Curated OER
Chasing Metaphors
Students use metaphors in order to see commonly experienced objects, events, and people in new and more meaningful ways.
Curated OER
Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Guided Imagery
Reader's of Wildwood Dancing engage in a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage them to visualize the setting of Juliet Marillier's young adult fantasy novel.
Curated OER
Sentence Completion: High Advanced
Even your best readers will be challenged by this instructional activity that asks learners to pick the word that best completes each sentence. An answer sheet not only identifies the correct response but also details the strategies used...
Federal Reserve Bank
The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza
Make a study of producers and consumers with an updated version of the classic story The Little Red Hen (this one is called The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza). After reading and discussing the story and terms, learners practice being...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment and Discussing Themes in Esperanza Rising: (Chapter 9: "Las Ciruelas/PLums")
Give this skills-based assessment halfway through your unit on Esperanza Rising. After a brief review, class members take the test, which asks them to show that they know how to analyze the novel independently. They are asked to...
Open Oregon Educational Resources
Conventions 101: A Functional Approach to Teaching (and Assessing!) Grammar and Punctuation
Let's eat kids. Let's eat, kids. Commas make a difference! Conventions 101: A Functional Approach to Teaching (and Assessing!) Grammar and Punctuation explains ways to teach the importance and use of conventions. Learners take part in...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Wormy Spaghetti
What do spiders' legs and an octopus's eyeball have to do with metaphors? The fourth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl uses disgusting foods to teach about metaphoric writing.
Curated OER
Ancient Civilizations: The Ancient Israelites
Planning a study of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia (1800-500 B.C.)? Here's a resource packet loaded with activities, exercises, worksheets, and background information that integrates social studies and language arts curriculum.
Ware County Schools
Simple Directions
When teaching someone how to do something, it's important to give clear directions. Your youngsters can practice their skills by completing these worksheets meant to help learners describe the steps in a process. It's not just any...
Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Biopoem
Middle schoolers describe the characters of Walk Two Moons as they write biopoems. Following the pattern provided, young writers depict their chosen characters' traits and experiences to make their poems unique.
Federal Reserve Bank
Less Than Zero
Perry the penguin wants to buy a new scooter, but he doesn't have any funds! Walk your kids through the short book Less Than Zero, and have them track his borrowing, spending, and saving on a line graph while you read. Pupils will learn...
Curated OER
Identifying Text Features of a Self-Written Fable
Make learning the parts of a book fun by having pupils construct their own glossary entries, table of contents, and title page. Beginning with a review of text features and a hunt for examples, kids use previously written fables to...
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Vocabulary Squares
As part of a study of Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing, class members create vocabulary squares for words drawn from the story.
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The Weekly Test
Readers take the main characters in Matilda and individually describe them through a mnemonic. To get there, group members create an acrostic poem describing the character they were given, and choose one of the words from the...
K20 LEARN
Voices from the Past: History and Literature
Art can enhance the understanding of history. That's the big idea in a activity that has young scholars read Randall Jarrell's poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" and an excerpt from John Hersey's Hiroshima, which provide a...
Baylor College
Needs of Living Things: Post-Assessment
Assess your class's knowledge of the needs of living things with the final lesson plan in a series. Given a large piece of paper and coloring utensils, young scientists draw a picture of themselves and a plant or animal of their...
Curriculum Corner
February Bell Ringers
Use a set of 30 writing bell ringers to get through the month of February. Writers tap into and write about how February makes them feel, what it smells like, and all types of celebrations that occur during the month.
Great Books Foundation
Discussion Guide for 1984
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, can seem strangely prophetic when compared to modern news events and politics. Readers of Orwell's dystopian classic sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging in...
Library of Congress
Dracula
Readers experience classic thrills and chills in the digital version of Mary Shelley's Dracula. The online version of the classic text has the look and feel of an old book with modern upgrades, such as buttons to navigate between...
All for KIDZ
The Orphan of Ellis Island
Everyone comes from somewhere. An interdisciplinary lesson on Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island includes discussion starter and writing prompts for the novel, as well as a graphic organizer to help learners begin their...
Curated OER
Elements of a Story - Plot, Characters, and Setting
Use this SMART board activity with any short story in your unit plan. The SMART board file contains a step-by-step guide to plot diagrams, including an interactive practice page and an assignment. This resource is beneficial for language...
Curated OER
Analyzing Literature via Literature Circles
Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...
Curated OER
Counting Sentences' Words
Explore language arts by completing a worksheet with class. They read the story Owl Moon and discuss the rhythm of the writing and how action verbs are used appropriately. Then complete a writing worksheet which discusses writing...