Curated OER
Once Upon a Genre
Learners examine fractured fairy tales before responding by writing in many different genres including a persuasive essay, a personal narrative, a letter, an advertisement, and a resume'. They create a pop-up book with their written...
Curated OER
"Night": A Study in Compassion and Courage
Learners read the novel, "Night" by Elie Wiesel. Using excerpts from the novel, they complete a performance and literary technique objective. In groups, they finish handouts to give them more information on the Holocaust. They compare...
Curated OER
Reviewing Features of Fiction Books
Students identify the features of fiction books. For this genre study lesson, students are introduced to the book Armadillo Rodeo and identify the cover, title, author, illustrator and title page. Students discuss how the book cover...
Curated OER
Walden: Study Questions and Essay Topics
In this Walden worksheet, students discuss the experience of Thoreau at Walden Pond and evaluate the importance of the experiment. Students write essays which discuss the details, the genres, the mythological references, and the author...
Scholastic
Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales for Grades 7-9
Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.
Novelinks
The Winter’s Tale: Storybook Strategy
Introduce class members to the conventions of the romance genre and the theme of familial relationships with Mahlon F. Craft's illustrated Sleeping Beauty. The themes are a focus of their study of The Winter's Tale.
Curated OER
Small Actions with Big Results
Students explore philanthropy in literature. In this literature lesson plan, students read text from three different genres that all have a moral. Students compare and contrast these pieces of literature, focusing on the character traits...
Curated OER
The View From Here
Study the beauty of the landscape around you with an innovative art instructional activity. After discussing the foreground, background, and middle ground of landscape art, kids work on making their own piece of landscape art. The...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 2
The second module in a series for high school seniors focuses on tracking the central idea of a text across genres and from multiple author and character perspectives. Twelfth graders read a speech by Benazir Bhutto entitled "Ideas Live...
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing instructional activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The instructional activity...
Curated OER
Fieldwork Basics Overview
Put your feet up and grab a cup of coffee before going through this extensive field work unit plan! Based on folklorist studies of traditional culture and ethnography, several activities focus on topics such as cultural sensitivity;...
Curated OER
Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...
Curated OER
Kumeyaay Indians
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...
Curated OER
Teaching the Holocaust through Literature
Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...
Reading Vine
Confucius: The Most Famous Teacher in China
Introduce young philosophers to the wisdom of China's most famous thinkers with a short bio. The reading comprehension passage includes an answer key.
Curated OER
Figurative Language
What is figurative language, and why do we use it? Introduce your high schoolers to some examples and discuss the importance of including this element in your writing. After studying a text and searching for examples, writers will...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to John Updike
Expand your pupils' understanding of the short story genre with a study of John Updike and his story "A&P." This lesson, the fourth in a series of fourteen, invites learners to examine literary terms and read and discuss the story....
Curated OER
Introducing Nonfiction
Learners are introduced to nonfiction text. In this five esson unti, students explore nonfiction as a genre. They identify the components and text structure of text structure of nonfiction text. Learners read a nonfiction passage and...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Use of Irony in a Short Story
Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...
Curated OER
Learning the Blues
Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...
Curated OER
Poetry and Paintings: A Comparative Study
Students find words for different feelings: sad, happy, annoyed, bored, puzzled, etc.
They think of colors which seem to fit each feeling. A painting is introduced and they are asked to verbalize how it makes them feel. What mood does...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Comparing Key Ideas and Details in Fiction and Nonfiction
Students recognize the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. In this genre study instructional activity, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Students listen to a read aloud and vote whether the...
Curated OER
Hip Hop and Geography
Students study the various geographic regions of the U.S. and discuss how popular music is influenced by cultural/regional factors. Groups choose East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, or South in rap/hip hop music and create a PowerPoint or...
Film English
Mixtape
A short film about music is the inspiration for a well-sequenced lesson that includes discussion, group work, and writing. After the whole class converses about music, small groups write narratives about a still from the film. Pupils...