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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Touring the World With Tomie dePaola

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students listen aloud to books by Tomie dePaola. They utilize the Internet to study the geography and culture of the places the they read about in Tomie dePaola's books. They answer questions about Norway through an Internet treasure hunt.
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Lesson Plan
Read Works

Lesson 4:Theme Matters

For Teachers 5th Standards
Determining a theme is one of the most difficult and most important standards in the Common Core. Use this plan to help your learners identify the message that an author is sending to the reader. The activity is based around the book...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 3: A Poem's Theme

For Teachers 5th Standards
Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems by Barbara Rogasky is the foundation of this lesson on theme identification. Critical thinkers read three different poems from the book then attempt to find the message the author is sending her readers. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Alcohol Myths

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore messages about alcohol that are promoted, the consequences of drinking, and the alcohol industry's motivation in promoting drinking.
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Activity
Shmoop

ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Make analyzing the sequence of events in an informational text easy. Ask readers to craft a one-sentence summary of each paragraph in a document and create a text map. To demonstrate their understanding of the process, participants read...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Message in a Bottle

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...
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Lesson Plan
Media Education Lab

Propaganda in Context

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Style-Shifting: Examining and Using Formal and Informal Language Styles

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Your high schoolers are probably versed in two languages: formal language, and informal conversation. Help them identify the correct language style for their audience and context with a thorough lesson and examples of different speech...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Navajo Code Talkers

For Teachers 4th - 8th
An engaging instructional activity focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Are You For Real?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students try to find newspaper and magazine articles that are informative or persuasive. They practice determining the differences between the two types of articles. They identify the devices authors use to persuade the audience.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Caesar Ciphers: An Introduction to Cryptography

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students brainstorm and discuss the concept of cryptography, the science of secrets in today's world and then focus on a system for sending secret messages used by Julius Caesar. They make a Caesar wheel assessing encrypting and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers research slavery in ancient Rome and compare and contrast it to slavery in the United States.  In this slavery lesson, students investigate the differences of slavery in different parts of the country, write a paper to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Preparing the Soil

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students read Seedfolks and discuss the characters in the story and consider their actions that led to a community garden. Young scholars journal about...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Curriculum Connections with Keiko Kasza

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students read books by the author Keiko Kasza and complete critical thinking skills, and connections to different subjects. In this language lesson plan, students connect the books to language arts, social studies, science, math, health,...
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Worksheet
Read Works

How to Say “I Ruff You”

For Students 7th Standards
Who says you need a human to be your valentine on Valentine's Day? Give your dog-loving readers an inspiring perspective on how a sister givdes her brother a valentine from the family dog. They then answer 10 questions thatd involve...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Message in a Bottle

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create an imaginary tale of travel and adventure. They explain who they are, where they were going when they got stranded, where they left from, and how they were traveling. They place their stories in bottles and set them afloat.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Young scholars find themes in folktales. In this folktale instructional activity, students read different folktales from Africa to find what message the author wants the reader to learn. They read "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears"...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Hear Poetry

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students practice analysis of poetry by analyzing song lyrics using a worksheet to guide the analysis process. They work in small groups to assess the stylistic and literary devices used in the song lyrics then they find a published...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Indirect-Direct Characterization Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders are introduced to direct and indirect characterization. In groups, they find examples of both in various pieces of literature. They are given an adjective and make a display in which they use the adjective indirectly. To...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-reading Activity: Earnest Hemingway

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the life of Ernest Hemingway. They complete a KWL chart about him and then complete a webquest about his life to find out about aspects of his life they wanted to learn. They follow by reading a novel Hemingway wrote.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Character and Plot Development Through Comics

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders are introduced to character, plot development, point of view, and tone through the use of comic strips. They, in pairs, identify these four attributes in the comic strip and present their findings to the class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders preview different poetry selections form different poets to narrow their criteria for a favorite poem. They use the web and written sources to find a favorite poem and then give an oral interpretation of their poem in class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Break the Pentomino Code!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students read and analyze the book, Chasing Vermeer. They discuss the main story elements, analyze how pentominoes are important to the story, use a pentomino code to decipher a message, and create a secret code of their own.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Human Rights Through Music And Poetry

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders discuss human rights. They brainstorm and listen to and read examples of music and poetry that deal with human rights and oppression. They choose one poem or song to analyze, looking for theme, oppression, and historical...