Novelinks
So Far from the Bamboo Grove: Visual Vocabulary and List-Group-Label
To make vocabulary words drawn from So Far from the Bamboo Grove memorable, class members select a word from the provided list and incorporate this word in a joke, story, or performance.
EngageNY
Final Performance Task: Character Confessional Narrative
You wrote it, now what? Learners take their writing to the next level when they perform it for classmates. They then engage in a self-reflection and assessment of their work to determine how well they hit targets, such as identifying...
Curated OER
Speech! Speech!
Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Curated OER
Discovering Japan Through Cooperative Research
Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...
Curated OER
Investigating Fables
Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable. Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...
Curated OER
Understanding Dialect as Used by Mark Twain
A reading of Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County not only offers pupils an opportunity to practice their listening skills but also provides them with examples of dialectic speech. This is the gol’derndest lesson...
Curated OER
The Quilting Connection....a Teaching Unit on Slavery, the Underground Railroad And Quilting
Students research the Internet, read designated books and selection, participate in discussions and write short reports while completing this series of lessons about slavery and the Underground Railroad. As a final project, they design a...
Curated OER
Primary Sources and Protagonists: A Native American Literature Unit
Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...
Art Institute of Chicago
African Myths and Stories
Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.
Curated OER
Foreign Language Lip-Sync Karaoke Contest
Teach your class about foreign language through transcribing lyrics. They will transcribe the lyrics of a song in a foreign language and use the lyrics to create a cloze activity as they listen and speak the language with their...
Curated OER
Book: Super Power: Americans Today
Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "Super Power: Americans Today," analyze the recognition of the quote, "Hunger does not breed reform; it breeds madness and all the ugly distempers that make an ordered life impossible," by...
Curated OER
Researching African Americans Who Made a Difference
Celebrate Black History Month with this lesson, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas, text, and graphics...
Curated OER
Nos Creemos Americanos: Braceros in History and Song
Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...
Curated OER
Quilt Squares-Literature Reporting
Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...
Curated OER
Discussing How Plants Grow
Study how plants grow with your English language learners with a cross-curricular lesson revolving around pumpkins. These activities provide opportunities to practice new scientific vocabulary while practicing skills such as estimating...
Curated OER
Pumpkin Science
Here is a nice instructional activity, which includes some good worksheets, on pumpkins and how they grow. It is an ESL instructional activity designed for beginning and early intermediate students. After listening to some books about...
Curated OER
Getting the Meaning in Pop Music
Critical thinkers compare the impact of visual versus aural perception in how they comprehend artistic intent. They consider the meaning of a set of pop lyrics first by reading them, then by listening to them orally, and finally viewing...
Curated OER
Arkansas Civil War Bandits and Outlaws
Young historians study civilian Arkansas during the Civil War. They look at the many challenges they faced to keep their homes in order while the men were at war. Learners hear stories of bands of outlaws who ravaged the state during...
Pennsylvania Bar Association
The Pied Piper vs. The City of Hamelin
How would the Pied Piper recover his damages from the deceptive citizens of Hamelin if the story took place today? Explore one of the Pied Piper's options with a short play that depicts a court case in which he sues the city of Hamelin...
Curated OER
Twisting Versions of Little Red Riding Hood
Students read orally two versions of Little Red Riding Hood (Classic and Cajun) They compare and contrast the two Little Red Riding Hood versions. Students create a concept map to demonstrate the comparisons/contrasts. They could also...
Curated OER
The United States and the Soviet Union were Engaged in a Cold War
Students work together at figuring out the definition for what cold war means. In this social science instructional activity, students listen to "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss and recognize how this story relates to the cold war...
Curated OER
Youth Helping to Elevate Awareness
Eighth graders read a book whose main character has a physical disability, and complete various related activities. They listen to a guest speaker, simulate experiences at school as a disabled individual through the use of wheelchairs,...
Curated OER
Holocaust Theme
Students complete a unit of lessons on the events of the Holocaust during WWII. They write daily journal entries, create a collage, view and discuss videos, read and analyze novels and poetry, and complete a novel project.
Curated OER
THE WRECK OF THE ZEPHYR
Students, while listening to a tape on the story The Wreck of the Zephyr, complete several assignments as the week progresses. Special note is placed on all written assignments.