Curated OER
Campaign Trailblazers
Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...
Curated OER
Following the Leaders
Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...
Curated OER
Identifying Themes in Children's Literature
Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...
Curated OER
Hamlet's Soliloquy
Everyone is familiar with the beginning of Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be..." While reading Hamlet, help your middle schoolers analyze the lines that follow, but how do you help them make personal connections to the text? Use...
Curated OER
Proving the Purpose of Punctuation
Explore the importance of correct verbal and written communication in the real world. Middle schoolers brainstorm what their world would be like without punctuation, listen to and read excerpts without punctuation, and record and present...
UAF Geophysical Institute
System Interactions: The Lorax and the Truffula Tree
If the Lorax were to write a letter, what would he write? Introduce your class to systems and feedback loops through the whimsical stylings of Dr. Seuss. Learners take on the Lorax's point of view to write a letter, among other activities.
Prestwick House
Teaching Shakespeare: Sonnet 73
It's that time of year to consider how Shakespeare selects his images and structures his Sonnet 73 to develop the meaning of the poem. Class members examine the rhyme scheme, the indented lines, the conceit, and the images used in each...
Curated OER
Researching African Americans Who Made a Difference
Celebrate Black History Month with this lesson, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas, text, and graphics...
Civil War Trust
Contrasting the North and South before the War
Learners create a standing cube with four panels that display information on the North and South's economy, geography and climate, society, and means of transportation before the Civil War. Through discussion and reading...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Federalists v. Anti‐Federalists
Here is a solid lesson plan to support your instruction on the Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation. It includes close analysis of primary source images, a guided notes template and answer key, and many key...
Baylor College
Your Energy Needs (BMR)
How many Calories one needs on a daily basis is dependent on a number of factors including gender, height, and activity level. In the third of seven lessons about energy and food, young nutritionists calculate the number of Calories...
Curated OER
Picture This!
Learners become fluent readers by assessing the strategy of visualization to visualize each event in a story. They use imagery to visualize all types of literature. Each student receives a copy of "Sideways Stories from Wayside School,"...
Curated OER
A Plump and Perky Turkey
Help readers recognize elements in a story. They will use pictures and text to gain meaning from written material. Have learners listen to the story A Plump and Perky Turkey and participate in a discussion. They recognize the...
Curated OER
The Miracle of the First Poinsettia
Connecting to literature and learning how to infer are two great reading strategies everyone needs to know. Here, the class will read along with the story The Miracle of the First Poinsettia, review folktales as a genre, and make...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Literacy Criticism
As learners continue to examine a short story of their choice, they take some time to look at analysis completed by others on the same story. In the eleventh lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils explore various sites for literary...
Curated OER
the Little Red Riding Hood
Students respond to the story of Little Red Riding Hood. In this Red Riding Hood lesson plan, students retell and discuss story elements. Students practice phonic sounds. Students role play, make predictions, use picture...
Curated OER
Building Vocabulary Quadrant Charts
This clever language arts lesson invites pupils to read verses of poetry, then construct vocabulary quadrants on index cards. The cards are divided up into 4 sections: Word, Meaning, Opposite, Example. They choose a difficult word from...
Curated OER
Sex Stereotypes in Society
Students analyze a collection of advertisements or photographs in a text or magazine and identify the stereotypes used or possible biases of the editors. They discuss how these stereotypes are formed, and the ways in which they impact...
Curated OER
Inca Culture and Society
Students read parts of text about Inca culture and society, put the text in the correct order, and discuss how they feel about the text. In this Inca lesson plan, students match Inca vocabulary to definitions.
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of Me
Students respond to the text, A Day in the Life of Me. For this literature lesson, students discuss the sequence of events in the story and write simple sentences with a sketch of each important event.
Curated OER
Building a Nation
Eighth graders identify the main ideas of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They read and discuss text, read and summarize a section of the Declaration of Independence in small groups, and write a paper on why the colonists felt it...
Curated OER
Calling All Actors and Actresses
Students read decodable, leveled text with expression. After the teacher demonstrates reading with expression and reading with a flat affect, students discuss which reading made the text more exciting. In groups, students practice...
Curated OER
Discovering Japan Through Cooperative Research
Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...
Curated OER
Understanding Points of View
Investigate the importance of author's point of view. Young linguists study primary source documents related to the Treaty of Casco Bay. The first source is authored by the Native American Chiefs, the second by an English...