Curated OER
Oliver/Kenyon
Learners, through two pieces of writing, identify poetic/language devices through the speakers, personification , imagery, metaphor, etc. They assess the patterns those devices are used in and analyze the theme of each. Each student...
Curated OER
Conceived in Light
Learners write a piece of free-verse poetry that incorporates or focuses on an idea about light. They brainstorm twenty phrases about light as a pre-writing activity.
Curated OER
Understanding Chinese Culture Through Reading
Young scholars examine the Chinese culture. They discuss the Chinese zodiac, identify their animal on the zodiac, listen to a Chinese folktale, and write an essay reflection on the Chinese zodiac or Chinese culture.
Curated OER
Creative Writing and Analysis
Learners read and analyze poems by Li Po and Wang Wei. They answer discussion questions, identify the elements of the poems, examine and discuss Chinese landscape paintings, write an original poem, and write a comparison/contrast essay.
Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
Museum of Tolerance
Immigration Journeys
Through the journey of four stories of immigration, scholars complete graphic organizers and apply knowledge to create a visual representation of their findings on a large poster. Third and fourth readers write a letter to their family...
Novelinks
The Martian Chronicles: Response Writing
Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before writing a...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
You know global warming is real when your squirrel feeder is full of popped corn instead of kernels! Activity two in a series of five allows learners to explore climate change through the eyes of another. After briefly analyzing their...
Curated OER
Ladies, Contraband, and Spies: Women in the Civil War
Students use primary sources - diaries, letters, and photographs - to explore the experiences of women in the Civil War. By looking at a series of document galleries, the perspectives of slave women, plantation mistresses, female spies,...
Curated OER
Bring No Poor Articles with You
Students compare their travel needs to homesteaders from the late 1800's in this multi-instructional activity unit. Students analyze a historic document, explain modes of transportation of the homesteaders, and articulate the personal...
Curated OER
Mind Libs
Students are told that they are going to do a fun activity similiar to "Mad Libs" in which they "fill in the blanks" to create funny stories. They are given a copy of Mind Libs Reproducible #1. Students follow the word suggestions in...
Curated OER
Cultura: Vias de Conciencia Ambiental
Students discuss what house and home represent in this country and read an article from a Venezuelan newspaper about environmental awareness. They create a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts environmental awareness and responsibility.
Curated OER
Great Women Thinkers
Students visit the Mary Baker Eddy museum. They discover the great women thinkers of the past. They make notes and observations during their visit and share them with the class.