
Students review the characteristics of various characters in fairytales. As a class, they review the story details and create a concept map using a software program. They create their own wanted poster of the villians in the fairytale to...
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Spookley the Square Pumpkin
Students complete activities with the story Spookley the Square Pumpkin. In this holiday lesson plan, students listen to the story and create their own Spookley pumpkin with Popsicle sticks and paints. They use their character counts...
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A Water Droplet's Experience in the Hydrologic Cycle
Students write a story from the perspective of a water droplet on a journey through the water cycle. They use the 6+1 Traits writing method to focus on voice in the writing as they create characters that their water droplet has...
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Coral Reefs
Middle schoolers examine the animals that live in a coral reef and how they adapt to their environment. In this coral lesson students write a short book on how animals inhabit the coral reefs.
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Crazy Critters Creative Writing
Students brainstorm animals with unusual characteristics such as a giraffe with a short neck or a zebra without stripes. They write paragraphs about their animals and work in peer editing groups to refine their stories.
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Fall
Pupils read "Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf" then they brainstorm words about fall that begin with the letters F, A, and L. They compose and decorate their own acrostic poem then they write a Fall story and complete a final copy in the computer lab.
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Painting with Words
Fifth graders discuss words that are over used in their writing such as good, nice, happy, glad sad, etc. they complete a survey about word choice then hear a story and discuss descriptive phrases used in the story and how they help to...
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An Encyclo-ME-dia for Every Child
Students create a digital scrapbook that shows information-text and pictures that are specific to each child. They make charts and graphs. They use digital cameras, scanners, software, to write captions, stories, poems, letters, and...
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We Thank You, Veteran!
Fifth graders use information from videos, picture books, and relatives' military backgrounds to write a short or extended message of gratitude on a greeting card for local veterans.
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Our Children are Learning to Survive
Students examine the various cultures of the world through literature. After reading various stories, they compare their own personal experience with the characters. In groups, they take the original story and add their own characters...
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What's Up? Astronomy Curriculum
Students study astronomy. In preparation for a field trip to a planetarium, students discuss the stars, planets, and light. They explore the importance of the north star and constellations. The Digitarium system is used to assist the...
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Re-covering Imperial History
High schoolers read about imperialism in Japan and China and write their own book based on the story they read.