Activity
Novelinks

Tuesdays with Morrie: K-W-H-L Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Readers of Tuesdays with Morrie are directed to use a K-W-H-L chart to record what they know, what they want to learn, how they will find information, and what they learned about a particular topic related to Mitch Albom's book.
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science

For Teachers 1st - 12th Standards
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Unit Plan
University of Kansas

Newspaper in the Classroom

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Lesson Plan
Film English

Music

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Some emotions are indescribable, but sometimes you have to try! After brainstorming adjectives that describe emotions, pupils watch a quick film, at first with no sound. Partners share their adjectives and come up with descriptions for...
Lesson Plan
Country Music Hall of Fame

Ray Charles and Country Music

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Ray Charles used the pain and adversity from his life to influence an entire genre of American music. Learn about the musician's daily life, struggles and success, and powerful musical style with a thorough resource.
Lesson Plan
Education Closet

West Side Shifts

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Combine math, language arts, music, and dance with an activity focused on "America" from West Side Story. After listening to the song, learners compare the film to Romeo and Juliet, analyze the song's meter, design choreography, plan...
Lesson Plan
NPR

Can You Beat Cognitive Bias?

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
In a time of fake news, media manipulation, and Internet trolls, a resource equips learners with the tools they need to recognize and combat resources that are designed to appeal to our cognitive biases. Introduce learners to five...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore the influence of the landscape of Ireland on shaping the poetry of William Butler Yeats. They work in groups researching the growth of the Irish Nationalist Movement, Celtic origins, invasions, and the impact on the...
Unit Plan
Washington University in St. Louis

Teaching Jazz as American Culture

For Students 6th - 12th
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
Interactive
ReadMagazine

William Shakespeare

For Students 9th - 12th
Is this an interactive resource I see before me? Fret not. Here's a resource filled with sound, and a bit of fury, sure to engage learners in a study of Shakespeare's Scottish play. User can view an interview with Shakespeare, examine...
Writing
Curated OER

Using the Internet - Art and Design

For Students 7th - Higher Ed
An interesting resource that might work best in an upper level art course, this handout provides a list of nine websites where young artists can read and study about all forms of art. These online resources range from a dictionary of...
Activity
Orlando Shakes

Les Misérables: Study Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A writer has the responsibility to defend the less fortunate members of society. At least that was the view of Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. The novel is the subject of a study guide from Orlando Shakespeare Theater....
Activity
Orlando Shakes

In the Heights: Study Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Before Hamilton, Lin Manuel-Miranda gained fame with In the Heights. A study guide prepares theater goers for a performance of the musical about a group of friends living in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Modest Proposal: Irony Made Understandable with Rock and Roll

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...
Lesson Plan
Newspaper in Education

Lesson 10: Studying Content-Specific Language

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Stanchion, spar, spinnaker. Right wing, sweeper, hip check. Every subject has specialized vocabulary. Here’s a fun way to introduce your learners to this jargon. Provide class groups with newspapers and have them search pre-selected...
Unit Plan
Bolton Healthy Schools

Deal with Poetry

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The stated goal of this unit is to use poetry to "improve the emotional health of young people." Budding poets read and then supply their own lines for poems that deal with alienation, loneliness, and rejection.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Call That Art? - Activity 1

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory activity for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Students compose an essay describing various art...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Roots And Styles Of Black Music - Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners identify many genres of Black music. They identify Black music as a reflection of the culture. They study many historically influential Black music artists, producers, and other contributors.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Music Styles - Lesson 1

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of rock, folk, blues, and country music. They identify two main musical roots of today's American popular music.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Latino Expression

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How much of your daily life is influenced by Latin American music? Take a listen—the answer may surprise you! High schoolers keep a journal to note any instances they see Latino culture represented, including the media, their school, and...
Lesson Plan
Film English

Mixtape

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A short film about music is the inspiration for a well-sequenced lesson that includes discussion, group work, and writing. After the whole class converses about music, small groups write narratives about a still from the film. Pupils...
Lesson Plan
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MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Unit Plan
Trinity University Digital Commons

Romanticism: Past and Present

For Teachers 10th Standards
With its focus on nature, individualism, imagination, and rejection of traditional authority, Romanticism has great appeal to young high schoolers. After examining classic paintings and poems as well as current works, class members...