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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Tales of the Supernatural

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic novel to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Fairy Tale: Italian Folklore

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students work in groups to write an original fairy tale in Italian. They research the components of a fairy tale, compare and contrast fairy tales with myths and follow an outline to write a complete, 15-20 page fairy tale.
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Interactive
Curated OER

Cliff Notes for The Canterbury Tales: Essay Questions

For Students 9th
In this Canterbury Tales essay questions worksheet, 9th graders answer 5 comprehension questions about several different tales.
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PPT
Curated OER

Elements of the Oral Tradition

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Old Wives' Tale or Helpful Hint?

For Students 7th - 9th
In this scientific method learning exercise, students examine old wives' tales, conduct research, and design and experiment to test the tale.
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Activity
Cloud Front

Socratic Seminar for: A Christmas Carol

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Socratic seminars are a great way to encourage the development of critical thinking, speaking, and listening skills. And Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a perfect text for such a seminar. Use the questions in the packet to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tell Me a Whopper!

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tales of the Supernatural

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Myths, Folktales & Fairy Tales

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students relate the myth genre to history and culture.  In this myths lesson, students compare culture in the past and present.  Students answer critical thinking questions  and discuss the unique characteristics of the myths. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lore o' the Irish

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literature: Isabel Allende

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poet Naomi Shihab Nye

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tennessee Williams: Exploring the American Dream

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners read and analyze selections of Tennessee Williams' work. They write journal responses, conduct Internet research, perform various scenes from one of Williams' dramas, and create a presentation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans in Folklore

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students define elements of stories from around the world that include helpful animals. They explore animal character motivations and use graphic organizers to compare and contrast animal stories from different cultures.
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Lesson Plan
3
3
Cleveland Museum of Art

Japanese Folktales (Asian Odyssey)

For Teachers 4th - 10th Standards
The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Spirit of Nationalism

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing Myths I

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Explain a natural phenomenon in an original myth. After researching the phenomenon they have chosen, young readers use factual information to include in their myth.  They find synonyms and new phrases to create vivid images as they write...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Vengeful Verbs in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

911 As History

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize persuasive techniques, think criticaly about the messages contained in various media, and discuss controversial issues in constructive ways. They analyze the deeper messages contained in children's literature, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How does it feel? Why is the Civil Rights Movement so Important?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study the Civil War. In this US history lesson, 5th graders simulate what life was like during the Civil War by having two groups with one group given more materials than the other group. Students then draw a portrait of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aztec Myths 1

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars write a diary entry or a letter from the viewpoint of a character in a myth.  In this Aztec myths activity, students define myths and read "The Heart of Copil" and "The Eagle of Tenochtitlan" and find the land of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reporting Live From...

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine the many disasters in West Virginia. In this US history instructional activity, students write about and give an oral presentation of one of the disasters as if they were reporters.
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Graphic
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Folk Tales [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A very brief organizer in which students can list examples from their current reading selection which represent elements from the folk tale, such as the supernatural, good over evil, and moral lessons.
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: How Ghost Stories Became a Christmas Tradition in Victorian England

For Students 9th - 10th
Spooky stories featuring the supernatural were all the rage during the darkest time of the year. Towards the end of each year, as fireplaces are lit and hot cocoa is made, Americans have made it a tradition to revisit their favorite...

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