Joy Uzarraga
Famous American Research Project
Designed specifically for lower elementary pupils, this is a great biographical research project in which students research a famous American, and then design creative poster boards to help them "become" the famous American they have...
Curated OER
Biopoem
Reinforce the actions, emotions, and characteristics that determine what a character is like by having your middle schoolers create a biopoem using the model presented here. You could engage them first by having them write a poem about...
Curated OER
Author's Day
Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....
Judicial Branch of California
American Heroes
What makes a hero? After discussing the term and considering a book about Franklin D. Roosevelt, classmates work together to write a script and present their biography of a Great American hero. Notes sheets help group members organize...
Curated OER
Biocomplexity Research: Wanted: Biocomplexity Scientist
Students use the internet to research and create a Biography of a Biocomplexity Scientist. They name one scientist that they have investigated in the past few years and explain what they did. Students are given a list of 30 scientists...
Captain Planet Foundation
George Washington Carver and the Sweet Potato
Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...
Curated OER
Who Am I? - Brainstorming
Students brainstorm lists of places, events and relationships that define them. They search for clip art and pictures in magazines to illustrate the items on their list and create a graphic timeline of their lives.
Curated OER
I've Just Seen a Face: Portraits
Students examine portraits for different images they project, cite three purposes a portrait can serve, analyze portraits of historical figures, and relate biographical research to portraits.
Curated OER
Click! Writing Through Digital Photography
Young scholars take their own digital photographs and scan them onto the computer. For each photograph, they write about them and use the internet to research their subject in the photo more throughly. They are graded based on a rubric...
Union Elementary School District
Famous Dead People Project
Despite the slightly off-putting title, the instructions and activities detailed in these project guidelines for researching a noteworthy figure will serve as a fantastic supplement to your next famous person research assignment.
Black History Month Report
Black History Month Report
As part of Black History Month, class members investigate in depth the life and work of an African American musician.
Curated OER
Judging a Book by Its Cover
Students explore the relationship between the form of books and the content inside. In this book exploration lesson, students use a piece of their creative writing as inspiration; they author a written book and design a cover that...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Understanding Theme
The ninth in a fourteen-lesson series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking in with the...
Curated OER
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Who would you love to see at your table? Groups research a decade, ranging from the 1840s to the 1960s, read a short story associated with that decade, and plan a dinner party, complete with table set-up and menu. After researching...
Secondary Solutions
Of Mice and Men: A Literature Guide
Whether you are planning on using Of Mice and Men for whole-class reading or as a selection for literature circles; whether you are new to John Steinbeck's novel, or it has long been a part of your curriculum, you will find a wealth of...
Channel Islands Film
Telling Your Own Story
After watching and discussing a video on the Voyage of Cabrillo, individuals craft their own origin story and design and build an artifact they feel best represents their history.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
Accompany a reading of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a thorough literature packet. Although the materials are meant to prepare readers for a timed essay, the background information and the activities are sure to engage...
American Battlefield Trust
Creating Civil War Multimedia
What was it like to live through the Civil War? Learners investigate the question by creating multimedia presentations. With a scaffolded approach that includes research, creating a biopic poem, storyboard, and then polished multimedia...
Curated OER
Annotated Time Line
Students write biographies and timelines of famous people. They research a famous historical figure and his associated events. They write a two-page biography of the figure and create a timeline detailing the events of his life. They...
Curated OER
If I Could Have Been Somebody Else
Students research a specific person from American history who played a significant role and had an impact on future events and situations. They write a multi paragraph essay which includes three reasons explaining why they would have...
Curated OER
Cesar Chavez Biopoem
Young scholars demonstrate their learning about Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union by writing a biopoem. They word process the poem.
Curated OER
Lots of Lessons from Aesop
Aesop’s Fables offer young learners an opportunity to study figurative language. After reviewing theme, simile, alliteration, and metaphor, model for your pupils how to identify examples of these devices in the fable. Class members then...
Teaching English
Poetry Project in Three Parts
It’s poetry T.I.M.E! Individuals use the T.I.M.E. format (T = Title, thought, and theme; I = Imagery and figurative language; M = music and sound; E = emotion) to study a poet, collect poems that have a similar theme, and create a...
Curated OER
Multimedia Book Report
Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...