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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Author's Purpose

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read the book Talkin' About Bessie and write a paragraph about the author's purpose. In this author's purpose lesson plan, 4th graders include examples from the story.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Debating Iraq

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze the main themes of President Bush's UN Speech and discussion of the NewsHour report on the Iraq Debate. In this debate lesson plan, students answer pre-listening questions and view a transcript of the speech. In groups...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Newspaper

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders write a website based school newspaper using a variety of literary forms to present the news of the school.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tennessee Williams: Exploring the American Dream

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars read and analyze selections of Tennessee Williams' work. They write journal responses, conduct Internet research, perform various scenes from one of Williams' dramas, and create a presentation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Vanishing Verbs

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students analyze recent media trends, and develop critical thinking skills by summarizing main ideas, extracting details, formulating opinions, drawing inferences, and comparing and contrasting attitudes. They also practice paraphrasing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dou

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights lesson, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates to human...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Truman Capote: Other Voices, Other Rooms

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read and analyze Truman Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory." They discuss writing styles, conduct Internet research on Truman Capote, write a book review, and write a short story based on one of Truman...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choose Your Path

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers identify the plot and theme of cartoons. In groups, they discuss and compare the written and movie versions of popular fairy tales. Individually, they write their own fairy tale and share them with the class. They...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify forms of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MONSTERS AND MYTHS: SCRIPTS /SCULPTS

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders are introduced to myths formed by many cultures as a unique genre of literature. They use critical thinking skills to compare and contrast mythic tales, compare versions of the same story, and respond to literature in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Author of the Month

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research authors on the Web each month in based on the themes in their reading book. They create an author booklet which includes a picture and biographical information.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"What is an American?"

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders ponder about what it means to be an "American." They discuss the impact of an author's word choice and sentence structure on text. They identify some major themes and development of the Letters... Compose paragraphs and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Literature to Teach Bullying

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore signs and types of bullying. In this "building character" lesson, students listen to several read alouds based on a bully theme. Four groups are formed to discuss "gossip", "exclusion", "physical bullying", and "verbal...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Publication Project

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders publish a magazine during a ten week marking period. They make individual contributions to the group project that is based on career choices. They write and publish articles, poems, entertainment pieces, and a play that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A World of Myths

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lord of the Rings: The Quest is Achieved

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars analyze what makes a hero in The Lord of the Rings, Book Six. They discuss the characters and the aspects of their behaviors that make them heroes and write essays regarding the climax and heroic gestures of a character....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Holes

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students read and analyze the story elements of the novel "Holes" by Louis Sachar. They play a "Holes" matching game, complete a timeline of story events, complete a Cause-and-Effect graphic organizer, conduct research on Louis Sachar's...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Conservative Era

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this Conservative Era worksheet, young scholars write definitions for six terms, examine five pairs of sentences then determine which one is false, then link two sets of words together by identifying which historical theme they share...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Messages in Art Work

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Observe images and discuss what messages they convey. In this critical thinking lesson plan, students determine whether works of art are trying to persuade their audience. They also consider the media and how they communicate messages to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Did Slavery Impact Our Nation?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders closely examine the effects of slavery on American society giving special emphasis to the issue of social injustice, the life of Harriet Tubman, the underground railroad and the achievements of Abraham Lincoln during this...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is there a stone in my soup?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students observe teacher's inappropriate classroom procedures such as tattling, pushing, or interrupting. In this showing respectful behaviors lesson, students respond to scenarios created by the teacher and address what the appropriate...
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Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Who Am I?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore how people throughout time have responded to questions regarding identity. For this The House on Mango Street lesson, 6th graders create an identity chart for a fictional character and then write personal essays...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

The Impact of a Poem's Line Breaks: Enjambment and Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks use of enjambment in her poem "We Real Cool." In this poetry analysis activity, students define common poetic devices and the examples of enjambment in the poem. Young scholars discuss the poem...