Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
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Exploring & Creating Mythology
Students read and compare mythological stories from ancient cultures from around the world. In small groups they read a myth and present the storyline and themes to the class, and write an original mythological story of their own...
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Looking at Illuminated Manuscripts: Illuminating Fables
Students examine a page from a Flemish bestiary. They compare the stories from the bestiary to the fables of Aesop, and culminate with the creation of their own manuscript based on a fable by Aesop.
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Examining Conflicts At Camp Green Lake
Students complete an essay documenting a conflict present in the novel Holes. They define the six types of literary discussion as a class. After identifying one of these types of conflicts in the novel, students write a five paragraph...
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Nothing To It!
First graders explore the zero property of addition and subtraction through the creation of a class book. Includes an assessment sheet.
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I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present their...
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Reader's Theater with a Twist
Second graders create a Reader's Theater script. In this reader's theater lesson, 2nd graders create their own script of a story in groups. They make props and act them out on FlipVideo and voice thread.
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Tell a Tale
Students create a class story using picture cards. Each student picks a card, tapes it to the board, and retells the story in sequential order using the words then and next.
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Comic and Film Strip Writing
Young scholars write a funny story and illustrate it in a comic strip. In this comic strip lesson plan, students study comic strips and determine the plot of each story. Young scholars then write a short story and illustrate it using a...
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Rhyme Time
Students discover rhyming words. In this rhyming lesson plan, students read A Giraffe and a Half. Students examine rhyming words from the story. Working in small groups, students create rhymes in response to a prompt from the teacher.
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Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors
Students practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
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Digital Storytelling: At-Risk Students Find Their Voices
High schoolers use digital cameras and software to create a digital story which consists of a series of digital images paired with a narrarated soundtrack. They focus on relevant images and a presecribed sequence of steps to provide a...
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Bringing It All Together
Learners create a small, six page newspaper to prepare for a staff position. In this newspaper creation instructional activity, young scholars fill out story idea sheets, pick timely stories, assign photos, and arrange for editorial art...
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The Patchwork Path
Fourth graders investigate slavery by reading a book with their classmates. In this abolitionist movement lesson, 4th graders read the story The Patchwork Path, and discuss the creation of the Underground Railroad. Students create...
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Combining Words with Art
Third graders make an accordion-fold book, review the vocabulary of visual art and are introduced to calligraphy. They plan a story using a sequence of words and sentences.
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From Remus to Rap: A History in Theory and Practice of the African-American Storytelling Tradition
Students examine the specific form and function of tall tales and toasts.
They discover the importance of performance in the telling of a story and the importance of rhythm in the telling of toasts. They create stories of their own, in...
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Creating A Classroom Newspaper
Students participate in a culminating project to create a classroom newspaper. They use the skills of prewriting, writing, revising, editing, drawing, and scanning. This is all done so that students can master all the facets of creation...
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Writing Application: The Canterbury Tales
Students read stories from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and create their own tale. In this writing applications lesson plan, students read the tales and analyze the specific details that Chaucer use. Students work in groups...
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Lonely Fish
Students read the book The Rainbow Fish. In this citizenship lesson, students discuss how the characters in the story resolved conflicts. Students create a rainbow fish from foil and cotton.
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Integrating Japanese Folk Tales into the Classroom Using Japanese Kamishibai
Students study Japanese folk tales focusing on the traditional values and key elements. They compare the Japanese values with their own. They discuss Japanese art before designing a set of kamishibai on which they write a summary of a...
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Our Global Community
First graders experience literature which shows how communities live around the world. In this global community lesson, 1st graders read books such as Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox and create a work of art based on their feelings about the...
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Prometheus Eulogy
Students write a eulogy for the mythological character, Prometheus. In this Greek myth lesson, students read a story about Prometheus and view a PowerPoint. Students discuss the elements of a eulogy and then write one for Prometheus.
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Elements of Fiction
Learners investigate themes and settings in their favorite fiction stories. In this creative writing lesson plan, students discuss the reasons a fictional story works well and discuss ways to create their own. Learners create...
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Predicting and Summarizing Leads to Comprehension
Students practice making predictions in order to aid in the creation of meaning when reading text. Before reading a passage, they make a prediction based on previous actions as to what will happen next in the text. Students compare and...