Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for The Odyssey by Homer
A 15-page packet details three activities designed to engage scholars in Homer's The Odyssey. As they read, pupils use a graphic organizer to record examples of several literary terms found in The Odyssey and contemporary...
Curated OER
Creating Scrolls Based on the illustrated TALE OF GENJI
Students identify formal elements that characterize the scroll, work in a variety of media, from traditional to digital, to create their own scrolls, work into digital printout with at least two media, and engage in meaningful critiques...
Curated OER
A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Students create a writing selection with a well-developed plot. They use a personal photograph in which they are visible to base their autobiographical writing. They write a description of the events surrounding the photograph in the...
Curated OER
Newspaper Poetry
Young scholars cut out nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs from newspapers and create poems using words they have found.
Echoes & Reflections
Studying The Holocaust
While many young scholars are familiar with the Holocaust, they may not understand the specific history that led to the unprecedented atrocity. The first lesson in the unit helps teachers gauge their pupils' background knowledge. A...
Curated OER
"Where's Waldo" About Me Drawing - Self "Portrait"
Students identify the cultural clues found within art forms by producing a work of art based on their personal experiences and create a work of art about themself. They recognize how technical elements affect art and how to implement...
Curated OER
Storytelling
Students compose a story and tell it to the class. In this storytelling activity, students work in small groups to create an illustrated story. Students are given a checklist of elements to include in the...
Curated OER
Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
Curated OER
Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors
High schoolers practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorthea Lange - Images of Children in Dorothea Lange's Photographs
Young scholars examine how visual artists tell stories with their work. In this visual art instructional activity, students study two of Dorothea Lange's photographs to find elements of art and narrative content, use descriptive language...
Curated OER
Posing for Rembrandt
Students consider the elements of costuming and posing in Rembrandt's work. They collect various costumes and experiment with poses in the theme of the painting "Night Watch". Students take photographs of poses and write accompanying...
Curated OER
Bums in the Attic
Students engage in a study about the life of young girl in the book "Bums In The Attic". They read the narrative story while considering the first person point of view. Students write a journal that analyzes the author's style of writing.
Curated OER
Thank You Ma'am Langston Hughes Process of Discovering Theme
Middle schoolers identify the elements of the plot and identify and express this story?????™s theme.
Curated OER
Animation
Studnets comprehend the elements of value, perspective and color schemes. They comprehend the principles of contrast, emphasis and unity, and the expressive qualities of thematic development and sequence. Students are asked about their...
Curated OER
Body Movement
Second graders interpret and transform drawn lines into locomotive movements. For this improvised movement lesson, 2nd graders draw a line on a piece of paper and use the elements of dance to interpret and transform their draw line into...
Curated OER
Exploring American Tall Tales
Students explore elements of American folktales and tall tales. In this literature instructional activity, students read examples of American folktales and tall tales and prepare a monologue or news report to present to the class based...
Curated OER
Rivers that Flow from the Continental Divide: The Journey of Two Rivers
Learners explore river routes. In this social studies lesson, students trace the route of a river from its source and discuss the Continental Divide. Learners draw the route the river takes and name the states it flows through. Students...
Curated OER
Word Pairs
Fifth graders practice the trait of word choice and create a narrative writing with appropriate word choices. They work in pairs to write a story using as many word pairs from their imaginations as they can.
Curated OER
Story Writing
Young scholars work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. In this story writing activity, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two...
Curated OER
Lesson Five:Determining Ideas and Adding Details
Second graders create their own writing pieces. For this narrative lesson, 2nd graders use a graphic organizer to come up with ideas and details. They practice writing topic sentences.
Curated OER
INTERPRETING A WORK OF ART THROUGH CREATIVE WRITING
Middle schoolers create a story based upon their interpretation of a work of art. The story displays students' knowledge of writing conventions, elements of a short story, literary conflict and use of descriptive text.
Curated OER
Assembling A Story
Pupils observe, discuss, and interpret Radcliffe Bailey's work "By the River" by creating a personal narrative of the 18th or 19th century. Internet access is required and related links are offered for teaching aides.
Curated OER
Writing Applications: Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics
Twelfth graders rewrite a story in a different format to understand the effects of the author's style. In this writing style lesson, 12th graders read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and rewrite the...
Curated OER
Critical Analysis: "Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain" by Jessica Mitford
In this "Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain" activity, students analyze the purpose and the meaning as well as summaryize the text. Students determine three elements that the author used to make her point.