Curated OER
Macbeth News Broadcast
Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...
Curated OER
Kumeyaay Indians
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this activity about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their...
Curated OER
Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 7
Can three works of literature work together to establish and develop a common central idea? Put your thoughts into writing with a final assessment focused on a unit-long analysis of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His...
Curated OER
Importance of American Flag in American Literature
Betsy Ross - fact and myth. As an introduction to American Literature, class members become detectives and search web sites to find information about the flag, prominent places it has been displayed (on the moon, at ground zero, in...
Curriculum Corner
7th Grade ELA Common Core Checklists
Track your class's progress on all of the ELA Common Core standards with these handy charts. Along the left side, each seventh grade identifier is listed along with the full text of the standard. As you teach, reteach, assess,...
Curated OER
teaching Geography Using Literature in K-University Classrooms
Students read one of the following books: Minn of the Mississippi, Paddle-to-the-Sea, or Seabird, all by Holling C. Holling, and identify the five themes of geography as well as make a literature journal with chapter field notes. They...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Sixth Grade Poetry
Study some of the most prominent poets and works of poetry in history with a language arts poetry unit. From Virgil to Shakespeare to Dickinson to Angelou, the resources present biographies and examples of poetic elements to...
Curated OER
Character Baseball Cards
Create baseball cards for literary characters with this lesson plan. It introduces young scholars to baseball cards, their components (stats, picture, etc.), and prompts them to draft and publish their own cards based on figures from...
Curated OER
Literature Study Guide: Gulliver's Travels
Although the title suggests this resource is devoted to Gulliver’s Travels, the materials and templates can be used with any work of literature. Readers fill out a reading schedule chart, write a summary, keep a vocabulary word list, and...
Curated OER
The Common Core Literacy Standards - Grade 2 Posters
Support second graders with mastering the Common Core using this series of classroom displays. With each English language arts standard rewritten as a We can statement and accompanied by images and examples, this resource provides...
EngageNY
Text-Dependent Questions and Choosing Details to Support a Claim: Digging Deeper into Paragraphs 6–8 of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address (and connecting to Chapter 7)
Readers learn how to choose specific details drawn from a primary source (Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford University commencement address) to support an analysis of informative text.
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 2, Lesson 7
One sentence, so much meaning. Scholars analyze a quote from Act 2.3 of Shakespeare's Macbeth and explore the plot in a jigsaw discussion.
Curated OER
Drama-Dialogue
Use drama to study and practice dialogue. Creative minds discuss what dialogue tells about a character, and how it can be used to advance the plot. They read a play, think about what they gleaned from dialogue, and record their...
Curated OER
Johnny Appleseed
Students engage in a study of apples using children's literature. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Student list facts about apples and compare them while answering some guided questions. They plant some apple seeds and...
Curated OER
Homecoming Quiz
Learners respond to 25 multiple choice questions about the Cynthia Voigt novel, Homecoming. Quizes can be submitted for grading or printed for as a hardcopy for use in classrooms with out computer access.
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: What Is Happiness?
Jack London's heart for adventure has come to define the spirit of America and its frontier. Selected passages from the foreword The Cruise of the Snark take eighth graders through London's construction and voyage of his ship before...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Characters in Heidi
Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...
Curated OER
Reading Study Guide: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 7: Pronouns
Take a break from literature study to address some grammatical concerns. Using a text you've already read in your class, show how to analyze pronoun use. After watching the master, pairs analyze a short excerpt on their own, identifying...
Curated OER
Seven Steps for Writing an Academic Essay
Students brainstorm ideas for a teacher selected writing topic. They demonstrate seven steps for writing an academic essay. They jot down words or phrases using different colored pens. They write a thesis statement and create an outline...
Curriculum Corner
7th Grade ELA "I Can" Statement Posters
Help your seventh graders relate the ELA Common Core standards to their own learning with these "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been translated into a statement that pupils can understand and placed on its own page for...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 12: Author's Purpose - Yeats and Achebe
Is there such a thing as fate/luck? Can one fight destiny? As part of their study of Chinua Achebe's purpose in writing Things Fall Apart, class members answer these questions from Achebe's point of view and then from William...
Curated OER
Animals in Ancient Rome (Grades 7-8)
Students explore the role of animals in ancient Rome through the interpretation of a fictional account.