Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day instructional...
Curated OER
Yellow Bird and Me
Upper elementary artists create works which demonstrate an understanding of the many elements of theater and the visual arts. This four-day plan combines many wonderful aspects of visual, musical, and theatrical arts into one very...
Shakespeare Uncovered
Suits of Woe: Grief and Loss in Hamlet
“Thou know’st ‘tis common; all that lives must die/Passing through nature to eternity.” Grief, and the response to grief and loss, is the focus of a series of activities that uses Hamlet as a launchpad. Groups examine Act I, scene ii to...
ReadWriteThink
Teaching Point of View With Two Bad Ants
What better way to explain the concept of point of view than from an ant's perspective! After reading Two Bad Ants, pupils identify the point of view of the ants by studying the text and pictures. Then, they fill out a...
University of North Carolina
Literature (Fiction)
An informative installment of the Writing for Specific Fields series helps readers learn how to interpret and write about fiction. The website details nine easy steps for writing a literary analysis—a useful method for all readers!
Curated OER
Oklahoma! The Cultural Myth of America
Learners explore cultural myths in America by collecting images and characteristics of stereotypical Americans. They read a primary source document, discussing the views of the author in class. Next, they compare the terms used to...
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...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Close Reading in the Classroom
Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...
Missouri Department of Elementary
My Conflict Shield
As an exercise in self-awareness and improvement, class members create a Conflict Shield listing 12 skills they believe are the most useful in conflict resolution. They then color the ones they have mastered while leaving uncolored those...
Curated OER
My Conflict Shield
Eighth graders discuss conflict. Working in pairs, they create lists of skills they have used in conflicts, skills they have seen used successfully but not used themselves, and skills they wish to develop. From their lists they identify...
Curated OER
Storybook Character Graph
First graders dress as their favorite storybook character. They draw a self-portrait, then place the drawing on a graph.
Curated OER
Elements of a Mystery
Learners write mystery stories. In this writing lesson, students review the definition and components of a mystery. They look at a photo and write a mystery to explain the picture.
Curated OER
Love, American Style
Learners examine the cultural diffusion of American popular culture around the world and create collages of visual representations of this phenomenon. Causes and effects of the cultural diffusion of American popular culture around the...
Curated OER
Tall Tales Today
Students explore the attributes of American tall tales. In this folklore activity, students read several tall tales, describe the elements of tall tales, and then use hyperbole to write their own tall tales.
Curated OER
Reading Restaurant
Third graders complete book reports. They are given the following jobs; chef, who organizes them into genres; maître d', who calls students to share the menu; and waiters/waitresses, who take orders for books from customers, pass out...
Curated OER
My Brother Sam is Dead: A study of the Revolutionary War
Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature. After "My Brother Sam Is Dead," students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War. They identify key...
Curated OER
What is a Tangram?
Students identify a tangram. In this geometry activity, students read Grandfather Tang's Story and retell each story using the tangrams on a flannel board. Students use tangrams to complete an included worksheet.
Curated OER
Finding Our Bonds: King Day
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson plan, students experience literature and participate in a simulation that examines discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes.
Curated OER
The Lore o' the Irish
Students examine the importance of folklore in Ireland and how that folklore reflects Irish culture. They first interpret various Irish folk tales, focusing on what about Irish culture can be better understood from these stories.
Curated OER
Was Goldilocks Innocent or Guilty?
Fourth graders act out a mock fairy tale trial. They use a fairy tale like "The Three Little Pigs", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Hansel and Grete"l, and/or "Little Red Riding Hood".
Curated OER
The Jungle and Readers Response
Students identify the conditions that many workers faced during the Industrial Revolution. They work collaboratively to explain and identify key elements from Chapter 14 of The Jungle.
Curated OER
The Great China Chase: Adjectives
Stories are created, by students, using a variety of adjectives. 3-5th graders will learn about adjectives and use their new knowledge to create ad-lib stories to share with the class demonstrating their mastery of adjectives, indefinite...
Curated OER
Beowulf Mini-Mock Trial Manual
In this Beowulf worksheet, students identify a crime and prepare the prosecuting and defense case to present to the class "jury." Students must follow court procedure and use court terminology as they present their case.
Curated OER
Twelve Angry Men
Students assess their understanding of Twelve Angry Men. They create flashcards for vocabulary terms, summarize one of the acts, construct a diorama and complete character wheels. They choose from other activities including creating...