Curated OER
African Dance: Drumbeat In Our Feet
Second graders read "African Dance: Drumbeat in Our Feet". In groups, they identify the message of the story and discuss a personal experience that relates to a part of the book. They practice reading fluently as a class and making...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5: Structure of an Argument
Imagine a cross-curricular project that not only rewards learners for examining the textbooks used in their other classes but builds literacy skills as well! Groups compare the formats and writing style in their various textbooks. Teams...
Curated OER
Haiku and Beyond: Exploring Genres of Japanese Literature
Fourth graders compare and contrast the literature of Japan as they study the culture, history and geography of the island nation. They read various genres of literature, describe geographic and landform features of Japan, and find...
Curated OER
Teaching the Kono Salmon Kite
Students complete several student readings involving kite making and kite flying. They analyze how the parts of a system go together and how these parts depend on each other. They comprehend how different environments both provide...
Curated OER
Teaching the Bell Tetrahedral Kite
Students complete readings on kite making and kite flying. They analyze how the parts of a system interconnect and influence each other. Students identifies and uses color and form in a 3D artwork.
Curated OER
Reading For Pleasure
Students develop a variety of reading skills that diagnosis has revealed as lacking. They use this activity to promote pleasure in reading, to emergent readers to travel further into the world of books and begin to comprehend what rich...
Curated OER
Lesson Mystery: The Game is Afoot
Learners enter and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and hard-boiled detectives in this unit on mysteries. They review and analyze the ""Whodunit Requirements" and the "Mystery Contract" that accompany this activity. Each student...
Curated OER
The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins
Students explore the penguin life cycle. For this penguin life cycle lesson, students read the book The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins. Students look at the pictures and make predictions. Students identify facts about penguins and do...
Curated OER
Animal Tales Around the World
Learners explore characteristics of Indian Tales/ Parables. In this literature lesson, students compare contemporary society to western culture through analysis. Learners create their own tales using this genre.
Curated OER
Sahara Special
Third graders read the book Sahara Special and participate in comprehension activities. In this realistic fiction lesson, 3rd graders create a brochure for where they live. Students have personal bags, a brown paper bag, that they fill...
Curated OER
Music Theories
Explore the inception and evolution of hip-hop music as a springboard for writing music reviews and researching other genres of music. Learners will read and discuss the Times' article, From Underground Music to Fashion Statement to then...
Curated OER
Art Reflecting Life
Have your young television viewers discuss popular shows among their peers. After choosing one show to analyze, middle and high schoolers read about the 2007-2008 network television lineup with the New York Times article "Gauging Viewer...
Curated OER
Let's Talk About Painting
Discuss art and read Matthew's Dream. In this visual arts lesson, learners recognize that there are different styles of art, each with its own techniques. Use simple techniques to understand art and work at stations to complete a style...
Curated OER
A Light in the Storm
Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...
Curated OER
Pop Tops
Get your class primed for a comparative analysis lesson with this activity. They compare and contrast their music preferences to those of their classmates. After reading an article, they identify current trends in popular music, analyze...
Curated OER
Comedy Across the Curriculum
The New York Times Learning Network provides the resources that permit pupils to examine and then write and perform a fake news broadcast in the vein of “The Daily Show” or “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update. The generated reports...
Curated OER
Sequence Clue Words
Leaners read the book Let's Make Tacos and draw a line from the sequence clue words to the step-by-step actions in the book. In order to complete this exercise, they use words such as first, next, last, after, and more. Excellent ideas...
Curated OER
Off the Record
Music reflects culture and culture is reflected in popular music. Reading an article on how hip-hop has affected the lives of two young men of different races launches an investigation of the development and influences of various musical...
Curated OER
An Introduction to Nonfiction
Examine the elements of nonfiction writings in this lesson. Learners list common features of nonfiction and compare nonfiction and fiction books on the same topic. Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two genres.
Curated OER
What are the Elements of Poetry
Students read the poem "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes" and analyze the form, figurative language, and mood. They complete a T-chart containing what they have learned about Pablo and the evidence from the poem supporting their conclusions.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
I Need a Superhero
Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey focusing...
Curated OER
Foreign Language Lip-Sync Karaoke Contest
Teach your class about foreign language through transcribing lyrics. They will transcribe the lyrics of a song in a foreign language and use the lyrics to create a cloze activity as they listen and speak the language with their...
Curated OER
Historical Fiction: A Wealth of Interpretations
How can understanding the genre of historical fiction help your language arts class with literary analysis? Use this instructional activity to help young readers learn about historical fiction. After reading a selection from the "Dear...
Curated OER
Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...