Curated OER
Imagery Lesson Plan
Students are introduced to the term imagery. Individually, they read "The Dream Deferred" and note examples of imagery in the poem. To end the lesson, they write their own poem making sure to use the five components of imagery.
Curated OER
Night of the Twister
Students use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Students complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the...
Curated OER
Romanticism
Students engage in a study of Romanticism in an attempt to build a context for how it was used. They write a 5 paragraph essay using literary devices they are familiar with. They should go back and edit their work before accepting it as...
Curated OER
Organizational Patterns
Eighth graders identify organizational patterns in their tests. Individually, they list five major organizational patterns and write a definition of each one. Students, in groups, assign responsibilities and complete assignment sheets...
Curated OER
Organizing Ideas
Students organize facts into categories and list the structure of a five-paragraph essay. They identify the main idea and outline the supporting details. In the class, students discuss how they organized their ideas and begin drafting...
Curated OER
SATP Basic Parts of an Informative Essay
Students identify the elements of an informative essay. Through a teacher led discussion, students explore the basic parts of a five paragraph essay and , using a hamburger as an analogy, students label the pieces. They discuss the...
Curated OER
Five Simple Poems
Learners listen as the teacher explains what poetry is as well as describes several types of poetry such as haiku, free verse, limerick, cinquain, and an acrostic. Students read examples of each type of poetry. They compose a poem...
Curated OER
Peer Editing / Revision
Complete the steps of the writing process. Emerging writers present final drafts of essays that include thesis statements, appropriate paragraphing, elaboration, and style. They participate in a peer editing activity that requires them...
Curated OER
Who? What? Why? - Using Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are an important part of learning the interrogative sentence form. Middle schoolers learn about using interrogative pronouns in sentence writing, and use what they read to answer the nineteen questions on the...
Curated OER
Writing a Summary
Skim, reread, and then take notes. The step-by-step procedure outlined in this resource can be used to help pupils write a summary of a reading passage. Using their notes, class members then draft a summary focusing on the main idea and...
Curated OER
Fairy Dictionary
Use artwork to illicit responses in a writing journal, and then present your class with the short list of key terms provided. Can your learners add any of their own key terms? Segue for a second, and read tales such as Peter Pan or...
Curated OER
Listening To a Guest Speaker
Pupils review the main points of note-taking to summarize the content of a formal or informal spoken presentation. They hear a guest speaker talk about a pre-arranged topic and take notes during the presentation. Next, they write a...
Curated OER
Ready, Aim, Focus!
Use photography as a tool to improve writing skills. Provide pupil pairs with a digital camera and challenge them to capture images of the classroom they find visually striking. Each class member then composes a descriptive piece about...
Curated OER
Write a Story
Here is a great way to explore narrative writing! Learners review a previously constructed story map and identify the characters, setting, and main events in the book Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock retold by Eric A. Kimmel. They...
Curated OER
Capitalization and Punctuation
First and second graders explore writing conventions. They add question marks or periods to the end of teacher generated sentences on sentence strips. They locate punctuation marks in poems and write original sentences using appropriate...
Curated OER
Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation
Elementary schoolers explore writing conventions. First they play a ball toss game to practice spelling high frequency words. (A link to a 2nd grade list is attached.) The class works together to correct spelling, punctuation, and...
San José State University
Revising for Clarity: Characters and Their Actions
This handout offers a three-step process for revising sentences for clarity: diagnose, analyze, revise. After reading an example sentence revision with a detailed explanation, learners complete three sample sentences using the three-step...
Curated OER
Organizing Your Argument
Constructing a well-organized argument is the focus of this tutorial, originally created for the Purdue University writing program. The slides can be adapted for any composition course or writing unit.
Mathematics Vision Project
Circles: A Geometric Perspective
Circles are the foundation of many geometric concepts and extensions - a point that is thoroughly driven home in this extensive unit. Fundamental properties of circles are investigated (including sector area, angle measure, and...
Student Handouts
Blank Pyramid Charts
From feudal societies to European monarchies, a blank pyramid template can support your learners in understanding social hierarchies and distinctions between classes.
Mr. E. Science
Motion
An informative presentation covers motion, metric system, conversions, graphing of coordinates and lines, speed, velocity, and acceleration problems, as well as mean calculations. This is the first lesson in a 26-part series.
National Gallery of Art
Islamic Art and Culture
Provided by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, this resource for teachers examines Islamic art, including calligraphy, arabesques, and geometric designs. A recounting of the spread of the faith and the tumultuous political...
School Improvement in Maryland
Analysis of Marbury v. Madison
Should the United States Supreme Court have the power of judicial review? Instructors guide class members through a review of Marbury v. Madison and assist class members in writing a brief of the case. As independent practice,...
National Gallery of Art
Van Gogh’s Self-Portraits
Scholars get to know famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, as an artist as well as a person. After reading personal letters and analyzing paintings, participants paint two self-portraits that represent their personality. Then, write a...