Curated OER
Poetry Unit
Learners, after examining three forms of poetry, review and document a variety of literary terms. Vocabulary words are enveloped into the literary terms as well and are cited from each selection by each student.
Curated OER
Literacy: Each One Teach One
Students read the book, Amber on the Mountain and discuss its philanthropic implications. They determine the literacy needs of their own communities. They ask family members to complete reading recollection forms about when and how they...
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Teaching Creation Myths
Students examine various creation myths from around the world. They compare/contrast the myths, write their own creation stories, and present their myths to the class in the form of storytelling, role-playing, dance, or a puppet show.
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What Is Haiku
Middle schoolers engage in a instructional activity that is concerned with the study of poetry while focusing on Haiku as a format. They practice reading a variety of different pieces of literature in order to increase exposure. Students...
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Referencing the Classical Past
Students discuss the sculptural group of Three Goddessesby Joseph Nollekens in a study of the classical past. In this Classical history lesson, students describe the three figures in the painting and read an excerpt for the story the art...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Granny Will Your Dog Bite and Other Mountain Rhymes
Sixth graders practice choral reading of poetry. In this creative literature instructional activity, 6th graders incorporate elements of performing arts into their choral readings of various poems. They discuss musical...
Curated OER
Charolotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper" - the "New Woman"
Students analyze the life of American middle to upper-class women in the mid- to late-nineteenth century and early twentieth century. In this women's suffrage instructional activity, students visit the given links in the instructional...
Curated OER
Book Report
In this book report form worksheet, students write a short book summary, and then answer 2 questions about the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat.
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Book Report on Green Eggs and Ham
In this book report, students complete a form describing setting, characters and events in the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.
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Interative History Notebook Mini-lesson
Students respond to Holocaust literature. In this interactive history instructional activity, students select quotes from chapter 1 of Elie Wiesel's Night and reflect on their meaning as they record their thoughts on poetic, prose,...
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Reading Multicultural Literature
Students read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.
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Literature Overview of African Folktales
Students play a game of tug-of-war, participate in a discussion about the story, discuss the phrase "bigger doesn't mean better." , and illustrate a scene from the story.
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Response to Literature:
Students write about how the book makes them feel, or they can write about what they think the characters are feeling. They share their personal reactions to this very powerful chapter.
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Response to Literature: Feelings About the Book
Students read chapter 17 in the story NUMBER THE STARS and think about the author's purpose for writing the book. They are encouraged to share with the class their personal reactions to the story.
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Literature is Alive and Everywhere
Students discuss things that are valuable and things that are beautiful. In this ode lesson, students look for something beautiful that inspires them and take a picture of it. Students write an ode to one of the beautiful objects...
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Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
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Post-Colonial Writers Unit
How do cultural and historical background impact thought? To explore this essential question, class members view of portion of the film, The Passage to India, read an excerpt from The Magician’s Nephew, and Nissim Ezekiel’s...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kate Chopin's "The Awakening": No Choice But Under?
The first in a series of three resources designed to accompany a reading of Kate Chopin's The Awakening provides readers with background information about Chopin, Creole culture, literary realism, and women's suffrage.
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Introduction to Archetypes
Here is a full lesson plan with all the needed materials and PowerPoints attached! Introduce your class to archetypes by showing them the included presentation. The presentation gives definitions and examples of archetypal characters,...
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Pioneer Values in Willa Cather's My Antonia
Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one...
Curated OER
"Spelldown" by Becky Mushko
Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...
John F. Kennedy Center
Folktale Theatre
Introduce your middle schoolers to a performance and movement activity that uses their favorite stories from fairytales and folklore. They practice basic acting skills, create dialogues with a partner, and then as guided practice,...
Curated OER
Mark Twain: Straddling the Civil War
Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...
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Around the World in 10 Days
Students engage in producing responses to "what" questions and their written responses will be recorded in a Travel Journal. They produce their respones using a word processor. This lesson is very detailed and a rubic is included.