Curated OER
Justice for All
A reading of Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter opens a discussion of justice and fairness. Using a Venn diagram and an Idea Wheel graphic organizer, class members consider the similarities and differences in these two terms. They then...
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Sonnet Explication
Students analyze close readings of poems, looking up words in the dictionary, and discussing the major parts of dictionary definitions, including word origin and parts of speech. They examine sonnets, then compare/contrast their findings.
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Cite Your Sites
What information would you find in an almanac that you would not find in an atlas? What is the difference between a dictionary and a thesaurus? Using a Cite Your Sites worksheet on which they record their observations, groups participate...
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Using Context
Teams practice decoding and using context strategies to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. After verifying the meanings of words through the use of dictionaries, the Internet, thesauruses, and other sources, learners write the...
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If a Runner Runs, Does a Sweater Sweat?
Play with words and word meanings involving the suffix -er. After reading a sample list of words, young readers look up each one in the dictionary to decide which words refer to people, animals, or objects, or have three or more...
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Vocabulary Building - Declaration of Independence
Young scholars read the first part of the Declaration of Independence and mark the words they don't know. First, they try to guess what the words mean by looking at the them in context, and then they look up the words in a dictionary.
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What's The Word?
Students define vocabulary words using print or online dictionaries; create crossword puzzles with those words and definitions; and share their puzzles with peers for review.
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Use the New Internet Library for Adult Learners
Adult learners, examine the Internet to answer life skills, use an online dictionary, evaluate web sites and fill in online forms. They will also write about web sites in this series of activities.
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Vocabulary Building Through Visualization of Word Meanings to Create Digital Art
Use online dictionaries to define vocabulary words and create a visualization of word meanings through digital art. Middle schoolers go online to define assigned vocabulary words. They visualize the meanings of the words in photo...
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Vocabulary Development
What is a root word? What is a prefix? Suffix? Use these questions to spark a discussion amongst your language art learners. Then, start by writing the word irresistible on the board and have teams of learners attempt to create new words...
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Wrapping It Up
Class members develop their own glossaries for unfamiliar words in each chapter in Elizabeth George Speare’s The Sign of the Beaver. After recording the word, the page number on which the word appears, and its part of speech, they...
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Time Capsule: Oral Presentation
A great way to gain proficiency when learning a new language is to prepare an oral presentation. For this foreign language lesson, pairs collaborate to develop a Time Capsule which they present to their class using their target language.
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Writing a News Story
Students practice using their target language by writing a news article. In this foreign language writing instructional activity, students create a fictional "hero" in their city which they write a fictional news article about in their...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.1
Despite English grammar rules, in the e-world the plural of mouse is mouses. lol. Standard American English is constantly evolving. Introduce your class members to a variety of terms that describe different usage changes (economy,...
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My Daily Routine
Foreign language learners work in pairs to translate the daily routine of celebrities or everyday people, presented in daily planner format, into English. They then illustrate and record their own daily routines in storyboard (film...
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Create Your Own Coded Language
Students discover and identify cryptology used in everyday life. They decipher or crack codes. Students create their own secret writing or coded messages, and develop a dictionary of eponyms. They discuss how they have already...
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The Language of Deception
Learners explore informative, expressive, directive and performative languages and discuss examples of each. In groups, students research the types of languages, their effectiveness in communicating truth, needs and desires. Learners...
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Olympic Shadow Boxes
What a cool way to incorporate art and use reference materials. Learners use classroom reference materials such as almanacs, encyclopedias, and dictionaries to answer one of four questions, and then they use the information to create a...
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Nym Family
List and identify words for each part of the "Nym" family: synonyms, antonyms and homonyms. Middle schoolers place words in the correct category, then find the corresponding mate in a dictionary or thesaurus.
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Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
Looking for materials to accompany your study of Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes? Look no further! Included here is everything you need to go alongside your unit: worksheets, graphic organizers, writing assignments, an assessment,...
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Where Do Words Come From?
Young scholars examine the foreign-language roots of various English words. Using the dictionary's word derivation notes and abbreviation key, they develop a list of words with a foreign-language origin, and create a class dictionary.
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Dalai Lama Peace and Conflict Resolution
Learners explore philosophy by researching the Dalai Lama. In this peaceful living lesson plan, students discuss the Dalai Lama and his unique views of the world before reading the story Can You Say Peace? Learners answer study questions...
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Bryant Creek Watershed Project - Making a Karst Dictionary
Students explore the definitions relevant to Karst topography. They develop a Bryant Watershed Dictionary of the special words and terms that are used to talk about the topography and hydrology of the area they live in.
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Dialect Dictionaries
Students list non-standard English words they use in their community dialect. They create dictionary definitions for 15 of the words they come up with including: pronunciation, part of speech, definition and example of usage. They create...