Curated OER
The Joy of a Garden
Students study environmental stewardship. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students read the story The Gardner and define the character's actions for the environment. Students define philanthropy and complete a Venn Diagram...
Curated OER
What is Hamlet Thinking?
Students explore Hamlet's character. In this Shakespeare lesson, students read the selected lines from Hamlet and write any unusual or difficult phrases. Students highlight the names of characters who speak the lines and underline words...
Curated OER
Making Good Decisions
Students explore the decision-making process. For this citizenship lesson, students read the book, A Hill Too High to Climb and discuss the decisions the characters had to make in the story. Students discuss how the characters' actions...
Curated OER
A Photo Essay
Students create a photo essay and present it to the class. The students bring photos to use for their essay and develop a story using the photos. The students write captions including characters, setting, and plot for each photo. They...
Curated OER
Good Brother, Bad Brother
Studetns study how biographers create characters and history of individuals in biographies. They complete a variety of writting activities to demonstrate understanding.
Curated OER
Telling the Stories the Past Tells Us
Students create historical stories based on factual evidence. In this Telling the Stories the Past Tells Us lesson, students write historical stories using strategies such as characters, plot, setting, and voice. Students analyze several...
2012 Teaching Resources
Analyzing Character Traits
Character analysis becomes easy with a 24-page packet packed with mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and activities. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Shakespeare Uncovered
Women’s Roles in As You Like It
“There is nothing that becommeth a maid better than soberness, silence, shamefastness, and chastity, both of body & mind.” This line, from Thomas Bentley ‘s The Monument of Matrons published in 1582, typifies the way women were...
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
Character & Integrity
High schoolers brainstorm a list as a class the characteristics of someone having character and integrity. Individually, they write about how self-concept is built and preserved. To end the lesson, they discuss how self-concept is...
Curated OER
Who Will I Be Tomorrow?
High schoolers examine various careers and character traits. They create an Affinity Chart using career survey results, compare/contrast personality traits and character traits, and discuss why character traits are important for jobs.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2
There is nothing more frustrating than discussing theme in literature, and now the Common Core requires that your learners determine two or more, and discuss the development of it throughout the text. This is crazy, but manageable with...
Curated OER
You Can't Go Home Again (or, If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother)
High schoolers read a scene from Hamlet, without stage directions. They recreate the scene using their own stage directions as they see fit for the scene.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
When We Are A Story
Drama and story elements go hand-in-hand. Have the class dive into a dramatic play to show character intention, conflict resolution, main events, and the dialogue in a Hawaiian folk tale. They read the story, then group-up to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing instructional activity! This cross-curricular Ornithology instructional activity incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry,...
EngageNY
Close Reading of That Book Woman: How Did People Access Books in Rural Areas of the United States?
For this ninth lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit, close reading skills are used independently to find the gist of the story That Book Woman. Rereading for important details is the targeted skill to unlock a deeper...
National Endowment for the Humanities
On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 5: Creating a Supporting Character
As a class, young writers learn how to develop a strong supporting character. They think and discuss a good friend they know, they use that friend as a basis for a potential supporting character. They create a supporting character as a...
Curated OER
Investigating Fables
Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable. Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...
Curated OER
Historical Fiction: A Wealth of Interpretations
How can understanding the genre of historical fiction help your language arts class with literary analysis? Use this instructional activity to help young readers learn about historical fiction. After reading a selection from the "Dear...
Curated OER
Musical Traditions of Southern Louisiana
This units gives young scholars opportunities to * Research the history and patterns of French settlement in Louisiana * Discover three types of music (New Orleans jazz, Cajun, Zydeco) which are representative of the Francophone presence...
Curated OER
What is a Make Believe Story?
Explore the concept of make believe stories. In this genres of literature lesson, students discover the difference between realistic fiction and fantasy. They are asked questions during and after the reading of a book to ensure the...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Nasreen's Secret School: How Do People Access Books in Afghanistan?
Third graders continue to practice the close reading skills of capturing the gist and reading again for important details in the sixth lesson in a larger unit. This is a great beginning-of-the-year unit for establishing visible thinking...