Curated OER
Langston Hughes: Artist and Historian
Students examine the life and works of Langston Hughes. In groups, they research the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance and how Hughes' poems relate to the era. They use the themes in his writings and relate it to the Great...
Curated OER
Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
Curated OER
Bibim Bap For Dinner
Students participate in a literature analysis while reading the children's book "Bibim Bap For Dinner". The teacher performs a guided reading with the students while focusing on the skill of recognizing the main theme of the book....
Curated OER
Fables and Trickster Tales Around the World
Students analyze fables and trickster tales from various cultural traditions. In this fable analysis lesson, students identify the elements of fables and trickster stories. Students read Aesop's fables and Ananse spider stories....
Curated OER
Poetry and Paintings: A Comparative Study
Students find words for different feelings: sad, happy, annoyed, bored, puzzled, etc.
They think of colors which seem to fit each feeling. A painting is introduced and they are asked to verbalize how it makes them feel. What mood does...
Curated OER
Poetry-The Essence of Life
Students analyze and appreciate various types of poetry. In this poetry unit, students read classic and contemporary works to discover ways in which poetry expresses strong feelings. Students identify key vocabulary used to analyze...
Curated OER
Simile Stories
Fourth graders view song lyrics and identify similes in the song text. In this similes lesson, 4th graders define and identify similes on a worksheet. Students write their own similes using various adjectives.
Curated OER
Reading Plays
Students examine the role of tone in a comedy play. They also discover how to paraphrase a passage and explain a character's point of view.
Curated OER
Recognizing Similies: Fast as a Whip
Learners review what they have already learned about similies and begin to engage with similies on a deeper and more abstract level as they create their own.
Curated OER
Recognizing Similes: Fast as a Whip
Students review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes instructional activity, students define similes and identify examples. Students read and analyze the similes used in poetry by...
Curated OER
Greetings from Maya Angelou
Students investigate the life and works of Maya Angelou. They complete a Webquest, read poems, listen to a reading by Maya Angelou, answer discussion questions, and write a poem, short story, or essay based on a newspaper article.
Curated OER
African-American History and Culture in the English Classroom
Ninth graders identify and recognize characteristics of nonfiction in literary works, explore language and culture of Gullah people, compare and contrast purposes of spirituals and quilts in terms of their relationships to escape from...
Curated OER
Poetic Expression
Ninth graders evaluate the effectiveness of literary techniques including figurative language.
They demonstrate an understanding of the main ideas, events, or themes of a variety of novels, stories, poetry, other print material, and...
Curated OER
Art Curators
Young scholars use the Internet to select various works of art around a theme. They create a PowerPoint exhibit of these works and create the written documentation to accompany their presentation. They critique the class exhibits.
Curated OER
Myths and Folk Tales
Seventh graders perform research in order to appreciate stories taken from the genre of myths and fables. The examples of the stories create a context for students to create their own myths.
Curated OER
African Art and Personal Adornment: African Folktales
Students write a folktale based on an African adinkra symbol. They research its meaning and relate it as the theme.
Curated OER
A Courtly Love Poem
Students engage in a writing assignment to produce a thirteenth century Italian Courtly Poem. They imitate the literary patterns of writing to produce a unique poem using a model for example. Students review the basic terminology for...
Curated OER
Graphic Novel/Comics with Josh Elder
Students read about graphic novels and complete related activities. In this graphic novels lesson, students read about the genre and author Josh Elder. Students complete novel analysis activities for the lesson.
Curated OER
Reading For Pleasure
Students develop a variety of reading skills that diagnosis has revealed as lacking. They use this activity to promote pleasure in reading, to emergent readers to travel further into the world of books and begin to comprehend what rich...
Curated OER
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: A Literature Evaluation Project
Sixth graders read and analyze The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. They study the elements of literature found in the book. Students create an elements of literature flip book that shows the various elements of literature in the novel.
Curated OER
Learning Life Lessons through Fables
Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...
Curated OER
Because of Winn-Dixie
Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. They create a scrapbook of the characters in the book, play a reading comprehension maze game, and participate in an online...
Curated OER
Men of Steel
Students explore early 20th century steel making. In this U.S. history steel making lesson, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry. Students listen to a poem...
Appalachian State University
What Are Graphic Novels?
To do this engaging and pleasurable activity, your learners should have already read a graphic novel, and produced a piece of writing that can be reproduced into the format of a graphic novel. This exercise provides a script that...