Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas
You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider." Learners will act, write, move, count,...
Curated OER
Book Talk Fun!: Growing Independence and Fluency
Master reading fluently and with emotion and expression! Young learners read and reread the book Tiki Tiki Tembo by Arlene Mosel to practice this strategy. The remark on the end punctuation to help them decide how to read the...
Curated OER
Introducing Communication Talent with "Casey at the Bat"
Analyze the poem "Casey at the Bat." Your team of analysts will read the poem and complete a variety of activities, including describing how Casey looks and acts, describing how he feels before and after he strikes out, and sharing...
Curated OER
Hattie and the Fox
Who is Hattie? Youngsters explore animal characteristics by reading poems and stories in class. They read the book Hattie and the Fox about a fictitious fox and his drama with the other farm animals. Then they reread the story over...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 3
To make the point that there are many forms of language, each with its own purpose, class members select 10 lines from Doescher's play, translate these lines first into contemporary English and then into "SMS/Tweet." 
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird: End of Novel Critical-Thinking Questions
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. 
Plainfield Public School District
Mood and Tone
"It was a dark and stormy night. Perfect for making Christmas cookies." Distinguishing between the mood of a piece and the tone can be tricky, but with the help of this presentation viewers quickly see and are able to identify the...
Curated OER
Girders and Wrecking Ball Activity
As learners build the "girders" of conversation by staying consistent on a particular topic, they avoid the "wrecking ball" of an off-topic comment. To help students develop this important conversation skill, this resource provides...
Western Illinois University
Activities for Supporting Oral Language Development
Support young scholars' oral language development with the use of four early childhood activities. To reinforce proficiency, pupils read with an adult, play a game of telephone with their peers, put on a play with puppets or stuffed...
Curated OER
Talk to the Hand
Students explore the significance of various body parts in artistic and social expression. They research a body part and create a museum installation depicting the artistic and social significance of the body part throughout history.
Curated OER
Talk About the Passion
Students think critically about artistic freedom and evaluate the aims and effectiveness of censorship and education. They begin an investigation of the ongoing controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" by reading "New...
Novelinks
Lord of the Flies: Themes and Notetaking
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a treasure trove of symbolism and literary themes. Help your kids note the richest passages in the book with a instructional activity and graphic organizer. The instructional activity prepares...
Reed Novel Studies
No Talking: Novel Study
Many of the world's most inspirational sayings are attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Using the No Talking novel study, pupils research and write about one of his sayings. Additionally, they practice alliteration and write a quintet that...
Curated OER
Comic Life With Kenzuke's Kingdom
Kenzuke's Kingdom is a wonderful adventure about a boy sailing around the world, it's also the focus of this instructional activity. Students read the novel as a class then use the Comic Life website to create a two-page comic based on...
Curated OER
Interaction as Analysis: Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is a thing with feathers” is the focus of a series of activities that model for learners how close reading can lead to understanding. The whole class plays with the metaphor, groups talk about the author’s...
Curated OER
Questioning
Practice making predictions by looking at the cover of a book. You can use The Hungry Thing, as suggested here, or any other book you may be reading in class. Use the predictions to talk about good reading strategies. A chart is...
K20 LEARN
Argument Is Everywhere: Introduction to Argument
C.E.R = Claim + Evidence + Reasoning. That's the framework behind building a solid piece of argument writing. Introduce young writers to this format with an engaging lesson that uses YouTube videos and a PowerPoint to illustrate the...
Curated OER
The Magic Pot
Second graders complete activities with the book The Magic Pot. In this comprehension instructional activity, 2nd graders read the story, answer comprehension questions, and create a storyboard. They also complete Magic Pot math by...
Curated OER
Who's Your Favorite Author?
Students investigate their favorite authors through focusing upon readings that are selected and then following with research to find more information about the author. Then they share writings from their favorite authors in literature...
Curated OER
Who's in the Shed?
Second graders examine the cover of the book, WHO'S IN THE SHED? and talk about the animals portrayed and the noises they make. They then read the book as a class, looking through the peepholes and making predictions.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 9
Find the central idea in an excerpt from Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a literary analysis instructional activity. As your class analyzes a section of the story, they determine how the author forms the...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Rhetorical Analysis of Frederick Douglass
Is the Fourth of July a celebration for all Americans? Scholars carry out a close read of What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Readers talk with partners about the speaker's point of view, the author's debate, reasoning, and...
EngageNY
Poetry Analysis: Small Group Practice
Howdy partner! After discussion and teacher model reading of Slaveships, scholars pair up for a partner reading of the poem. They then use equity sticks to discuss their thoughts of the poem with the class. Readers talk about allusion,...
Curated OER
Exploring Animals in Literature
Celebrate Be Kind to Animals Week while teaching empathy and allegory with creature-related texts