Curated OER
Punning Vocabulary
Students analyze and practice presenting vocabulary words in out of the ordinary ways with word play, frisky words and puns. They also identify the correct definition of each word and then use them in gimmicks to add flair and fun to the...
Curated OER
Visual Communication Through Photography
Students work closely with the school newspaper provideing important images that help tell the story. They work individually on class projects that help them become visually literate. Students explore about the differnt tools that...
Curated OER
Literature: Oliver Twist In The Classroom
Learners view the Masterpiece Theatre presentation of Oliver Twist. the lesson includes plot summaries of the three episodes as well as before and after viewing activities. In addition, there are discussion and activity suggestions to...
National First Ladies' Library
The Play's the Thing...or Two
Students explore melodram as a form of theatre. They write about lucid and factual news accounts and about sensationalism. Students gain experience in relating one time period with another and with doing historical research.
Curated OER
Improve the Lives of the Homeless in New Orleans
Students develop a business plan to address the issue of homelessness. In this "Homeless in New Orleans" lesson, students learn how to develop a business plan, interview homeless people, brainstorm ideas and present their final plan to...
Curated OER
Basic Feature Interviewing
Students act as reporters to develop interview skills. In this interview lessons, students develop the skills needed to use anecdotes and quotes to make an interview interesting. They practice asking questions over and above the 5 W's so...
Curated OER
Cool Commercials Critique
Students investigate advertising by critiquing commercials in class. In this media lesson plan, students view several commercials on their computers while completing a worksheet which helps them critique the ads. Students...
Curated OER
Illuminating Our Human Experiences: Soliloquy from Hamlet
Students determine the meaning of a soliloquy and examine the themes in Shakespeare's, Hamlet. In this literature lesson, students read Hamlet's soliloquy and watch a Photo Story 3 text model of such. They write a personal soliloquy...
Curated OER
Hark! The Sounds of Murder
Students analyze the Macbeth murder scene through textual analysis and construct the murder scene of Duncan through the use of sound only. In this Macbeth lesson, students work in groups to analyze the murder scene of Duncan from...
Curated OER
Stargirl lesson
Students view a video clip and analyze it. In this Stargirl lesson, students write about following others or their own will. Students answer discussion questions. Students build understanding of conformity.
Curated OER
Knock, Knock, or Whose Line is it Anyway?
Students compare two versions of Macbeth and participate in improvisational acting. In this improvisational lesson, students read and discuss the text before watching two different versions of the film. Students roleplay...
Curated OER
Festival of Fools
Students act out lines from King Lear to show a character's folly. In this English literature lesson, students identify the 'folly' of a given character by choosing a passage from King Lear to demonstrate a time when the...
Curated OER
An Irish Blessing
High schoolers explore Irish culture by participating in a creative writing activity. In this good will writing lesson, students define "Irish Blessings" and utilize computer software to create a template for a blessing they will write....
National Endowment for the Humanities
Charles Baudelaire: Poète Maudit (The Cursed Poet)
After learning the main ideas of the Decadent movement, high schoolers work in small groups to read and translate poems by the French poet Charles Baudelaire using basic etymology skills. They then read the accurate English translations...
Curated OER
Into the Wild,
Students study the importance of point of view. They use a well-known fairy tale to explore how changing the point of view changes the whole story. They discuss what "point of view" means by asking: whose story is it? Whose eyes are we...
Curated OER
Journalism 101
Students understand the writing style in a newspaper. In this journalism activity, students recognize that a newspaper has a catchy headline and objective writing. Students interview someone in an area of interest and write a news article.
Curated OER
The Basics of Journalism: A Little Preview
Students define journalism and identify the basic components of a news story. For this journalism basics lesson, students define the word journalism, read a new story, and break it into parts with two major characteristics for each...
Curated OER
Gingerbread Baby v. Gingerbread Boy #7
Students read two stories. In this comparison lesson, students read "The Gingerbread Baby," by Jan Brett and the original "Gingerbread Boy." Students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two stories.
Curated OER
Critical Thinking & Writing: Brainstorming
Have your young writers organize their thoughts before writing. They generate ideas through various brainstorming activities prior to writing a mock feature news story for USA Today. A series of USA Today articles debating the level of...
Curated OER
The Preposition Song
Students, after watching and listening to a video on Grammar Rock, recite and sing the words to The Preposition Song. They rehearse it several times before they stand up in front of class and recite it out loud for their classmates as...
Curated OER
Using Commas and Semi-Colons Correctly
High schoolers review the rules for correct usage of the comma and semicolon. Then, in groups, they complete worksheets, discuss answers, and reference grammar rules that support their usage of commas and semicolons.
Curated OER
A Tale of Two Girls
In this cultural differences reading worksheet, students read a short story. Students answer 5 questions about the events which are set in Australia.
Curated OER
Interpreting Dramatic Works
Action! Delve into character development in the play Fences by August Wilson, setting the stage for learners to analyze character nuances. Thespians choose a scene from the script, responding with a written account of the...
Curated OER
April and the Dragon Lady by Lensey Namioka
Students read, analyze and discuss the book, "April and the Dragon Lady," by Lensey Namioka and then take an online quiz over it. They are then instructed to complete a worksheet over the book and are also graded on how well they worked...