Curated OER
"Theseus and the Minotaur"
Learners analyze the features of myths and legends. They read the myths "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "Orpheus and Eurydice," identify the myth story elements, evaluate each story for the overall theme, describe the characters, and...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Clap Your Hands
Read Clap Your Hands to explore new vocabulary with your class. In this three-tiered vocabulary lesson plan, youngsters read the book and identify the plot, setting, and characters. They also define vocabulary terms from the book and...
Curriculum Corner
Fiction Organizer
Teach your youngsters about the elements of plot with this handy graphic organizer. Pupils note down the main character, the setting, the problem, and the solution of any fictional story they read.
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Dancing through Poetry
Get your class up and moving as they explore how to express movement and dance through words. Designed around two poems by Lillian Morrison about break dancing, the activity truly captures the creative and multi-sensory aspects of...
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Fiction Elements in Hatchet
Students read or listen to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, identify elements of fiction, develop writing, thinking, and organizing skills, and create PowerPoint slides based on the story.
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Author Study
Learners examine and identify the characteristics of the different genres of literature. After being read and reading various stories, they identify how different books by the same author carry the same story elements. They discuss how...
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Read and Remember - Story Grammar
Students use the Story Grammar strategy to outline the main elements of the story which will help them with free recall and cued recall. The strategy includes: identifying the main characters in the story, recalling where and when the...
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Stacy Bodin's "Digesting a Story" Unit
Second graders create a story and role-play the story using edible items to create a final story-video project. For this edible story lesson, 2nd graders write their own stories using literary format and elements. Students then create a...
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Reading Partners
Students participate in several activities using a reading partner. They plan and organize reading meetings with their partner, and then review story elements by retelling the stories orally. The partners question each other and make...
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Using Comics to teach Habitat and the Balance of Nature
Students visit a specific online comics website to view a comic. They discuss the elements of the food chain that were seen in the story. They choose an inhabitant of the pond habitat that they have been reading about and do a research...
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Assembling A Story
Students observe, discuss, and interpret Radcliffe Bailey's work "By the River" by creating a personal narrative of the 18th or 19th century. Internet access is required and related links are offered for teaching aides.
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Incorporating Literature into Social Studies Teaching and Learning
Students engage in a study of incorporating literature into the Social Studies classroom. They review a variety of literature sources and then create a bulletin board with the information. Then students practice using the Reader's...
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Teaching the Five Themes of Geography Through Picture Books
Read the story Make Way for Ducklings and introduce little ones to the five themes of geography. Reread the story, while displaying transparencies to reinforce the five themes. In groups, learners view pictures and identify the themes on...
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Read a Transportation Story
Sixth graders read a story about intercontinental truck drivers and their journeys. For this transportation lesson, 6th graders read the novel Kamyonistan by Robert Hackford and discuss the travels of the truck driver through the Middle...
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Because of Winn-Dixie Scrapbook
Here is a fun resource that your kids will love. While reading the book Because of Winn-Dixie, they analyze the story's main characters by creating an online scrapbook. The purpose is to have them identify character traits and use...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
American Immigration Law Foundation
An Immigrant’s Experience
After interviewing an immigrant about their voyage to the United States and first impressions of the country, young learners create a fictional series of journal entries and design an iMovie depicting their interviewee's story.
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Searching for Cinderella
Young scholars take a closer look at Cinderella stories. In this literature lesson plan, students discuss the attributes of Cinderella stories from around the world and conduct research to find where the "Aschenputtel" story originated....
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Children's Book Creations
Students create a children's book version of the Japanese folk story "Momotaro Boy of the Peach" and present the story to elementary students. In this children's book lesson, students design their book to explain Japanese culture to...
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Writing a Mystery Story
Students examine the elements of mystery stories and read Rage in Harlem. In reciprocal teaching groups, they discuss the author's development of the story, and complete dialectical journals.
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Break the Pentomino Code!
Students read and analyze the book, Chasing Vermeer. They discuss the main story elements, analyze how pentominoes are important to the story, use a pentomino code to decipher a message, and create a secret code of their own.
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The Holocaust: Retelling the Story
High schoolers compare and contrast two different presentations of Holocaust experiences. They participate in class discussions and write journal entries to explore the differences between the book "Until We Meet Again" and the film...
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Teaching Others About Being Deaf
Pupils read two articles about how college students taught others about being blind or deaf. In their school, they interview pupils with a physical challenge and use the internet to research how to write about those with disabilities....
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A Togolese Tale: The Big Fire
Students identify common elements found in folk tales and read a Togolese folk tale told by Fred Koehler. They analyze the folk tale for its elements and compare and contrast it with well-known Western folk tales.