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Worksheet
Curated OER

Tone and Mood

For Students 8th - 12th
How are mood and tone similar? Different? Help your readers understand the difference between the two with this helpful guide. On the first page, they read the definition for both tone and mood and identify words that are describe each....
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Organizer
Curated OER

Deconstructing an Advertisement

For Students 7th - 12th
Bring in a stack of magazines and distribute this advertisement analysis learning exercise to your emerging analysts. As your class members ponder an ad, they answer a series of questions to help them perform a complete analysis. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literary Newspaper: Candide

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Prejudice? Religious intolerance? Political sedition? Class distinction? Plight of women? Voltaire satire, anyone? A literary newspaper offers an opportunity for readers of Candide to make text-to-self and text-to-world connections as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tintin and I: Primary and Secondary Sources

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and Tintin? Belgian cartoonist Georges (Herge) Remi’s famous comic character launches a study of primary and secondary source material and the impact these sources have on storytelling. Class members also examine the...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Narrative Writing

For Teachers 8th Standards
Binoculars are used as a metaphor for good descriptive writing. Class members first view a small picture and then an enlarged view of the same image in which the details come into focus. Next, learners examine a paragraph lacking sensory...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modern Minstrelsy: Exploring Racist Stereotypes in Literature and Life

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Toulmin Argument Essay

For Teachers 11th - 12th
After viewing a Prezi presentation on Toulmin’s argument, (claim, reason, warrant, backing, grounds, qualifiers, rebuttals), groups re-examine the format, and then individuals craft an argument essay in response to Lord Chesterfields...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Character Analysis and The Crucible

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Readers of The Crucible use a SATDO chart to collect evidence they will use to craft interpretive statements and an analysis of one of Miller’s characters. Background information on the play and about Miller, links to handouts,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Here is a nicely designed lesson on ancestry and family history. In it, learners read an article entitled, "Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?" Then, they make up a series of questions to profile their family and their community 100...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graphic Novel Writing Workshop

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Khaled Hosseini’s video “Using Real People and Events” motivates learners to reflect on their own experiences and to use those experiences as the basis of a graphic novel that expresses a universal truth. The richly detailed plan...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Old Is Illinois?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers use fossils found in rocks to determine the age of the strata between Rock Island and Chicago. Pupils pretend they are geologists. They must determine the age of all rock layers between the Mississippi River and Lake...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Hyperbole Lesson Plans: Ideas for the Art of Exaggeration

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Hyperbole lesson plans and ideas that make figurative language instruction relevant to students' lives. Discover how to help learners better understand the figurative concept of hyperbole. A fantastic article which includes multiple web...
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Lesson Planet Article
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Curated OER

How to Implement Project Based Learning to Engage Students

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Can a math teacher employ project-based learning? Learn how one great math teacher uses PBL to design math projects that provide learners with a more challenging and holistic learning experience. A wonderful article, that includes three...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Atom

For Teachers 7th - 9th
If you are beginning a unit of study on atoms, this presentation would be an excellent way to begin! In it, learners discover many facts about atoms. For example, it would take 50,000 aluminum atoms stacked together to equal the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration Debate

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
The 2010 immigration bill passed in Arizona provides class members with an opportunity to examine various perspectives of the immigration debate by watching news videos, reading interview, editorials, and viewing images. Discussion...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Navajo Pottery: Beautiful Objects

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young potters make their very own version of the classic Navajo Pottery. With helpful worksheets and applicable cross-curricular activities, the lesson is an enriching way to mold both your clay and the multicultural acceptance of your...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Unknown Frost Poem Discovered

For Students 8th - 12th
What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

To Kill a Mockingbird: Theme

For Students 8th - 9th
So many themes are expertly woven through Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. On the first page, scholars will read five themes, selecting an incident and a quote to highlight that theme. On page two, they use chapters 29-31 to...
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

To Kill a Mockingbird: End of Novel Critical-Thinking Questions

For Students 9th - 10th
Chapters 28 – 31 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are the focus of a series of critical thinking questions. Responders are encouraged to refer directly to the novel to support their inferences and interpretations. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Walk Two Moons: The Lunatic Mystery Case Book

For Students 7th - 9th
Here’s the meatball in the bowl of spaghetti. Readers build a Lunatic Mystery Case Book, collecting evidence to support their prediction about the identity of the lunatic in Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech’s Newbery Medal winning novel....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Details, Details, Details

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Writing a Memorable Poem

For Students 7th - 12th
Nascent poets carefully examine a color photograph and then respond to a series of questions. Using these responses, they craft a poem prompted by the image. A link to powerful photos is included so the exercise can be repeated.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Hobbit

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Here’s a series of exercises designed to be used after readers have finished reading The Hobbit. Pairs identify the speaker of a series of quotes, match characters with qualities, and provide evidence from the story to support their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greed is Good?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...