Curated OER
Using Wordless Comics To Help Create Meaning in Reading
Use picture cues as a tool in order to create meaning along with text. With a wordless comic, young illustrators discuss the main idea and character traits, and independently write a summary for a page of a wordless comic. This strategy...
Smithsonian Institution
Fighting For Freedom: The Stono Rebellion and Free Frank McWhorter
Travel back in time to the Stono Rebellion. Young historians research historical figures who played a role in African Americans' fight to escape slavery. Scholars research material, complete handouts, participate in group discussion, and...
Curated OER
Do We See What We Know?
Eighth graders compare two visual works of art about John Brown. They read a text or listen to an interview, and identify information about him. They debate their opinions using evidence in written and visual texts. They research other...
Curated OER
Journalism: Technology and Teen Abuse
Students investigate the link between technology and abuse among teens. They research dating abuse when cell phones or the Internet are involved. Working as a team of reporters, photographers, graphic artists, and page designers, they...
Curated OER
Agriculture: It Doesn't Just Happen
After reading an informational text on the Agricultural Research Service, learners research the role of the ARS in Oklahoma. Using reputable online sources, they label a map of the state with relevant areas. Researchers focus on one of...
Media Education Lab
Propaganda in Context
"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...
Curated OER
Spinning My Tale
Begin writing personal narratives in this writing instructional activity. Junior high writers start by writing a journal about their favorite holiday. They read a book at their skill level and use graphic organizers to record their ideas...
Curated OER
Go Free or Die
Groups of older elementary learners begin their study of figurative language by visiting a website and completing the exercises detailed there. They then apply what they have learned by finding examples in several poems. Finally, they...
Curated OER
Media Literacy Analyzed
Fourth and fifth graders define the term media literacy, then come up with examples that they share with the class. The types of media studied are auditory, visual, and written. Learners get together in pairs and perform a media...
Curated OER
The Ramayana: Showing your Dharma
High schoolers identify characters and events from the Ramayana. They discuss ways in whcih the images convey non-verbal information and messages. They discuss similarities and differences in the visual and verbal tellings of the Ramayana.
Curated OER
Public Service Graphic Design
Twelfth graders create a billboard design (on the computer) to promote and increase awareness of a social problem. Students conduct research of public service issues that are of interest to them. They collect photos and images through...
Curated OER
Flora and Fauna as Figures of Speech
What a lovely way to incorporate artwork into your language arts lesson. View artwork in illustrated manuscript pages, depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing in the Getty Museum. Practice using figurative...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Lives Before the Civil War
Women's lifestyles before the Civil War made a huge impact as a point of causation. Give middle schoolers the opportunity to view firsthand the lives of women before the Civil War. They analyze primary source documents, view photographs,...
Curated OER
On-Line Homework Help: An Ethical Dilemma
Students use a visual thesaurus and Vocabgrabber to interpret a news article. In this vocabulary building and comprehension lesson, students analyze quotes from the article. Students use the visual thesaurus and Vocabgrabber to interpret...
Curated OER
The Devilish Tinker Bell!
Twelfth graders examine how cultural context impacts interpretation and that there is more than one correct interpretation of text. Students compare Disney's version of Tinker Bell, from Peter Pan to James I's version of a fairy in...
Curated OER
Art One-Master Emulation Acrylic Painting Lesson Plan
Students examine art history books and gather information on three masters. Using the text, they gather information about their history, style, and the techniques they used. They create their own paintings using acrylic paint using the...
Curated OER
Interpreting The Artist's Voice
Students view topical photographs to explore the concept of voice. They examine a series of photographs containing incomplete images. They draw conclusions about the images based on only the information provided. After viewing the...
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The activity includes several options to...
Curated OER
Tell Me More
Fifth graders demonstrate research techniques in addition to endeavoring to display focus and stay on topic. Using books and stories, they gather, organize, and share information about a topic. Additionally, they explain to the class...
Curated OER
Is That Movie OK?
Discuss movies and movie enjoyment with your middle school language arts class. They interpret movie review information, determine appropriate movies, and then write film reviews to share with the class. Focus on using context clues to...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Heart of the Matter
Hands-on experience with valves and water flow supports young researchers' understanding of valve operation. Attached resources for learners are text-dense; I'd break up the text into smaller pieces for groups to read and present...
Curated OER
Analyzing Messages in Various Media
Explore communication through media by analyzing different advertisements and artwork. Budding artists view videos, websites, plays, and other artistic endeavors while discussing the true meaning of the work with their classmates. They...
Denver Art Museum
Communicating with Symbols
Before kids analyze a Chinese dish filled with amazing images, they research the meanings of various plant and animal symbols. They use their research to decode the meaning of the expressive artwork on the dish and then use symbolism to...
Curated OER
Note-Taking: K.I.S.S. "Keep It Short and Simple"
Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...