Curated OER
Lessons from History
Students review key vocabulary in history and review a specific website. They write a paragraph summarizing an event they read about on this website. They analyze the importance of studying and learning from history.
Curated OER
Ingredients of a Mystery
Students explore the concept of mysteries. For this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book. Students also...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Micronesian Independence Day
Students pretend that they are visiting a relative in Micronesia and compare its Independence Day with the U.S. holiday. They compare the two countries' flags while older students in grades three through five create travelogues. Younger...
Curated OER
My Story and History: Peeking into the Past with Paintings
Consider how you can use a visual source, such as a painting, to learn about a historical time or event. Young learners discuss primary sources and how they differ from secondary sources, then analyze the painting Mother and Child by...
Curated OER
Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor
How do a person's musical preferences influence the way they compose music of their own? Learners analyze the sound and lyrics of Alicia Keys in relation to musicians that came before. Jazz, blues, and soul music from the past are shown...
ReadWriteThink
Designing Museum Exhibits for The Grapes of Wrath: A Multigenre Project
Challenge readers of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to create a museum exhibit that uses artifacts to focus on one issue raised by the award winning story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Joads.
Curated OER
Wagons West!
Through learning about the Oregon Trail and Nebraska, learners evaluate the elements of historical fiction. Coming with a comprehensive bibliography, this activity has your class learn about settlers traveling along the Oregon Trail,...
Curated OER
The Soundtrack of One's Life
Students research a historical person and the time in which he/she lived. They write a biography including images and at least four songs from the time period in which the person lived.
Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...
Museum of Tolerance
Artifact Research Activity
Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is...
Museum of Tolerance
Music Evokes Memories and Emotions
Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...
University of Northern Iowa
Additional Folklife Information
Use a packet packed with ideas for how to celebrate the traditions of your country, state, community, and pupils's families. Suggestions for how to draw on oral and material traditions, customs, beliefs, music, and stories all find...
Curated OER
Exploring Literary Genre Through Latin American Literature
Students explore poetry and its meaning. After reading poems, students explore the literary elements such as the setting, character, problem, events and resolution. They compare and contrast descriptions given in poems. Students...
Curated OER
The Lost Generation Writers of the 1920's
Eleventh graders explore works of the Lost Generation writers of the 1920's. For this American literature lesson, 11th graders analyze provided selections from Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald and then respond to a writing prompt...
Curated OER
"The Westing Game" Activities and Lesson Plans
You can use a novel, such as "The Westing Game", to teach reading concepts and skills in a way that keeps students interested.
Curated OER
Myths, Folktales & Fairy Tales
Students relate the myth genre to history and culture. For this myths lesson, students compare culture in the past and present. Students answer critical thinking questions and discuss the unique characteristics of the...
Curated OER
Creating Comic Strips
Students explore genre of comics, view variety of comic strips, discuss components of comic strips, examine conventions of comic strips, analyze online comic creator interactive and create planning sheet for using the tool, and apply...
Curated OER
Edgar Allan Poe Lessons- Taking A Look At The Original Goth
Edgar Allan Poe lesson plans can provide a way for students to learn about literature, psychology, and the horror genre.
Curated OER
Sequential Curriculum for Advanced Writing Workshop
Twelfth graders engage in a ten-month long elective course focusing on college board review and an advanced writing workshop. Both course components focus on thinking and reasoning skills. Various approaches include sentence combining,...
Curated OER
One Story, Many Tales
Students compare and contrast Cinderella stories. In this folktale lesson, students discuss the attributes of the genre and then read and research different cultural versions of the tale. Students present their findings to their classmates.
Curated OER
Poetry Writing
Students compose a piece of poetry modeled after the poetry of Carl Sandburg and share their poem(s) with their colleagues. They use a cluster diagram to organize their thoughts and brainstorm their ideas.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Biography and Autobiography
Students examine autobiographies and biographies through a series of reading and writing exercises. By writing journals during this semester-long course, they improve writing skills and discover their own voice. Among other activities,...
Curated OER
Enjoying Latino Music
Students view different musical instruments from around Latino world, predict what sounds instruments will make based on their appearance, listen to and evaluate music from different Latino genres orally or in writing, and make...