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Printables
Curated OER

Elements of Fiction

For Teachers 1st - 8th
The metaphor of a pot of soup and a series of colorful templates remind young writers of the elements that make for a rich story. Pepper the plot with carrot/character, potato/point of view, corn/conflict, tomato/theme, and season with...
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PPT
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1
Curated OER

What is Theme?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What is theme, and how can you find themes in literary works? These and other questions are answered by a colorful and engaging presentation that not only defines the term but also provides easy to understand examples. The slides...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Learning to Hate Math

For Students 9th - 12th
Give your class a different kind of reading assignment with the text included here. Anne Miller's essay "Learning to Hate Mathematics" details a hatred of math that grew from early childhood and still haunts the author today. After...
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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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Learning Network: Re-envisioning Classic Stories

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Imagine Poetry & Mural Lesson

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Readers of all ages can work together in groups to create original poetry on the theme of "Imagine," inspired by John Lennon's classic song. They also create a mural to illustrate their poetry. A beautiful instructional activity,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tuck Everlasting

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders use literary terms while discussing literature with their peers. They explore literature on a deeper level. Students formulate their opinions regarding response to literature, as this lesson plan helps students practice...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Esperanza Rising - Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learn about Mexican culture while simultaneously strengthening reading, writing and computer skills. In order to get the most out of Esperanza Rising, pupils should have prior knowledge of Mexican culture. Therefore, there are links to a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ISTEP + Grade 6 Item Sampler

For Teachers 5th - 6th
In this cross-curricular sampler of worksheets, students determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words, describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and...
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Activity
Virginia English Bulletin

Book Trailer Projects From Classroom to Community

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Invite your pupils to express their understanding of a novel through a collaborative video project. Groups choose a novel from those you have studied in class, select four scenes, storyboard the scenes, film the scenes, edit the film,...
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Core Analysis Frame: Fiction

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Dig into any piece of fiction with a series of analysis questions. There are two levels of questions provided: basic and in-depth. The basic questions can be copied double-sided onto a single piece of paper, while the in-depth questions...
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Printables
3
3
Polk Bros Foundation

Picture Planner

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Show your class that there is more than one way to communicate an idea. Pupils note down their ideas and then brainstorm a few things they want to include in their pictures. Then, in the box provided, they sketch and describe their...
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Lesson Plan
Pearson

Catching the Sun: Tales from Asia

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Explore the folklore of Asia and the South Pacific with this language arts lesson series. Complementing a reading of Catching the Sun: Tales from Asia by Jan M. Mike, this resource supports learners with understanding cause and effect...
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Lesson Plan
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All for KIDZ

Building Relationships: The Orphan of Ellis Island

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
Family and friendship are two very important themes of the historical fiction novel The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff. From video clips and writing prompts to reader's theater and family interviews, this resource provides...
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Printables
Freeology

Annotations Bookmark

For Teachers 5th - 10th
In general, pupils are not allowed to write in school-issued books; however, they can write on a bookmark that you provide! Kids can take notes on the setting, characters, themes, and connections as they read a short story or novel.
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 2

For Teachers 6th Standards
Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 12: Story Event

For Teachers 6th Standards
Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme

For Teachers 6th Standards
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Edgar Allan Poe Short Story WebQuest

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce your class to Edgar Allan Poe with a series of mostly self-guided tasks and assignments. Class members follow the list of tasks, starting by watching a video with background information and ending with a compare-and-contrast...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Determining Main Idea Using Text and Illustrations: Accessing Books Around the World

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...
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Unit Plan
Bright Hub Education

"Where the Red Fern Grows": A Lesson on Love and Devotion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Where the Read Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls is rich with themes relating to love and family. Help your class to understand these themes with the series of reading activities included in this unit outline. Readers can keep a journal to...
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Organizer
my eCoach

Tuck Everlasting Chs. 1-8: Feelings About Living Forever

For Students 5th - 7th
Approach big ideas and themes in Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt with this graphic organizer. Readers determine how each of the Tucks feels about living forever by looking for clues in the first  eight chapters of the book. Consider...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Zebra" by Chaim Potok

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Combine art and literature to teach greater themes and symbolic meaning. Using the plan outlined in this resource, expose your class to the story "Zebra" by Chaim Potok, conduct discussions about social issues and nicknames, and ask...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Revisiting Big Metaphors and Themes: Revising and Beginning to Perform Two-Voice Poems

For Teachers 5th Standards
Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add comments to...