University of Pennsylvania
Using Political Postcards to Teach a Revolution of Political Thought
Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...
Curated OER
Disaster Relief - Power, Generosity and Leadership
Learners explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson plan, students discover philanthropy's role in 4 economic sectors. Learners examine how organizations responded to the Hurricane Katrina devastation and work...
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and...
Curated OER
Share Tactics
Learning how to share with one's classmates is a very important skill to have in school. Here, the technique of sharing is taught. Pupils receive one piece of paper and are put into groups. Each group only has six crayons. They must...
Reed Novel Studies
Where The Mountain Meets The Moon: Novel Study
Does good fortune lie within the man in the moon? Minli, a young girl in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, sure hopes it does, so she sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon for answers. Along the way, Minli meets several magical...
Curated OER
Newspaper Stories
Students examine the structure of the newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students look at the different types of articles about giving, sharing, and acts for the common good. They realize the types of voice that are used in the...
Curated OER
Everyday Heroes
Students research how Ernie Pyle's descriptive narratives and "every man's" perspective of the war allow them to examine personal traits such as courage and heroism. The lesson can be extended to include more examples to teach character...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Analyze the use of balanced sentences and parallelism in a narrative. Included in this resource is a narrative about serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan titled, "The Train Ride Home". Middle and high schoolers review...
Curated OER
Pizza Biography
A biography writing activity with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...
Reed Novel Studies
The Whipping Boy: Novel Study
Sometimes people find friendships in the most unlikely places, and The Whipping Boy is no different. Few would think that Jeremy and the Prince for whom he takes whippings could ever become friends. However, after a hostage situation...
Reed Novel Studies
Ruby Holler: Novel Study
A journey of a lifetime awaits you in Ruby Holler. Troublesome orphaned twins pair up with an older couple for a magical adventure. However, the journey must begin with the pairs staying together in Ruby Holler. Scholars soon learn...
Curated OER
Hurricane Katrina Relief
Students research philanthropic organizations that helped after Hurricane Katrina. They organize a collection drive to contribute to the nonprofit organization. They reflect on their efforts.
Curated OER
Sleuthing A Writer's Skills
Young scholars read The Train Ride Home by Robin Solomon. In this literature response instructional activity, students will inspect the writing of Solomon to determine how she established a certain tone through her...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Students examine the story for use of balanced sentences and parallelism-two literary devices-and then practice using those devices in writing of their own. They combine the simple sentences grammatically into one correct sentence. A. I...
Curated OER
Sleuthing a Writer's Skills
Students examine the author's lively text to determine how she achieved her many literary effects. They discover the author's techniques in describing people and events, in setting tone, and in establishing pace. They reflect about the...
Curated OER
Poetry for the Common Good
Students identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Students construct their own...
Curated OER
Ilunga's Harvest Lesson
Students examine the culturally based impulse to share with others versus the impulse to watch out for oneself or one's immediate family. They probe the deeper meanings of "Ilunga's Harvest" and examine the impact of the events in...
Curated OER
Rosie's Roses Lesson Idea: Practice Hearing the R
Students focus on the sound of the letter /r/ after listening to Rosie's Roses by Pamela Duncan Edwards. In this letter /r/ lesson, students identify animals in the book that contain the /r/ sound. They sort /r/ words into groups by the...
Curated OER
Johnny Appleseed
Students meet and delve into the life of the American Folk Hero, Johnny Appleseed through the activities of the eight lessons of this unit. Math and language activities offering whole and small group encounters.
Curated OER
Ilunga's Harvest Lesson
Learners study the concept of culturally based impulse to share as opposed to watching out for oneself or family by reading and responding to "Ilunga's Harvest."
Curated OER
Get Ready, Set, Go
First graders learn the importance of listening carefully and why to follow oral directions carefully by playing Simon Says. They learn the importance of waiting your turn.