Curated OER
Parody Hilarity
Upper grade and middle school writers study the art of parody. In this language arts instructional activity, learners study the work of Lewis Carroll, read and discuss parodies from the book, Alice in Wonderland, and construct their own...
Curated OER
A BIOGRAPHICAL JOURNEY: USING THE LITTLE PRINCE TO EXPLORE BIOGRAPHY & CREAIVE WRITING
Students integrate Author and Biography study with Students personal perspective. They make connections between research and creative writing. Students enrich research and critical thinking skills. They encourage students to think about...
Curated OER
The Cutting Edge
Young writers examine the writings of Raymond Carver to investigate editing skills. They will develop original sentences. Then read the work of Raymond Carver to edit and analyze the ending. They revise and ending of their original...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing
Fourth and fifth graders try their hand at persuasive writing. They listen to well-written persuasive articles so they can get a sense of what good persuasive writing is. Then, they brainstorm topics they'd like to write about and are...
Curated OER
A Test of Faith
Secondary schoolers investigate the debate surrounding the current sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church with this New York Times lesson. Through discussions and written reflection, they explore their own thoughts and opinions on...
Curated OER
Expressing Your Views to the Letter
Analyze the motivation, purpose, and value of letters to the editor by examining letters written in response to the violence at Columbine High School. For homework, middle and high schoolers write their own letters to the editor about an...
Curated OER
What’s your Name?
Youngsters work to build empathy, cultural understanding, and a sense of self as they uncover the story behind their own names. They read the book, The Name Jar, discuss immigration and how it feels to be in a new place. Then, they...
Odell Education
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: "Cuplae poena par esto: Let the punishment fit the crime."
Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...
Curated OER
Sports Safety Role Play
Students role-play sports situations and determine the actions needed to stay safe from injuries. They define the term sports safety, develop short skits about situations involving sports safety, and work together in cooperative groups.
Curated OER
Figure of Speech
Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions.
Curated OER
Media Babies
What is a media baby? Discuss at what age children should be exposed to electronic media. After reading an article, they identify the types of media products for infants and toddlers. Learners will predict the effects of media on the...
Curated OER
Tasty Topics
Learners analyze a graphic from an article and predict what the article might be about. After reading an article, they discover a journalist's experience of traveling across the United States to compare fast food restaurants. They...
Curated OER
Television CensorChip
Explore the current television rating system, its content descriptors, and the new V-chip technology that more readily allow parents to control their child's television viewing. Help learners develop a survey that will determine the pros...
Curated OER
Write with Writers
Write and work with authors on the Scholastic Website to promote the recognition of various genres. Young writers will participate in activities based on the type of writing such as biography, descriptive, folktales, mystery, news, and...
Curated OER
Bog Child
You are destined for an engaged and happy class as they read Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child because there is nothing missing from this study guide, seriously. This might be the easiest novel to teach because you don’t have to do a thing in...
C.S. Lewis Foundation
Study Guide to The Great Divorce
Break the content and theological barriers of C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce with the ideas and suggestions available for analysis and discussion using an easy-to-understand study guide. This stupendous resource introduces Lewis’s...
Creative Competitions, Inc.
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Fantastic Fairy Tale
Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...
Curated OER
Keep Heritage Alive
Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.
Curated OER
Chew On This!
Learners develop pamphlets for a dental health mentoring program that educates younger students about caring for their teeth. They recall experiences at visits to dentists and consider why some students may have poor dental health.
Curated OER
Double Jeopardy Clause: A Fifth Amendment Constitution Trivia Game
Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This lesson is extremely...
Curated OER
A Positive Spin
Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally, they...
Public Media for Northern California
An Educator’s Guide to Teaching Gun Control Issues | The Lowdown
The topic of gun control is vast, controversial, and difficult to introduce to students. This gem of a resource covers both sides of the issue and provides topic background, various multimedia and print resources, analysis questions, and...
Curated OER
Rockefeller's Revenge: Exxon and Mobil Unite
Study the impact and possible outcomes of the Exxon-Mobil merger in your language arts, social studies, or economics class. Secondary learners evaluate a series of graphs, write a paragraph interpreting the data, and engage in class...
Curated OER
I Had a Hero Lesson
Students read "I Had a Hero" a memoir written by a Peace Corps volunteer serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They discuss the story, respond to it in writing, complete comprehension activities and relate the account to their own...