Lesson Planet: Curated OER
When is a Theme Not a Theme?
When is a theme not a theme? The resources in this collection explain the difference between subject, motif, and theme, model how to determine the theme(s) in literature and art, and offer opportunities to practice identifying the themes...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
What Makes Democracy Work?
Eight lessons make up a collection designed to help high schoolers make sense of an election year. Class members learn about voting rights, the importance of a free press, and civic participation. The focus is on the 2020 presidential...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Plants Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A 190-page anthology explores the life and parts of plants, flowers, and trees while boosting reading comprehension skills. Literature and informational texts showcase Johnny Appleseed and George Washington Carver. Lessons follow the...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
A Christmas Carol - The Story
Thirty-six pages familiarize scholars with the story and vocabulary of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After reading and listening to an abbreviated version of the holiday tale learners show what they know about the sequence of...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Life In The Tomb - WW1 Author Stratis Myrivilis
Most learners likely are not familiar with Statis Myrivilis or his anti-war writings, but his works spur scholars to debate over the role of protest literature in wartime. While the video does situate Myrivilis within the context of the...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
A Reading Guide to A Wrinkle in Time
Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Common Core Teaching and Learning Strategies
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library, whether or not your school has adopted the Common Core. Designed for middle and high school language arts classes, the packet is packed with teaching tips, materials,...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Hoot Activities
If you're looking for engaging, cross-curricular, inquiry-based activities and projects to support your class reading of Carl Hiaasen's Hoot, you've come to the right place!
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Seven Ways to Instill a Love for Libraries
Show your classes the knowledge, resources, and fun a library has to offer!
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
"The Glorious Whitewasher" from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with Mini-Assessment
It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text as...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Explore Brothers and Sisters throughout Literature
Celebrate Brothers and Sisters Day on May 2, 2013 by studying sibling pairs in literature.
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Best Websites for English Teachers
Bookmark these grammar, writing, and literature websites to build your teaching arsenal, making life just a little bit easier.
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Lesson: Michael Blum: National Identity at a Distance
Immigration, refugees, and cultural change due to the movement of people around the globe is discussed. Learners examine the work of Michael Blum to gain an understanding of how national and cultural identities shift due to immigration....
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Lesson: Mixing Metaphors across Current Events and Literature
Expression, current events, and art can go hand-in-hand. After analyzing a multi-media piece entitled, Trade Canoe for Don Quixote, the class explores their own expressive process. They create collages that show a current event or issue...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Using Words as a Way into Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief
Use the Visual Thesaurus to predict the subject matter of Rick Riordan's book The Lightning Thief. A pre-reading activity encourages middle schoolers to use context clues and word meaning to discover what the book is about. After they...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Amelia Earhart
Your class can learn about Amelia Earhart and practice important comprehension skills here. Learners answer questions about cause and effect, compare texts, and discuss similes and metaphors after reading Amelia Earhart: Free in the...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Magic Tree House: Midnight on the Moon
Take your class to the moon with Midnight on the Moon! Then provide them with this short packet to develop vocabulary and practice reading comprehension. The first page has readers match vocabulary terms to their correct definitions. The...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
The Tell-Tale Hearts of Writers
Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking activity focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of a...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Shakespeare and Poe Teach Six-Trait Writing
A Six-Trait Writing instructional activity helps your middle schoolers liven up their word choice and shows them how to evaluate their own writing. Class members take a close look at the language used in poems by Shakespeare, Kipling,...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Printing and Publishing
Explore African literature and artwork in a multicultural literacy and art lesson plan. Begin with a read aloud of Tiger and the Big Wind: A Tale from Africa, and afterward, have kids retell the main events in the story. They identify...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Character Traits in Fables
Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this instructional activity is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
A Weave of Woods
Focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis while reading A Weave of Woods, a colorful picture book by Robert D. San Souci. Young learners use worksheets to preview, predict, practice paraphrasing, and make comparisons. The richly...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Twisted Tales
Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select another...
Lesson Planet: Curated OER
Waking Dreams: A Teacher's Guide
A teacher's guide for a seminar held at the Cincinnati Art Museum includes a full description of several Pre-Raphaelite art pieces, artists, and connecting literary works. Excerpts from authors and poets can help you make the connection...