Curated OER
Tradebook Activity
Learners listen to the story The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and explore a variety of questions related to conflict resolution. In this trade book activity lesson plan, students listen to the teacher ask a variety of higher...
Curated OER
King of the Playground by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Students discover ways to resolve conflicts. In this bullying instructional activity, students read a book about a boy who is having problems on the playground. Students discuss how the characters feel and what they do to stand up for...
Curated OER
I'm in a Tizzy! How Can I Help? King Day
Students listen to the book Miss Tizzy and discuss how characters feel about Miss Tizzy. In this unconditional kindness and philanthropy lesson, students understand how when you do a good deed it somehow comes back. Students reflect on...
Curated OER
Biopoem
Reinforce the actions, emotions, and characteristics that determine what a character is like by having your middle schoolers create a biopoem using the model presented here. You could engage them first by having them write a poem about...
Curated OER
Monster: Guided Imagery
How would you feel if you were on trial for murder—and you were only 16 years old? Put yourself in Steve Harmon's shoes before reading Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Kids listen to music that fits the theme of the book before listening to...
Curated OER
Presenting Your Case
Students write letter from historical figure's point of view using proper letter writing conventions, write about two props/artifacts that are representative of their subject's life, and use Internet resources to gather images to use in...
Curated OER
Looks Like Respect, Sounds Like Respect, Feels Like
Students examine philanthropy through art using their senses. In this philanthropy instructional activity, students investigate what respect looks like, sounds like and feels like using their senses. They talk about diversity and...
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Mood
Students read the book "Tight Times." They discuss what they believe a mood is. Students write a list of moods the characters in the book feel. They tell reasons for the moods that were selected. Students discuss similar and different...
Curated OER
Solving an Original Character's Problem With Voice and Emotion
Learners read the story A Bad Case of the Stripes and then write their own story conveying a lot of emotion. In this writing lesson plan, students select a title, an emotion, brainstorm, and then start writing.
Curated OER
Comprehension Skills: Picture, Question and Summarize Using Fiction Stories
Students build a variety of comprehension skills through the nine lessons of this unit. Picturing events, monitoring understanding during reading, forming questions, and summarizing stories form the core of the lessons being taught in...
Curated OER
Say it with FEELING!
Why should we read with expression when we read? Engage your learners in this discussion and teach them the easiest way to gauge expression: the end mark! Is it a question mark? An exclamation point? This helps you determine how to...
Curated OER
Chrysanthemum
Our uniqueness should be celebrated, not teased. The story Chrysanthemum addresses having a distinct name and dealing with different perceptions. Pre- and post-reading questions are listed to help your learners understand and make...
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Describe a Journey
Students describe the sensory experience of a character's journey in an essay. In this precise details writing lesson, students explain the effects on the senses of weather, time of day, landscape, and other experiences. Students use...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Biopoem
As part of their reading of The Hobbit, readers create a biopoem for one of Tolkien's characters.
Shakespeare Uncovered
Henry IV, Part I: Does Father Know Best?
“Yea, there thou mak’st me sad and mak’st me sin/In envy that my Lord Northumberland/Should be the father to so blest a son--.” Henry IV, Part I, provides the text for a series of exercises that ask class members to examine the...
Curated OER
Telling Stories Through Dance
Examine the movement of characters in the story, Caps for Sale. Using the text, pupils invent gestures and movements for some of the actions and major events. They practice retelling a story by using the movements they developed. They...
EngageNY
Introducing Close Reading: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes About Rain School
This second lesson in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and defining important...
Curated OER
What’s your Name?
Youngsters work to build empathy, cultural understanding, and a sense of self as they uncover the story behind their own names. They read the book, The Name Jar, discuss immigration and how it feels to be in a new place. Then, they...
Curated OER
Guy Fawkes
Sixth graders access their prior knowledge of the job of Parliament and its relationship to the monarchy. In this Gunpowder Plot lesson, 6th graders research the Gunpowder Plot, summarize key story ideas, and role play the plot. They...
Curated OER
Teaching The Great Gatsby with the New York Times
East Egg, West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and the green light. Bring Gatsby, the Jazz Age, and the American Dream to your classroom with a resource designed for teachers. Included in the treasury are six great teaching ideas for F. Scott...
Curated OER
Looks Like Respect, Sounds Like Respect, Feels Like
Students explore philanthropy through art. In this service learning lesson, students discuss the diversity in their community and use their senses to create tolerance posters.
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Larger-Than-Life Lara
Students explore child psychology by reading a children's book in class. In this bullying lesson, students read the book Larger Than Life Lara and discuss the characters and how they treat each other. Students answer study questions...
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Life Size Characters
Sixth graders analyze character traits and create a life size character outline. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze character traits of a character using character webs and poems. Students then create a life size...
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Creating Dramatic Monologues from The Grapes of Wrath
The characters in The Grapes of Wrath come to life through an activity that asks groups to craft a dramatic monologue for a character in John Steinbeck's National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Writers are challenged to...