Curated OER
Chivalry and Courtly Love
Eleventh graders examine chivalry and courtly love. In this Arthurian legend lesson, 11th graders explore the legend and how chivalry, honor, and courtly love have been internalized into today's culture. Students author and perform plays...
Curated OER
A World of Myths
Students read and write myths. In this world mythology instructional activity, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths to explain natural phenomena.
Curated OER
Elements of Myth
Young scholars read and act out myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they prepare presentations of myths that explain natural phenomena.
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: Prized Possessions
Students consider the role of Sacagawea as part of the Corps of Discovery. In this Lewis and Clark expedition lesson, students discover details about Sacagawea's wampum belt and then create their own wampum belts using their computer and...
Curated OER
Playing with Puns
Students examine the wit of characters in two plays. For this drama lesson, students read The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary L. Blackwood and Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. Students analyze the puns used in both plays and write essays that...
Curated OER
Writing Folktales
Students consider the structure of folktales. In this writing skills instructional activity, students list the attributes of folktales that they read in class. Students then complete handouts based on the elements of the tales as well as...
Curated OER
Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing activity, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used....
Curated OER
The Monkey Dance: Exploring Balinese Culture
Students explore Balinese culture. In this Balinese integrated fine arts instructional activity, students listen to a podcast of "The Monkey Dance," taking notes about important features of the dance. Students participate in a jigsaw...
Curated OER
Understanding Tenement Life
Learners look at life for immigrants in the 19th century. In this immigrant lesson, students discuss how the poor German, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants lived in tenement housing. They research the reasons they came to America...
Curated OER
Our Half-Birthday Party
Students practice fractions, especially 1/2, by participating in a Half-Birthday Party by playing various math games.
Curated OER
Sixteenth Street: Civil Rights at the Crossroads
Students study the Civil Rights movement constructing definitions of discrimination, prejudice and racism. They use varied media to study the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, write a newspaper and complete a mock trial.
Curated OER
Island of the Blue Dolphins Jigsaw
Fourth graders research three topics from the book, either Village Life, Sea Life, or San Nicholas Island. They research independently and meet in a jigsaw format to share what they learned. As group they create a poster for class...
Curated OER
Critical Pedagogy
Learners read Ruthanne Lum McCunn's Thousand Pieces of Gold and as a class, discuss the Chinese practice of foot binding. They work in groups to read further about how women of different cultures attempt to conform. They write about...
Curated OER
- Making Metaphors with Munchies
Students brainstorm independently first, then ask their best friend on the team, or seat partners, depending on the year & student mix, to add to their list of personal characteristics and/or to name three words they think of...
Curated OER
Let's sum it all up!
Students identify that comprehension is the main goal in reading. Then they read the words in a text, but also draw information from what they read. Students also identify and practice summarization. They read a piece of text and...
Curated OER
Creating Characters
Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the methods of...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Students read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of caterpillars. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library...
Curated OER
Whales
Students compare the differences between whales and fish. They examine the differences of toothed and baleen whales. They identify behavioral and physical characteristics of animals that help them survive in their habitat.
Curated OER
A Splendid Summarization
Students review three steps to follow to correctly summarize a written passage. Through modeling, guided and independent practice, they distinguish between unimportant and important information and summarize an article using these steps.
Curated OER
First-Aid and Emergencies
Students demonstrate how much they know concerning first-aid using real life examples to figure out what to do in emergency situations.
Curated OER
Make Lemonade
Students participate in pre-reading activities such as looking at the graphics on the cover, reading the synopsis on the back cover, reading the dedication, and discussing the title. Students read the text aloud, stopping at strategic...
Curated OER
First-Aid and Emergencies
Students complete a pre-test to determine what they already know about what to do in an emergency. In groups, they read real-life scenerios and decide what the proper way to handle the situation. To end the lesson, they present their...
Curated OER
"Julie of the Wolves"
Fifth graders research life in Alaska and compare life there to their lives in this instructional activity. They read "Julie of the Wolves." They research through the novel and other reference books facts about the Alaskan climate and...