Orlando Shakes
The Best of Enemies
History comes to life with the play The Best of Enemie. Scholars learn literary elements as well explore racial issues in American history. The play is based on a true story and addresses the universal truth that people are capable of...
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Crossroads Cafe: "Who's the Boss?" Act 1
Learners pronounce key phrases during a story. They discuss the story setting and the roles of the characters. They explain the problems the main characters face.
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The Magic in Writing
Students watch a portion of a familiar film and write responses to a series of questions. They apply their observations to short stories.
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The Great American Fire Drill
Students read a story about fire safety and create their own ending to the story in order to learn about fire escape plans and to demonstrate their writing skills. In this fire safety lesson, students discuss the parts of a story, read...
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Drawing Into the Imagination
Sixth graders create a non linear story with multiple possibilities and endings. In this non linear story lesson plan, 6th graders research non linear stories, create their own, and illustrate it.
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Philadelphia Museum of Art
Students study paintings and use their knowledge of story elements to analyze the art. In this art analysis lesson, students review a novel for its elements. Students study the image At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance and discuss the story...
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Narrative Literature Response Letters: Original Lesson Plan
Readers write a formal letter to an author offering an alternative ending to a story the author has written. First, the class reads a story or novel. Upon finishing the reading, they are introduced to the format of a formal letter. They...
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Goldilocks and the Coordinate Grids
Where this instructional activity idea is lacking in materials, it makes up for with creativity! Using "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" as the background, mathematicians plot points on a coordinate grid to create props for the story. The...
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Irony
What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before highlighting the...
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Teaching "Theme" with Children's Literature
In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...
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Introduction to Victorian London and A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley
Immerse your class in Dickens's London and classic story of A Christmas Carol. Here, a SMARTboard presentation and WebQuest build background of the setting for the novel (or the play A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley.) Learning about...
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Life Size Characters
Sixth graders analyze character traits and create a life size character outline. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze character traits of a character using character webs and poems. Students then create a life size...
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Reading Puzzle
Twelfth graders examine the elements of literature. They each read a chapter of a novel, sequentially list the main ideas, present a summary of the chapter to the class, sequence the events, and review the novel by summarizing the timeline.
Curriculum Corner
8th Grade ELA "I Can" Statement Posters
Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...
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Introduce Vocabulary: The Surprise Garden
Learners explore English by reading children stories in class. In this tier two vocabulary instructional activity, students read the book The Surprise Garden and identify the settings, plot and characters. Learners define a list of...
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Printmaking for Grades 6-8
Students create a relief print. The chosen image for this print be a setting from a novel that played an important role in the plot of the story. They conclude this lesson by writing a literature response about their setting.
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Science Fiction Literature
Students identify the elements of science fiction literature. They write and illustrate a science fiction story using real and exaggerated science. In addition, they read their stories aloud in small groups.
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Bringing Facts Into Science Fiction
Learners develop a setting, plot and characters for a science fiction story based on current news themes, and then individually write drafts of the story.
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Ingredients of a Mystery
Students explore the concept of mysteries. In this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book. Students also...
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The New Fant-"Asia": Contrasting Animated and Live-Action Filmmaking
Students consider different stories and story-telling techniques of animated and live-action filmmaking, write proposals for animated films, and storyboard individual scenes.
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Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find": Who's the Real Misfit?
Students read and analyze the short story, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor. They write a one-page response, explore various websites, take an online interactive journey, and write a final assessment paper.
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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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Miss Nelson Is Missing/Miss Nelson Is Back- Lesson 4
Young scholars compare two stories. In this compare and contrast lesson, students read Miss Nelson is Missing and Miss Nelson is Back. Young scholars brainstorm similarities and differences in the two stories, use a Venn...
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The Lore o' the Irish
Students examine the importance of folklore in Ireland and how that folklore reflects Irish culture. They first interpret various Irish folk tales, focusing on what about Irish culture can be better understood from these stories.