Curated OER
Disaster Relief - Power, Generosity and Leadership
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning instructional activity, students discover philanthropy's role in 4 economic sectors. Students examine how organizations responded to the Hurricane Katrina devastation...
Curated OER
Property, Theft and Generosity
Students examine excerpts of Lewis and Clark's journal entries during their expedition. They identify any disputes with the Indians over land and discuss how they might have been avoided. They add entries to their journals.
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and active...
National Gallery of Art
Islamic Art and Culture
Provided by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, this resource for teachers examines Islamic art, including calligraphy, arabesques, and geometric designs. A recounting of the spread of the faith and the tumultuous political...
Curated OER
Share Tactics
Learning how to share with one's classmates is a very important skill to have in school. Here, the technique of sharing is taught. Pupils receive one piece of paper and are put into groups. Each group only has six crayons. They must...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: Property, Theft and Generosity
Students participate in a simulated trade session similar to one that may have occurred at Wyam during the Lewis and Clark expedition. They determine how trade with the native people allowed the expedition to be successful.
Reed Novel Studies
Where The Mountain Meets The Moon: Novel Study
Does good fortune lie within the man in the moon? Minli, a young girl in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, sure hopes it does, so she sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon for answers. Along the way, Minli meets several magical...
University of Pennsylvania
Mock Trial of Alfred Dreyfus
What if scholars based mock trials on history? The fourth installment of a five-part series on the Dreyfus Affair asks learners to read various pieces of evidence before conducting a mock trial for a French officer. Teams answer...
Curated OER
Newspaper Stories
Students examine the structure of the newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students look at the different types of articles about giving, sharing, and acts for the common good. They realize the types of voice that are used in the...
Curated OER
Everyday Heroes
Pupils research how Ernie Pyle's descriptive narratives and "every man's" perspective of the war allow them to examine personal traits such as courage and heroism. The lesson can be extended to include more examples to teach character...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Analyze the use of balanced sentences and parallelism in a narrative. Included in this resource is a narrative about serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan titled, "The Train Ride Home". Middle and high schoolers review...
Curated OER
Pizza Biography
A biography writing lesson with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...
Reed Novel Studies
The Whipping Boy: Novel Study
Sometimes people find friendships in the most unlikely places, and The Whipping Boy is no different. Few would think that Jeremy and the Prince for whom he takes whippings could ever become friends. However, after a hostage situation...
Reed Novel Studies
Ruby Holler: Novel Study
A journey of a lifetime awaits you in Ruby Holler. Troublesome orphaned twins pair up with an older couple for a magical adventure. However, the journey must begin with the pairs staying together in Ruby Holler. Scholars soon learn of...
Curated OER
Hurricane Katrina Relief
Students research philanthropic organizations that helped after Hurricane Katrina. They organize a collection drive to contribute to the nonprofit organization. They reflect on their efforts.
Curated OER
The Importance of Being Flexible and Open-minded as a Visitor to Another Culture: Lesson 2 For "The Train Ride Home"
Students examine the advantages of being flexible when visiting or living in a different culture. They read and discuss a first-hand account by a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, and write a letter from the point of view of a...
Curated OER
Sleuthing A Writer's Skills
Students read The Train Ride Home by Robin Solomon. In this literature response lesson, students will inspect the writing of Solomon to determine how she established a certain tone through her word choice and paragraph structure....
Curated OER
Restaurant Tipping Lesson
What do you do after a good meal, tip the server of course. The class calculates the appropriate tip to leave at a restaurant given certain bills. They identify the bill before and after tax and find the correct tip. A great way to put...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Students examine the story for use of balanced sentences and parallelism-two literary devices-and then practice using those devices in writing of their own. They combine the simple sentences grammatically into one correct sentence. A. I...
Curated OER
Sleuthing a Writer's Skills
Students examine the author's lively text to determine how she achieved her many literary effects. They discover the author's techniques in describing people and events, in setting tone, and in establishing pace. They reflect about the...
Curated OER
Poetry for the Common Good
Young scholars identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Young scholars construct...
Curated OER
Ilunga's Harvest Lesson
Students examine the culturally based impulse to share with others versus the impulse to watch out for oneself or one's immediate family. They probe the deeper meanings of "Ilunga's Harvest" and examine the impact of the events in...
Curated OER
Rosie's Roses Lesson Idea: Practice Hearing the R
Students focus on the sound of the letter /r/ after listening to Rosie's Roses by Pamela Duncan Edwards. In this letter /r/ instructional activity, students identify animals in the book that contain the /r/ sound. They sort /r/ words...
Curated OER
Caring and Compassion
In this caring and compassion learning exercise, students read a set of guidelines on how to be a caring person, then complete a set of discussion questions based on a referenced video. Suggestions for writing assignments and activities...