Curated OER
"I Never Knew That!"
Incorporating To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, narrative writing, and friendly letters, this lesson plan is ideal for any number of units in your classroom. First, read chapter 10 of the novel, noting Scout and Jem's reactions to...
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Parts of Speech Adjectives: Building Blocks of Grammar
How do you describe a jellyfish? Individuals write adjectives for Nomura's jellyfish, take notes, and check understanding with a formative assessment. Notes include the definition for adjectives, guiding questions to help writers...
Curated OER
The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version. This lesson includes several culminating project...
Curated OER
A Primary Source Picture Book
Travel through Europe with ten-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in this writing activity, which uses the picture book My Tour of Europe: by Teddy Roosevelt, by Ellen Jackson. After reading the book, readers compare it to passages from The...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing I
Examine the characteristics of an effective persuasive paper. In a group, eighth graders discuss the analogy of a debate being like a persuasive paper. After brainstorming topics, they write an argument and then debate it. Secretly, the...
Curated OER
Rooting One's Way to Meaning
Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...
Curated OER
Behind Closed Doors
Students explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking lesson plan, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a door as a...
Curated OER
Conventions: Adjectives
Investigate adjectives with writers. They define adjectives and create their own sentences describing objects found at home using adjectives correctly. Focus on the five senses and sensory details.
Curated OER
Poetic Elements Are Fun!
Engage your class in the elements of poetry with a series of lessons and activities. The plans cover simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and imagery. Learners come up their their own metaphors, identify poetic...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: Biopoem
As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.
Curated OER
Character Bust: Ceramics Lesson
Whether it is a protagonist, antagonist, hero or heroine, characters are a must in any story. Learners analyze a character from a narrative they are reading, then use that character as inspiration. They create a ceramic bust depicting...
Curated OER
Opportunity Knocks, But It Costs, Too!
Sixth graders write a reflection piece, outlining each of the decision-making steps they have used and what decision they have decided upon, which includes possible solutions, as well as possible outcomes for each solution. They also...
Reed Novel Studies
Ella Enchanted: Novel Study
Ella in Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted receives the gift of obedience and must do what others tell her, but her strong personality struggles with this gift. Scholars review how Ella handles her fate by completing...
Reed Novel Studies
Fuzzy Mud: Novel Study
Trouble always finds trouble. While avoiding a bully, Tamaya and Marshally from Fuzzy Mud take a trip through the off-limit woods and find themselves lost. To complete the worksheet study, scholars analyze several literary devices, learn...
Reed Novel Studies
Lily's Crossing: Novel Study
War affects much more than just soldiers. Lily and Albert in Lily's Crossing know that better than anyone as World War II affects both of them in different ways. Scholars use vocabulary words, answer questions, and work with literary...
Reed Novel Studies
Out of My Mind: Novel Study
Have you ever felt trapped in your own body? That is likely how Melody in Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind feels. As scholars read to find out how Melody finally expresses herself, they complete sentences with new words, describe...
Reed Novel Studies
Tuck Everlasting: Novel Study
Would you want to live forever? That is a question that Winnie, in Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, must answer. Scholars read to find out what Winnie chooses and reinforce their knowledge with vocabulary activities,...
Reed Novel Studies
The Shakespeare Stealer: Novel Study
Have you ever been stuck between a rock and a hard place? That is where Widge, a character of The Shakespeare Stealer, finds himself. Readers find out how Widge handles his situation by answering comprehension questions, completing...
Reed Novel Studies
Pictures of Hollis Woods: Novel Study
Scholars read about Hollis, an orphan in Pictures of Hollis Woods, and complete worksheet activities. Activities include using vocabulary words to complete sentences, answering comprehension questions, and writing poetry.
Reed Novel Studies
Surviving the Applewhites: Novel Study
The Bradys, the Flintstones, and the Simpsons are some of pop culture's most memorable families. So how do the Applewhites stack up? Using a novel study for Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, scholars answer text-based...
Reed Novel Studies
The Yearling: Novel Study
Ever known the feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place? Jody, a character in The Yearling, knows this feeling all too well. Nature forces Jody to choose between his beloved pet and his family's food supply. Readers...
Reed Novel Studies
Wolf Hollow: Novel Study
Annabelle, a young character in Wolf Hollow, discovers one bully can ruin everything when Betty walkes into her classroom. Betty bullies others and targets a war veteran. Individuals read how one person changed Annabelle's life. They...
Reed Novel Studies
War Horse: Novel Study
Some war heroes have four legs. War Horse tells of a courageous foal taken from his farm and sent into war. Joey, the foal, loves and touches the lives of many soldiers. However, his heart is still with his boy back on the farm. Scholars...
Reed Novel Studies
Scat: Novel Study
If the most terrifying teacher in the school was lost, would you try to find her? Well, when the toughest teacher in the school is lost on a field trip, Nick and Marta, characters in Scat, decide to go looking for her. Readers discover...