Curated OER
The Great Depression: Lesson 1
Students recognize how the causes of the Great Depression affected people and their jobs. For this Great Depression lesson, students understand that most of the time news only came from newspapers. Students write a letter as though...
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Practical Writing in the Intermediate Grades
Students discuss lists of interesting topics on which to write. They explore those things that interest them, excite them and express themselves freely. They organize the value of their own thoughts and use their individual lists that...
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Creative Writing: Halloween Theme
Second graders are read a book about different authors. They identify the parts of a story such as plot and setting. They brainstorm topics for their own paper and begin the writing process. They create a final copy of their story about...
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Lesson Plan C32: Story Starts
Students write story starters to begin the writing process. In this creative writing lesson plan, students examine story starters and review the structure of paragraphs. Students create their own story starters that engage readers...
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Fable Writing
Students listen to and discuss various fables, and identify the moral and central themes. They write their own personal fables and create illustrations to go with them.
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Homemade Holidays
Foster your high schoolers' creativity - and generosity - with this writing lesson. After reading the article "Homemade Holiday Gifts" by Frances Janisch (from the GALE Student Resource Center - Gold), pupils meet in groups to brainstorm...
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Encouraging Students to Embrace Their Inner Author
Everyone is a writer! Youngsters compose an original piece of writing. In this writing lesson, they come up with their own idea for a piece of writing, revise it, and then publish it with illustrations. This lesson includes three...
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Singing the Blues with Garageband
Music composition can be easy with a little software assistance. The class uses Garageband to listen to, write, sing, and record a blues song. They listen to the song provided through the software, write their own lyrics to the song,...
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Vivid Verbs
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
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Don't Let the Earth Down
Although recycling is definitely beneficial, reducing our waste and conserving our natural resources should really be the focus of environmentalists. Encourage the future generation to create a public service announcement about a...
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Dr. Seuss and Read Across America
What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...
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The Personal Narrative - Part Five
Create a class anthology with your young writers. In this personal narrative instructional activity, each writer reflects on actions and events from their own lives and chronicles them in a three-part written sequence. They create a...
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How to 'Write Right'!
Students practice their reading, writing, and listening skills by completing the sentence writing journal activity. In this reading and writing sentences lesson, students read sentences from the board, identify vocabulary within the...
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Validating Votes
Explore the discrepancies in Florida's vote counting process in 2000 and 2002 with this New York Times reading instructional activity. Middle schoolers study the viewpoints presented in informational text, paying attention to how...
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Does 1 + 1 always = 2
What a great way to explore the scientific process! Learners conduct an experiment in which they use sugar and water to illustrate the concept of solutes and solvents. With this hands on approach, they are bound to remember what they...
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Learning to Interview
An authentic and engaging way to practice literacy skills, this lesson calls for young language arts pupils to conduct interviews with classmates and family members. First, pupils watch as the teacher models the interview process with a...
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An Animal Report
Third graders create reports in the fashion of small books. They write brief descriptions for a variety of topics and answering a variety of questions. They create a picture book for their individual animals. They utilize basic computer...
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The Electronic Exit Portfolio (EEP)
Here's a fresh take on the student writing portfolio. Consider having learners create an electronic portfolio. After examining sample e-portfolios, class members explore various software programs they will use throughout the course and...
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Wild Horses of the Outer Banks
Students explore animal habitats. In this cross curriculum animal survival and writing lesson, students view a website about wild horses on Shackelford Island and discuss ways in which the horses have changed to this...
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Letters to Poets
Add a strong poetry lesson to your literature unit. Middle and high schoolers investigate their writing voices with journaling and group discussion, then choose a famous poet to study. They write letters to their chosen poets, explaining...
EngageNY
Claim, Reasons, and Evidence: Planning the Body Paragraphs
Planning is the key to success. Scholars continue planning their essays by adding reasons to their Planning My Argument graphic organizers. Additionally, pupils analyze a body paragraph from a model position paper, identifying the...
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Taking Outer Space to Cyber Space
Use the Internet, write an expository text, and have students share their knowledge of the planets in our solar system. They compose an expository writing piece and publish it to a web page.
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Noncombatancy and the Seventh day Adventist Church
Upper graders investigate how the Seventh Day Adventists are objectors to the practice of war. The activity covers the Civil War and examines the church's position about the practice of war. The research extends to modern wars and...
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I'm a Changed Pig
Introduce your class to fairy tales with this instructional activity. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the...