Curated OER
Book Project Lesson Plans
Long term book projects can help engage students and enhance their critical thinking skills .
Sandra Effinger
Bulletin Board Project
Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a...
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Illustrated Children's Books
Students create their own illustrated book. In this illustration lesson, students review books given the Caldecott award. They create their own illustrations for a book and digitally scan them to a computer to make their pages.
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Classroom Guide for the Redwall Series
Students participate in cross-curricular activities and readings to become familiar with the works of Brian Jacques. In this heroes lesson, students discuss the character traits of legends and how their characters develop through events...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
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What a Character!
Guide your readers to explore character traits. As a class, discuss and record the traits of a commonly-known fairy tale character. Then do the same with the main character in the class novel. Finally, have learners use magazines...
Perkins School for the Blind
Tactile Journals
I absolutely love this idea. Children with visual impairments create tactile journals which describe an event from the previous week in an artistic way. They verbally describe one event from the previous week and then use a wide array of...
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The Sundance Kids
Young scholars discuss independent filmmaking industry, focusing on the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. As a class, students develop a storyboard for their own independent film, then write movie reviews from the point of view of a film...
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The Ghost Catcher
Second graders read the story The Ghost Cather and complete activities related to the book. In this language arts lesson plan, 2nd graders complete comprehension questions, art projects, and more.
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Arthur's Thanksgiving
Students investigate Thanksgiving by reading a children's book. In this holiday lesson, students read Arthur's Thanksgiving by Marc Brown and create a turkey fact book after reading an electronic encyclopedia. Students bring...
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Author of the Month
Fourth graders research authors on the Web each month in based on the themes in their reading book. They create an author booklet which includes a picture and biographical information.
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Raptor Poster Project
Students create posters about raptors. They synthesize information they read about raptors and select a raptor. They draw a picture of their raptor and include facts relating to where it lives, characteristics, feeding habits, size, name...
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Getting to Know You
Students demonstrate the concept of friendship. In this character education lesson, students read the book Best Friends and discuss what friendship means. Students create a picture book about their likes and dislikes.
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Thanksgiving Quilt
Second graders create individual "thankful" felt squares for use in a large classroom Thanksgiving quilt that can be put together using glue or hot glue. This great holiday lesson is based upon the book "Thanksgiving" by Miriam Nerlove.
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Band On Line
In 1996, using the Internet to enhance learning was a new innovation. While the lesson here is a bit outdated, it could still provide a basic understanding of how technology can enhance music appreciation. Members of the school band...
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Meet Kit: An American Girl
Students explore economics by participating in a role-play activity. For this consumerism lesson, students identify the Great Depression, the cause of the financial collapse and the devastation it caused people their own age. Students...
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Art Reflects Life
Fifth graders use the Internet to view collections of famous artists throughout the eighteenth century America. Using the artwork, they identify the themes that portrayed America as the land of opportunity. They record their findings...
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Local Habitats
Learners create dioramas that depict a habitat. In this habitat lesson, students use a variety of art items to develop either a marine, freshwater/pond, or forest habitat in a box. They write an expository essay about their habitat, and...
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Brown Bear Phonics
Students listen to Brown Bear, Brown Bear and imitate the style of Eric Carle in writing a sentence. In this writing lesson plan, students use the beginning and ending sounds of words to write an Eric Carle type...
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Photoshop for Fifth Graders: the Basics
Students review the basic tools for Adobe Photoshop. In this Photoshop instructional activity, students choose a picture and discuss its properties. Students use tools to see how pictures are altered. Students use layers to...
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Aboriginal Quilting Activity
Students explore Aboriginal culture by participating in an art activity. In this First Nation history lesson, students utilize the Internet to research images and designs from Native American culture. Students create images on quilting...
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MONSTERS AND MYTHS: SCRIPTS /SCULPTS
Seventh graders are introduced to myths formed by many cultures as a unique genre of literature. They use critical thinking skills to compare and contrast mythic tales, compare versions of the same story, and respond to literature in...
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Johnny Appleseed Reading and Writing
First graders explore language arts by reading a classic story in class. In this word choice lesson, 1st graders read the story of Johnny Appleseed and identify the descriptive words and sentences the author used to entice the reader....
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College Research Skills: Evaluating Reliable Online Sources
Learners analyze Public Art in preparation for college discussion, research, and writing, and create their own artistic creations. In this art and college prep lesson, students develop an original research question to explore an art...