Curated OER
The Scarlet Letter Vocabulary Words--Set 1--Flash Cards
Now this is a cool way to study vocabulary. Kids can click on the EZ Flash Cards to revile definitions, test themselves, or prep for reading. The vocabulary on these flash cards are all taken from the Nathaniel Hawthorne tale, The...
Curated OER
Organizing by Writing
Middle schoolers analyze how to use writing for generating and organizing their thoughts before communicating them. They use the questions on the first handout to organize a three-minute introduction of themselves to their small group....
Collaborative Learning Project
Simple to Complex Sentences
Such a creative game idea, this activity might actually make grammar fun! Learners play a modified game of connect-four by identifying the grammatical name for different words and phrases and then working them into simple sentences to...
Curated OER
School, Unplugged
What would school be like if you couldn't teach lessons that require technology? Would it benefit the class? Would it hold them back? Have your learners read this article and answer the basic reading comprehension questions. Then have...
Curated OER
Promote Nonviolence
Take a look at the topic of violence as seen in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Discuss together the values that Atticus holds and brainstorm ways to combat violence in a similar manner to what he portrays in the novel. Get your...
K12 Reader
Adverbial Phrases
What is the purpose of adverbial phrases? Find out what questions adverbial phrases answer with a worksheet that focuses on grammar. As kids work through 16 sentences, they underline the phrases and use the space provided to mark what...
K12 Reader
Make the Same Shape
Make sure your class has a grasp of words that include the long /a/ sound and follow the _a_e pattern. They can read the short poem on this page, which includes many examples of this pattern to practice, and then complete the three...
Media Smarts
Learning Gender Stereotypes
How do media representations influence our attitudes? Examining advertisements through the filter of gender representation forms the basis of this, the second of three lessons that address gender stereotypes. Resources include links,...
Curated OER
Easy Access: Creating Annotated Versions of News Articles
How can news coverage be made more accessible for teens? Model for your class how to use technology to annotate news stories containing unfamiliar references that hinder their interest in and understanding of a news story. Use the...
Curated OER
Following Instructions
Designed to assess your class's ability to follow directions, this reading activity has learners split into groups, read a series of instructions, read a passage, and answer two lists of questions. Can they remember to raise their hand...
Curated OER
What's the First Letter? (A to H)
Here are eight words, and each of them is missing a letter. Not just any letter but the first letter. Oh my! Put your phonics masters to work and have them determine which of the eight letters (a-h) completes each word.
Curated OER
Identifying and Generating Rhyming Words, Body
Can you tell which words rhyme? Choose a body part as a starting word (i.e. head) and begin saying words to see if learners can identify those that rhyme. Does red rhyme with head? Continue giving examples, some rhyming and others not....
Curated OER
Introduce /u/
As scholars are learning about letter sound correspondence use this activity to help them with the /u/ sound. Learners examine a large u on the board, identifying it if they can. They listen to you make its sound, explaining to them what...
Curated OER
"Your Son, Your Only One" - The Sacrifice of Isaac as a Motif in Holocaust Poetry
Class groups examine a series of poems that use Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a motif in Holocaust poetry. Included are questions, notes to the teacher, and bibliographical information on each poem. The activities could be...
Curated OER
Linked Text Set: Pre-Reading Strategy. Fever 1793
The historical background for Fever 1793 is the focus of a pre-reading strategy that has class groups rotate through a series of stations stocked with photographs, articles, and other texts that describe the Yellow Fever outbreak of...
Curated OER
Fever 1793: Round Table Discussion
All things considered, it will be a good day for readers as they manage on their own to develop questions about what intrigues, bothers, or confuses them in Laurie Halse Anderson's tale of Mattie Cook and the Yellow Fever epidemic of...
Curated OER
Freak the MIghty: Anticipation Guide
Friendship, family, and violence are the subjects of an anticipation guide designed to accompany Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel, Freak the Mighty. Individuals complete the included guide, discuss their responses in groups, and then...
EngageNY
Close Reading: The Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
As part of a group of lessons, your class will return to the primary text for this unit, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Key vocabulary as well as close reading strategies continue to be the focus skills; however, this lesson...
EngageNY
Paragraph Writing, Part II
Come up with a list of requirements for this expository essay on Esperanza's character in Esperanza Rising as a class and use the list to guide class writing. Here, learners will complete the first paragraph, discuss their notes for the...
Eye On Education
I Say Tomato, You Say To-Mah-To
Turn your junior high talkers into effective arguers. Introduce these budding lawyers to skills that show how to support a claim, decide what clear reason is, and how to use evidence to support an argument. Time is scheduled for class...
Curated OER
Animal Farm Chapter 2 Discussion Notes and Mini-Project
Imagine having the opportunity to create your own country. After responding to questions about chapter two, readers of George Orwell's dystopian classic are given a chance to design a utopia for one-million people, complete with...
La Jolla High School
Setting--Painting the Background
Setting and description are important parts of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Ask your class to examine how he sets the scene with this graphic organizer. Individuals or groups look at several different aspects of the setting in...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Comparing and Contrasting the Children in Colombia, Appalachia, Chad, and Afghanistan
Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...
Scholastic
Writing Letters to the Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets
To celebrate National Poetry Month, young writers focus on the role letter writing has played in the development of poets. They begin by journaling three to five associations to a writing prompt that requires them to identify their...