Nemours KidsHealth
Stress: Grades 9-12
Everyone feels stress from time to time, but how can you move past it? A seven-page packet of activities guides high schoolers through the process of recognizing and managing their stress. The resource includes discussion topics, a quick...
Curated OER
Where Are You Coming From?
Pupils examine and discuss author's purpose and the influence of an author's perspective in his or her writing. In groups, they read scenarios and respond to them from the perspective of a designated character. Materials are attached.
Curated OER
Establishing a Point of View in Narratives
Fourth graders investigate the concept and take the opportunity to both identify and to construct point of view in narratives. Additionally, 4th graders practice identifying and sequencing main events.
Curated OER
Write, Right
This resource provides the beginning ideas for a activity on writing a narrative. Learners watch a video, identify story elements, including plot and setting, and then write their own stories. If augmented, this activity could provide a...
Curated OER
Movie Poster: Persuasive Text
Young scholars create movie posters based upon short stories they've recently read. In this persuasive writing activity students analyze a poster that is intended to persuade people to want to see the movie and convince Steven...
Curated OER
Character Traits: Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear
Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: Mixing Words and Pictures
Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy instructional activity focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then...
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Four Corners
Forgiveness can be a difficult step to take in any circumstance, but is it more difficult if the offense is more egregious? High schoolers consider the concept of forgiveness before reading William Shakespeare's The Tempest. As kids read...
Curated OER
Hatchet: Before Strategy- Problematic Situation
If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 4: Proverbs
"Eneke the bird says since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching." As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Paul Hernadi and Francis Steen's essay, "The Tropical Landscapes...
Curated OER
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Students compare and contrast characters from various texts and compile the collected data into several graphic organizers.
Curated OER
Knowledge or Instinct? Jack London's "To Build a Fire"
Learners closely read " To Build a Fire," to explore the use of narrative point of view and debate the distinction between knowledge and instinct. The elements of literary naturalism and how they relate to Jack London's work is examined...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.5
Your young scholars already know when they like a story and when they don't, but they may not know that the plots of these stories are shaping that opinion. Like all resources in this series, the two activities and quizzes provided here...
Curated OER
Lesson Five:Determining Ideas and Adding Details
Second graders create their own writing pieces. In this narrative lesson, 2nd graders use a graphic organizer to come up with ideas and details. They practice writing topic sentences.
Curated OER
Rising and Falling Actions
Rising and falling actions are big parts of how a plot moves through the course of a story, narrative, or novel. Youngsters use examples from their texts as they examine where the action rises and falls in the book, How My Parents...
Curated OER
Michelle Kwan: Heart of a Champion
Who is a champion to your class? Elementary and middle schoolers think of a role-model from their lives. Then, in their journals, they write evidence of that person's perseverance. They identify the character trait of perseverance with...
Curated OER
Introducing Literary Elements in Fiction
Identify literary elements in fiction. In this reading comprehension lesson, learners read the book Pigsty and record literary elements onto a graphic organizer. They specifically discuss the main characters and events in the text.
Curated OER
Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)
Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...
Curated OER
The Final Word
Although this lesson is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content and style used by...
Curated OER
Creature From The Deep
Students become familiar with oceanography terms by writing an oceanography horror story.
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Biopoem
As part of their reading of The Hobbit, readers create a biopoem for one of Tolkien's characters.
Curated OER
Storytelling: Performance and Art Learning Center
Tenth graders explore the process of telling stories without words. In this literature lesson, 10th graders watch a music video performance made by Alaska Native students, and then examine art objects that may be used to tell a story,...
Curated OER
What's that Mammal?
Learning by example is always effective if it's paired with independent practice opportunities! Model good reading practices for your class. Learners listen to the teacher model examples of reading with voice, expression, and tone...
Curated OER
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
Do your young readers know that poems can be performed as a team? They listen to a few examples from Paul Fleischman's book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, paying attention to how the how readers work together. They examine the...