Curated OER
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
"People Everyday" offers class members an opportunity to develop their literacy analysis skills and to develop media literacy. Guided by an included list of discussion questions, groups examaine the word choice, literary devices used,...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising - Anticipation Guide
Learn about Mexican culture while simultaneously strengthening reading, writing and computer skills. In order to get the most out of Esperanza Rising, pupils should have prior knowledge of Mexican culture. Therefore, there are links to a...
Curated OER
Lesson: Mixing Metaphors across Current Events and Literature
Expression, current events, and art can go hand-in-hand. After analyzing a multi-media piece entitled, Trade Canoe for Don Quixote, the class explores their own expressive process. They create collages that show a current event or issue...
Curated OER
Teaching the Five Themes of Geography Through Picture Books
Read the story Make Way for Ducklings and introduce little ones to the five themes of geography. Reread the story, while displaying transparencies to reinforce the five themes. In groups, learners view pictures and identify the themes on...
Curated OER
Using Literature to Introduce the Five Themes of Geography
Students listen to a read aloud of "If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln". Using the text, they identify examples of the five themes of geography and write them down. Using a map, they plot the places mentioned in the book and sort facts...
Curated OER
5 Themes Awareness of Current Event Issues
Students analyze newspaper articles for the 5 themes of geography. They create a colorful portfolio explaining how each theme: location, place, etc. is relevant in a chosen current event.
Curated OER
Flag Day Theme Paper
In this Flag Day learning exercise, students use this colorful decorated writing paper for a story or essay about Flag Day. The paper has an American flag, stars, and a dove with a blue oval background.
Curated OER
Visual Arts: Art in Public Places
Students create 3 dimensional art. In this sculpture lesson plan, students collect objects that represent their community's values to include in a 3 dimensional sculpture. Students write a paragraph explaining the chosen theme of their...
Curated OER
Johnny Appleseed Theme Unit: Day 3
Students participate in a variety of activities surrounding a thematic unit on apples and Johnny Appleseed.
Curated OER
Banned Books
Should people be able to ban books from schools and libraries if they find them objectionable? Scholars read the three main pros and cons regarding banned books. They also review a list of the top 10 challenged books from 2017 and...
Curated OER
Modernism in Poetry, Painting, and Music
Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...
National Endowment for the Arts
Teacher's Guide: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A 10-lesson unit takes high schoolers through a novel study of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. To start, students learn about Fitzgerald's background and gain historical context that prepares them for a reading of the book. The...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms and the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Culture & Change
Can a palace door be art? Can it facilitate an understanding of people and places? It certainly can! Using a palace facade as a lesson catalyst, kids will discuss geometric patterns, the kingdom of Swat, and geopolitical themes. They...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages
A lot of secrecy shrouded the creation of the atomic bomb. Readers uncover some of that secrecy using an educator's guide for the novel The Green Glass Sea. Three weeks of lesson plans feature discussion questions and reading...
Curated OER
Voice of History
Way before the digital age radio was the medium of popular culture. After listening to excerpts from radio programs (easily available on the Internet), participants return to the radio age by creating a two-minute sketch based on a...
Curated OER
Antonym Snowmen
Pupils demonstrate their understanding of antonyms. They create snowmen and write antonyms on them. Then present their snowmen and antonyms to the class. This is a seasonal theme lesson.
Curated OER
Bias and Crime in Media
Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...
Curated OER
Monster Party Story Starter
Young writers can contemplate a cartoon zombie's brain while they write a creative story. The theme is Halloween and the issue is that the writer invited real monsters to his or her party. Big mistake! Or was it?
Jessica Winston
The Biggest Valentine Ever
Combine hearts with minds in a reading comprehension activity with a Valentine's Day theme. Steven Kroll's The Biggest Valentine Ever, named one of the best books for kids in 2014, provides kids with an opportunity to practice their...
Read Works
How to Say “I Ruff You”
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...
Curated OER
Many Ways of Seeing
Investigate themes and issues in art such as the concept of originality, interpretation of visual language, symbolism, and examination of the categories of fine art and folk art.
Curated OER
The Power of the Image: Understanding Symbols in Buddhist Art
Students discuss symbolism in art, examine various images of compassion in Buddhist tradition, analyzing components of the concept, and then produce their own images of compassion through art.
Poetry Society
War Horse and WWI Poetry
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library. As part of their study of War Horse individuals create an anthology of World War I poetry.