Pennsylvania Department of Education
Comparing Key Ideas and Details in Fiction and Nonfiction
Students recognize the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. In this genre study lesson plan, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Students listen to a read aloud and vote whether the text is...
Curated OER
Ingredients For a Great Story
Focus on writing with this presentation. It includes a list of the ingredients of a great story. It is an interesting and thorough exploration of this topic. This is a great presentation to show to your class before a creative writing...
Curated OER
The Monkey's Paw
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students complete a variety of activities which demonstrate understanding of the book The Monkey's Paw .
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...
Curated OER
Reformers versus Residents in Five Points: A Role Play
Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...
Curated OER
“I Can” Common Core! 1st Grade Reading
I can read and understand fiction and nonfiction texts! Here is a great checklist that highlights 19 first grade Common Core reading standards. The resource is three pages long. Pages one and two focus on comprehension for fiction and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
High schoolers 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
Top Ten Thought-Provoking Teen Books
Teen Read Week is a time to explore books that get everyone thinking and talking.
Curated OER
Make it a Hemingway Day
It’s always a good time to have your class read the works of this Nobel Prize recipient.
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
Curated OER
Chinese Calligraphy
Explore the beauty of Chinese Calligraphy. This well-developed lesson plan will take your class on a journey through the history of Calligraphy, engage them in technique and style, then challenge them by having them create new strokes to...
Curated OER
The New York City Draft Riots: A Role Play
This is a fun, thought-provoking lesson plan. Learners use census data from 1855, primary source documents, their historical knowledge, and information regarding the New York City Draft Riots of 1863 to construct and engage in a...
Curated OER
The Merchant of Venice: Anticipation Guide
Is justice blind? Is love blind? Before beginning The Merchant of Venice, readers decide whether they agree or disagree with statements that encapsulate key elements of the tragic comedy. The class then predicts whether Shakespeare will...
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...
Curated OER
The Common Core Literacy Standards - Kindergarten Posters
Can we do it? Yes we can! Your class can become Common Core masters with a fine set of posters that state each of the kindergarten literacy standards in a friendly "we can" statement. Each of the posters contains two standards, a "we...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Voyagers: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Young voyagers face the challenge of the wide dark sea, travel with Yunmi and Halmoni, and even get trapped by the ice as they explore the reading selections offered in these enrichment activities designed for the Houghton...
Novelinks
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter: Concept Analysis
Considering Carson McCullers' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter for whole-class reading or as a selection for book circles? Check out this resource that overviews the organizational patterns, themes, plot structure, tone, and setting.
Have Fun Teaching
Common Core 1st Grade Workbook
You've found the first grade Common Core jackpot! English Language Arts and Math Common Core standards are addressed in a 74-page packet complete with standard text printables, activities, cut-outs for the classroom, and worksheets.
Curated OER
Create Hydrogen Energy
Students complete an experiment to understand changes to the environment over time. In this hydrogen lesson plan, students discuss electrolysis and conduct an electrolysis experiment. Students observe and record their...
Curated OER
Maus Lesson Plan
The artistic choices Art Spiegelman made in his graphic novel, Maus, are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare classic comic book forms with Spiegelman’s panels and frames. Directed to specific pages and guided by a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
American Literary Humor: Mark Twain, George Harris, and Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne as a humorist? Really? The three lessons in this series focus on the the storytelling style, conventions, and literary techniques employed by Hawthorne, George Washington Harris, and Mark Twain.
Curated OER
Thrilling Information: Music and Reading
Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...
National Science Teachers Association
The Ethanol Project
In a mock senate hearing regarding the development of ethanol as a fuel source, each person in the class is assigned a role to play and must uphold the stance of their character. Once the senate hearing is complete, each person writes a...
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...