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,...
Curated OER
Past Imperfect: Examining Secondary Sources of the American Revolution
Ninth graders respond in essay form to the following writing prompt. Mel Gibson, star of The Patriot, is quoted as stating, "If one were to adhere to historical accuracy all the way, you'd probably have the most boring two hours on...
Curated OER
Trustworthy Images
Students investigate metaphors. In this writing lesson, students brainstorm traits of a trustworthy person and create a metaphor for a trustworthy person.
Art Institute of Chicago
Lesson Plan: A Writer’s Odyssey
Looking for a fresh approach to an end-of-unit project for The Odyssey? Check out a resource that has class members write their own hero's journey short story and then craft an illustration that depicts their tale. Apollonio di...
Curated OER
Fantasy Stories
High schoolers create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Curated OER
Vegetable Creatures
Students use different foods to enhance academic skills in all area contents. In this food activity activity, students use food, such as "bugs on a log" (raisins on peanut butter celery) to estimate and practice...
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Palace Adventure
Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...
Curated OER
Noncombatancy and the Seventh day Adventist Church
Upper graders investigate how the Seventh Day Adventists are objectors to the practice of war. The lesson covers the Civil War and examines the church's position about the practice of war. The research extends to modern wars and learners...
Curated OER
Characterization in Literature
Students discover characterization techniques and methods. In this characterization lesson, students choose favorite fiction characters and discuss what makes a character come alive. Students then describe a family member or a friend and...
Curated OER
In Cold Blood: A During Reading Activity
Following the method used by Truman Capote, class members research a major character from his novel, In Cold Blood, and then conduct an interview with that character. The resulting research is used to craft a newspaper article about the...
Curated OER
Maus: After Reading Strategy Instructional Routine
Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...
Curated OER
Audio Aesop: Listen to the Lesson!
Aesop's Fables are the focus of this language arts lesson. Young philosophers study and discuss the morals found in the most famous of Aesop's Fables. They write an original fable that teaches a common moral. A "Fable Listening Library"...
Curated OER
"Blackbeard's Ghost" Differentiated Lesson Plan
Develop a better understanding of "Blackbeard's Ghost" with this differentiated lesson. Working in groups on a creative project, middle schoolers can reinforce their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. Use this...
Curated OER
I'm a Changed Pig - Personal Narrative
Young writers explore character arcs, conflict, and narrative in this complete and ready-to-use lesson plan from Scholastic. As a class read The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig and discuss the dramatic change the pig...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Gargoyles Galore
Grrrrr, gargoyles are on the loose! Young artists are familiarized with the history of gargoyles, examine pictures of them, and hear a story about them. Then, they draw a gargoyle and write down exactly how they did it (procedural...
EngageNY
Interpreting and Connecting Information: Creating a Cascading Consequence Chart Using Frightful’s Mountain
Decisions, decisions. Scholars take a close look at making decisions by discussing the character Sam in chapters one through eight of Frightful’s Mountain. Partners discuss whether Sam should interact with Frightful and then...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Text Connections
There are so many different ways to help learners make text-to-self connections. Here, fifth graders will create tableaus that show an event from a chapter in the class reader. They'll discuss why they chose that event to dramatize and...
Curated OER
Map It Out
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...
Curated OER
Presenting Your Case
Pupils research a famous person of their choice in this lesson. They research the person's life, feelings, and character through a series of written activities. They compile their research into a creative project called a character's...
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Facing Obstacles with Creativity and Humor
Middle schoolers explore how to overcome obstacles. In this perseverance lesson, students discuss effective strategies that could be used when faced with an obstacle. Middle schoolers discuss why having a plan, teamwork and perseverance...
Curated OER
My Name Is Me!
Students write about themselves. In this personal writing lesson, students write their name vertically down a sheet of paper and think of a self descriptive word that matches each letter of their name. Students write a descriptive...
Curated OER
Understanding Story Elements-Who, What, Where
Learners create a rap using story details. In this creative writing lesson, students examine the use of rap lyrics to list important details of stories. They view a video example, and use their notes to create their own raps...
Curated OER
Picture a Character
How would Jean-Etiénne Liotard paint the characters from "The Little Mermaid?" What would the main character from "The Little Match Girl" look like from Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes' point of view? After examining various paintings...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss Author Study
Students listen to a story, then use the same format to write a class book.