Curated OER
The Final Copy
Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...
Curated OER
Shelley's Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Challenge your class with these essay questions based on Percy Bysshe Shelley's poetry. This resource includes 3-8 short answer and essay questions for each of 9 different poems by Shelley. Pick and choose the poems you would like to...
Curated OER
Flipped: Anticipation Guide Instructions
Encourage text-to-self connections with a prereading strategy designed for Flipped. Clear steps are included, and the actual anticipation guide is the final page of the three-page packet. Ten statements are provided, and class members...
Curated OER
Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
Curated OER
Freak the MIghty: Anticipation Guide
Friendship, family, and violence are the subjects of an anticipation guide designed to accompany Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel, Freak the Mighty. Individuals complete the included guide, discuss their responses in groups, and then...
Novelinks
The House of the Scorpion: Anticipation Guide
Introduce Nancy Farmer's award-winning science fiction novel, The House of the Scorpion, with an anticipation guide that asks readers to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect the major concepts in the story. Follow...
Curated OER
Picturing Text
Learners, through observation and discussion about the Coffin of Djed Mut, make connections between hieroglyphs and the English writing system. They create their own visual story using symbols that represent words.
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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...
Curated OER
Fahrenheit 451 Anticipation Guide
Are anticipation guides effective? The first two pages of this lesson describe what an anticipation guide is and how to use it effectively. On the final page is the anticipation guide; use it to get your class talking about censorship...
Curated OER
Forming Plural Nouns
Everyone knows that a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea - but what happens when you have people, places, things, or ideas? Use this SMART board activity to guide your class through plural nouns. Several activities, including making...
Curated OER
Forming Plural Nouns
Interactive SMART Board activities provide young grammarians with practice changing singular nouns to plural nouns. Learners then create collages on which they inscribe the singular and plural form of the noun label.
Novelinks
The House on Mango Street: Vocabulary Word Squares
Chanclas, muerto, cuando. Spanish words are plentiful in The House on Mango Street and may be unfamiliar to many readers. A vocabulary words squares activity will help kids remember the meaning of these words and add to their...
Novelinks
Oedipus the King: Biopoem
The biopoem is a great way for instructors to get to know class members, classmates to get to know each other, and readers to flesh out their understanding of a character. Why not create a biopoem for a character from Oedipus the...
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Osage, Legend, and Arkansas History
Elementary schoolers evaluate the legend of Norristown Mountain by looking at facts about the Osage Indians and the legend itself. They do an exploration of Arkansas' Native American groups which includes a look at their legends,...
Curated OER
De-Mystifying Poetry: Understanding Narrative Poetry
Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.
Curated OER
Writing a Halloween Poem
A delightful lesson on poetry is here for you and your middle schoolers. Learners are instructed to write a Halloween poem. They get to choose the age range for the audience of the poem. So, it may be scary (for older kids), or humorous...
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Cite Right
What do you need to cite, and how can you avoid plagiarizing? This presentation is aimed at beginning writers, and it details some of the ways people plagiarize (even accidentally) and what sort of information needs to be cited. The...
Curated OER
Writing: Mentor Text Lesson & Microteaching
Mentor texts are a great way to demonstrate how to write with purpose. Pupils will be reintroduced to two well-known books and then asked to think about them from the writer's point of view. They will see that the author had to use basic...
Schools United to Provide Enhanced Resources Network
AP English Project: Journal of Literary Terms and Devices
To prepare for the AP English exams, individuals are asked to create a notebook of literary terms and devices. The terms must be defined, accompanied by representative artwork, and illustrated by an example drawn for a named source. A...
Curated OER
Antonyms 3
The value in this antonyms learning exercise is in the richly detailed explanations that follow the exercise. Not only is the correct antonym identified, but the reasons why the other foils are incorrect are also explained.
Curated OER
Aztec and Mayan Mythology
Here's a fresh take on a mythology unit. Use the myths of the Mayan and Aztec peoples of Mesoamerica instead of the more traditional Greek and Roman stories. This abstract suggests possible approaches and resources that can be...
Curated OER
Shapes
Learners participate in a number of hands-on shape-related activities. They match and sort shapes by attribute, read books about shapes, complete shape art projects and explore and compare parts of shapes.
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The Changing Experience of Colonial Childhood
High schoolers research how childhood was depicted in art in the 17th through 19th centuries. In groups, they research pieces of art and write a paper explaining how the portrayal of students in art changed at the end of the 18th century.
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Poetry in Motion
Students expand their understanding and appreciation for poetry. In this poetry unit lesson, students complete 5 unit sections of multiple day activities to learn about poetry and its devices or forms.