Have Fun Teaching
Compare and Contrast (3)
Sometimes the way a topic is presented in fiction can be very different from how it is in reality. Compare and contrast a topic from both a fiction and nonfiction source with a graphic organizer that prepares kids to write about what...
Curated OER
Design a Book Cover
Students use the programs Pics4Learning and ImageBlender 3 to apply their knowledge of characters, plot, setting, symbolism, and conflict to design and create a book cover. Designed as a culminating literature activity.
Curated OER
Balanced Literacy Project
Fourth graders review all the materials they've studied about the rain forest and begin to organize their research paper by choosing a topic. They begin by rereading the introductory book, "The Great Kapok Tree," by Lynne Cherry as well...
Curated OER
Novel Lesson 5
Students take a closer look at the horrors of war. In this Vietnam instructional activity, students read Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, participate in literature circle discussion about the novel, and complete a final project based...
Curated OER
The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version. This lesson includes several culminating project...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Sleep
A reading adventure pack features two stories—Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming and Animals Don’t Wear Pajamas by Eve Feldman. In response to reading the fiction and nonfiction texts, scholars create a dreamcatcher, discuss hibernation,...
Curated OER
Multimedia Presentation on Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry
What a wonderful way to follow up on the reading of, Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry! The instructional activity has pupils split up into small groups of two to four students. Each group must work collaboratively to create a multimedia...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Farms
A Reading Adventure Pack features a fiction and nonfiction text—The Oxcart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Farming by Gail Gibbons. Following the readings, scholars make a collage showcasing foods farmed from...
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
Lesson Ideas to Enrich Student Inquiry into the Holocaust
Students inquire about the Holocaust. In this Holocaust lesson, students read books and discuss their thoughts. Students also collect current event articles from newspapers. Students investigate ghettos, Pearl Harbor and Navajo Code...
Curated OER
Cowboys
Learners analyze cowboy literature. In this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related websites....
Curated OER
Changing Perspectives on the Japanese Internment Experience
High schoolers explore the issue of Japanese-American internment. In this World War II lesson plan, students analyze historical biases regarding Japanese-American internment as they analyze literature, research print and Internet...
Curated OER
Jack and the Beanstalk
Third graders read a story and grow a beanstalk. In this literature and life science lesson, the class reads "Jack and the Beanstalk," then lists fairy tale elements and write a puppet show. The students plant pinto beans and observes...
Curated OER
Literature: "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown
Students use the Internet to access information about the book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown. They take an online quiz, complete a crossword puzzle and read interviews with Jeff Brown.
Curated OER
The Flat Stanley Project
Students read the book Flat Stanley. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students participate in earth-friendly activities based upon the book. This lesson includes ideas such as using recycled paper to make a "paper pal."
Curated OER
Pre-writing activities for improving students' connections to literature
Pupils, while reading a novel together in class, jot in their journals any connections to their own lives they can make between the text and self, text to text or text to the world. Various themes are connected to open more doors to the...
Curated OER
Bean Project (Activity in Response to the Book Jack and the Beanstalk)
In this literature and science worksheet, students respond to the book Jack and the Beanstalk by planting their own beanstalk. Students gather the 5 necessary tools and follow the 5 directions for planting a bean seed in a pot.
Curated OER
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: Literature and Theater
Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...
Curated OER
I am Special and You are Special Too - Project Children L.E.A.D.
Eighth graders recognize what makes them special through class participation and discussion of rap music, writing a poem about themselves, and designing their own special hat while working in groups.
Curated OER
Orville and Wilbur Wong and the Fantastic Flying Machines
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the role of Chinese immigrants in America. They investigate literature, history and cultures of Chinese-Americans. This ambitious plan takes two weeks to complete, and it brings in elements...
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Curated OER
Kids Can Make a Difference
What is a philanthropist? We can all be philanthropists! After assessing the needs of the school and listening to literature about how they can help others, primary learners develop a class project and maintain a journal of their...
Curated OER
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Learners read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. In this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using...
Ms. Effie's Lifesavers
Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man in the Spotlight
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...