Curated OER
Writing and Autobiography
Are you working on an autobiographical or narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson to your class, as it takes young writers through the process of drafting and sequencing an autobiography. After observing and demonstrating steps of the...
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All the World's a Stage
Is the circus a form of theater? Read "A City of Clowns? What Else Is New?" to sway your class that a circus, is indeed, a theatrical performance. Critical thinkers compare/contrast various forms of theater and identify what makes the...
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The 5 Paragraph Persuasive Essay
This PowerPoint highlights the steps one should follow to craft an organized essay. It addresses the purpose, audience, and format, and briefly touches on prewriting and organizing. This presentation is designed to review the very basic...
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The TASP 5 Paragraph "Persuasive" Essay
Though this presentation is designed for the Texas Academic Skills Program's (TASP) writing assessment, it could work for any class that is preparing to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Slides take intermediate writers through...
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The Science of Thinking
How is fixing a flat tire like reading and writing? By thinking about each activity properly - identifying the problem and purpose, gathering information, and making inferences - you can exercise your thinking skills equally. This...
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ASL: Lesson 19
Being able to express feelings is important for every learner. ASL lesson 19 is intended for teaching hearing impaired pupils or special ed teachers functional ASL. Since this provides a list of signs describing feelings, it would be a...
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School for Santas
Being able to read and recall is a very important skill. Why not have learners read about an American holiday phenomenon? They'll answer who, what, when, where, why, and how with regard to a New York Times article about a school for...
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Disposables and Deforestation
Ever think about the impact those cool disposable chopsticks have on the environment? Read about a group of students in Beijing who created a forest using nothing but tossed out chopsticks. Find out how this artistic endeavor is making a...
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Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in New York
Same-sex marriage is the hot topic discussed in this New York Times article. Upper graders read the article and then answer eight comprehension questions. Note: This article is more about the Senate and legislation than about same-sex...
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"Sounds Like Team Spirit"
Some sports teams consider their fans the "12th man" on the field. What does that mean? Are fans that important to their teams? Does fan support really help teams win? How can you let your team know you are rooting for them? Apparently,...
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Hopeful Eyes on Southern Skies
The Times covered a drought in 2011, which affected producers, consumers, and sellers. The class gets informed about climate and the economics of agriculture as the read this article and answer each of the 11 comprehension questions. A...
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Our Computers, Ourselves: Imagining the Digital Lives of Authors and Characters
The guiding question for this lesson is "Do computers and their contents shape who we are?" Open with a selection of Apple's commercials to introduce stereotypes and people's relationships with their computers. Then, read the attached...
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Direct and Indirect Characterization
How does an author develop his or her characters? Using the short story "On the Bridge" by Todd Strasser, readers study character development by looking for examples of both direct and indirect characterization. They plot these points on...
English To Go
Articles: A, An, The, or -
Help your young native English speakers discern between a, an, or the with this two-page document. Each article is explained before short practice assessments are offered. A short paragraph on the second page also explains what is known...
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Connectors Exercise: Transitional Words
Transitional words and phrases make writing smooth and ease oral fluency. This resource gives English learners a chance to practice using common connecting words and phrases like above all, firstly (sic), instead, etc. Answers are...
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Following Directions
Kindergartners learn about the ways force can stop and reverse motion. Several illustrations of children help them determine if the motion is causing an item to change direction. Next, they conduct an experiment to see if a water balloon...
Road to Grammar
The Unexplained
Are you afraid of what goes bump in the night? Talk about the supernatural with your English language learners to find out their beliefs while practicing speaking skills. Learners read three different viewpoints on the paranormal...
K12 Reader
Predicate Adjective or Not?
Defining the parts of a sentence is just like real estate—it's all about location! Learners read eight sentences and decide whether the describing words are predicate adjectives or not, based on their position in the sentence.
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Using the Verb - To Be
In this using the verb to be worksheet, students fill in 13 blanks with the proper form of the verb. They insert one of the follow forms of the verb, to be: is, am, are, were, or was.
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Language Arts: Lewin Project
Fourth graders read and respond to the poem, "When I Am Angry." They complete surveys by analyzing the most common feeling and draw a bar graph of their behavior, using different colors to identify the duration of various feelings. ...
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Video Lesson
Hats off to Barry for a great idea. He teaches Adapted PE to elementary school children, and when he is absent they often don't get to have PE. So he came up with this great plan to videotape short lessons that his pupils could follow,...
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What Science Suggests About 'Weather Weirding'
Here is an activity that you can use to help upper elementary or middle schoolers to meet Common Core literacy standards for science and technology. Youngsters read the article on extreme weather patterns, "Weather Runs Hot and Cold, So...
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Racial Tensions for Mixed Families
"Racial Tensions for Mixed Families" is the title of the New York Times article your class gets to read, if they click on this resource. They'll read the article then answer 10 comprehension questions.
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Cute, Colored and Contentious
Whether your class responds to the blog linked to this article, or just answers the nine related questions, they're in for an eye-opening read. Pupils consider animal rights as they read a New York Times article about two men who have...