K20 LEARN
I Theme, You Theme, We All Theme For Ice Cream: Themes In Literature
Teach readers how to distinguish between a topic and a story's theme in a short lesson that uses the children's book, Should I Share My Ice Cream, as an exemplar. After listening to the story, pairs generate a list of topics covered in...
Annenberg Foundation
Becoming Visible
The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...
Annenberg Foundation
Modernist Portraits
How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
A Case Study of Memory Loss in Mice
Using a short news article, high school or college biologists examine the scientific method in practice. The article, which focuses on an Alzheimer's experiment performed on rats, has very limited information, so learners must be able to...
Curated OER
Dinosaurs
Students are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...
Curated OER
Introduction to Writing Traits and Writing Strategies
Intended for an audience of teachers, this presentation lays out the six traits of writing, the writing process, and the teaching process for traits and strategies. If you are trying to understand the writing process more fully, you...
Curated OER
Nahuatl Culture
Middle schoolers read stories, look at maps, and write journal entries to learn about the language and artwork of Nahuatl culture. In this Nahuatl culture lesson plan, students research the Nahuatl culture and present their findings.
Curated OER
Reading With Expression
Reading with fluency and expression is an important skill for beginning readers to develop. They discuss what it means to read with expression and observe the teacher reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears without any interest or...
Curated OER
Preparing Students to Read the Aeneid
Teaching the Aeneid this year? Read this quick article to develop some plans and strategies for teaching the epic poem to your advanced learners.
Orange County Public Schools
Five Little Penguins
Create adorable penguin-themed books and manipulatives with this cool resource. Instructions for use are provided, as are the stars of the show: five warmly dressed penguins who decide to go for a dip.
Curated OER
Drama/Theatre
Students discover how setting, props, and character-action communicate information about the characters and the story. Access to videos and a video camera are important to make this lesson a success.
BBC
Words In The News: Japan Textbook Back In Spotlight
High-interest articles are a great way to get struggling readers to tackle difficult vocabulary. Here is a lesson that includes such an article. It is focused around a very interesting and controversial article about the teaching of...
Curated OER
Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.
Curated OER
Quel temps fait-il?
Hit all the basics with this lesson, focusing on weather, greetings, and dates! Start by singing a weather related song ("Quel temps fait-il by Barbara MacArthur is suggested), and then read a story about getting ready for school. The...
Curated OER
What's Fair?
Students investigate the concept of fairness. For this fairness lesson, students discuss fairness and how different people view it in different ways. They read stories which deal with fair and unfair.
Curated OER
Editing - Improving Our Writing
This short, but informative, presentation does a good job of teaching valuable skills associated with editing writing. Learners practice editing pieces of writing, and are introduced to powerful verbs and adverbs to make writing more...
Curated OER
Women's World Cup Champs
The Learning Network in conjunction with the New York Times provides an article for reading and questions for short answers and discussion. If you are looking for a rainy day activity or just a time-filler this story titled, "Women's...
Curated OER
News Quiz | Jan. 4, 2012
What does your class know about the stories in today's paper? They read the articles and top headlines in the January 4, 2012 edition of the New York Times and then take a short quiz. The quiz contains five questions and can be done...
Harvard University
The Nouns of Geometry
Socratic questioning to teach Euclidean geometry? "The Nouns of Geometry," followed by "The Verbs of Geometry," and the misfit, "A Beginner's Story - The Equilateral Triangle" are designed to encourage learners to explore various topics...
Curated OER
Learning About Africa
Students examine one of the locations in Africa listed in the instructional activity focusing on location, climate, products, activities, and other information they use for their short story. They then write an outline of their story and...
Curated OER
Photo-Based Reading Projects
Students practice using a digital camera and identify the various parts. As a class, they review recent vocabulary and signs used in their community. In groups, they take pictures of various items and write complete sentences describing...
Curated OER
Learning to Share
Students participate in a lesson/activity where they learn to share their toys and crayons. They listen to a short story about sharing read aloud by the teacher to the students. They discuss the questions in the story and the...
Curated OER
Bobby's Big Birthday Party: Reading Comprehension
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a short story about a birthday party, then answer 6 multiple choice questions. Worksheet contains links to additional activities.