Curated OER
Reading About Estuaries
High schoolers practice their reading skills by reading information about estuaries. As a class, they discuss what they read and answer discussion questions. As they read, they use the right hand column of their paper to write down any...
Curated OER
In a Nutshell....
Pupils examine how to summarize the most important details in a reading passage in order to increase their comprehension. They design a story web using the summarization skills. Before class, they complete a reading assignment prior to...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pictures and Print: What's the Difference?
Students watch a PowerPoint presentation. In this early literacy lesson, students watch a PowerPoint presentation describing print from pictures and the difference between the two.
Novelinks
Things Fall Apart: Problematic Situation
If you could pick characteristics you would want your child to possess, what would they be? To better understand Okonkwo, one of the key characters in Things Fall Apart, class groups engage in an activity that asks them to consider this...
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Guided Imagery
Reader's of Wildwood Dancing engage in a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage them to visualize the setting of Juliet Marillier's young adult fantasy novel.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Guided Imagery
Willa Cather's novel My Antonia is full of vivid imagery. Encourage your pupils to visualize and translate images from the text into original writing with this guided imagery activity. Learners listen to an excerpt, take a moment to...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Four Corners
To generate interest in some of the major issues in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, class members engage in a four corners activity that asks them or agree or disagree with a series of statements and provide reasons for their...
Curated OER
Edgar Allen Poe And The Art Of Composition
High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...
Curated OER
The Last Lecture: Text Impressions
To pique interest in The Last Lecture, readers are given a list of key terms and ask to craft a story inspired by the terms.
Curated OER
The Writing Process- Prewriting Using Collaboration
After a class discussion on strategies pupils can use to pre-write, learners are given a topic which they use to guide them in selecting a book to read. Everyone uses a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to write down information from the...
Curated OER
"Desk Top Teaching" - Word Interrogation
Don't let your class get tripped up on the tricky words in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood! Instead, assign each member of the class one or two words and each can be an expert. Explicit directions are included, as well as a list of...
Curated OER
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
Upper graders write word problems and research the uses of multiplication. They start off by taking a pre-test on multiplication and then read the book, Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar. They make up word problems to go with their...
Curated OER
Steps to a Healthier You
Learners explore the food pyramid. In this dietary health lesson, students examine the food pyramid on the MyPyramid.gov website and discuss healthy eating strategies. There are various links to websites in this lesson.
Curated OER
Main Idea with SENTEO Component
Students explore "main idea." In this main idea and details reading comprehension lesson, students view a Brain POP video about main idea and then identify sentences displayed on the SMART Board that would be included in a paragraph...
Curated OER
Analyzing Persuasion
A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...
Curated OER
Angry Words: What Goes Around Comes Around
Students examine how angry words can effect the people and environment around them and identify ways to cope with angry feelings. They listen to the book Andrew's Angry Words by Dorothea Lachner, and participate in a simulation of how...
Curated OER
Persuasive Elements
Investigate letters to the editor and their persuasive qualities. Break your class into reading groups and give each one a different article. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer to record their thoughts and opinions. There is...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
6 Traits: Voice
Students explore the trait of voice. In this language arts instructional activity, students focus on the writing trait of voice. Students view a video and practice writing.
Curated OER
Acid in the Water
Ninth graders learn about the effect pollution has on water and how this affects their community. In this environmental awareness lesson, 9th graders expand their vocabulary and create a flowchart that demonstrates the...
Curated OER
Was the Wolf Really Guilty?
Students read plays, short stories, or novels which revolve around trials, and write essays explaining or defending the assigned role in a mock fairy tale trial.
Curated OER
Story Setting - The Art Lesson by Tomi dePaola
Students read the book The Art Lesson by Tomi dePaola and analyze the story. In this setting lesson, students discuss the importance of the setting and how it helps us understand the story. Students answer questions and chart their...
Curated OER
Novel Guide for My Brother Sam is Dead
Fifth graders explore the effects of war. In this American Revolution instructional activity, 5th graders read My Brother Sam is Dead and complete the provided comprehension, characterization, and vocabulary activities
Curated OER
Industrialization
Eleventh graders examine government regulations. In this industrialization lesson, 11th graders look into what was going on inside American factories during the era. Students read excerpts of The Jungle and watch selected video clips...
Curated OER
Salvaged Pages: Writing as a Response to Literature
High schoolers discuss the topic of the Holocaust. Before reading and discussing Elie Wiesel's "Night", they complete an activity giving them a different perspective on the event. They read diaries and journal entries of children and...