Curated OER
Counting Up/Down Stories
Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details...
Curated OER
Same Theme, Different Story Using Fox by Margaret Wild
Middle schoolers work with themes in this lesson, which is based on Fox by Margaret Wild. Because the book has multiple themes, it is a great way to transition into exploring literary analysis and writing stories. A Six Trait writing...
Curated OER
The Time Machine
Challenge your class with this instructional activity! Learners read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, discuss context clues, identify main ideas and details, and analyze story elements. Discussion questions and activities are broken down...
Curated OER
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution: The American Revolution
The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts lesson plan. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American Revolution,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Concluding the Novel
As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...
Curated OER
Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context
Students complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.
Curated OER
Women Who Changed the World
While you don't always find the names of famous women in history books, there are a variety of ways to help pupils learn about these notable females.
Curated OER
Digging Up Dinosaurs
Students research dinosaurs using text, software, and Internet resources while role playing as paleontologists. They place the information from their research in databases and publish an illustrated page about their findings.
Curated OER
Quiet on the Set!
In pairs learners perform a silent skit portraying relationships between two known characters from a popular book or a play for their classmates. Next, the class will read and discuss a NYTimes article about a film school in the Bronx...
Curated OER
The Laundry News
In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "What happened to the very first edition of the Laundry News?"
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Concept Analysis
Considering using The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s story of Amir, a young boy from Kabul, as whole-class reading or for book groups? Check out this resource that provides background materials on Afghanistan, a synopsis of the...
Macmillan Education
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Follow Alice as she travels through Wonderland with a set of lessons based on the first chapter of the book. Learners discuss key moments and ideas from chapter 1 before answering a series of comprehension questions about what they have...
Secondary Solutions
Of Mice and Men: A Literature Guide
Whether you are planning on using Of Mice and Men for whole-class reading or as a selection for literature circles; whether you are new to John Steinbeck's novel, or it has long been a part of your curriculum, you...
University of North Carolina
Annotated Bibliographies
When researchers write a paper, they become curators of information. It's their job to determine the best sources of information on a topic and use those sources to inform their writing. As part of a larger series, a handout on annotated...
Curated OER
Portraits, Pears, And Perfect Landscapes: Investigating Genre in the Visual Arts
Differentiate between the various genres in the visual arts world, particularly in Western painting. Your class can view and discuss, in small groups, paintings published on the National Galleries website. Then each student individually...
Curated OER
Identify Genre, Subgenre, and Author's Purpose
Explore genre, subgenre, and author's purpose in this helpful worksheet. Middle schoolers read several summaries of books and short stories, and identify the genre and subgenre. They also determine if the author's purpose is to...
BioEd Online
Bone Structure: Hollow vs. Solid
What is meant by the phrase "form follows function?" Allow your budding biologists to discover first-hand through two activities. In the first, groups work together to discover whether a solid cylinder or an empty cylinder can support...
BioEd Online
Muscle Fibers
What better way to learn about muscle than by dissecting one? Using cow muscle (beef), learners compare bundles of yarn to muscle fibers as they explore each. The supplemental reading about astronauts losing muscle mass in space and what...
Baylor College
It Begins with the Heart
Aspiring anatomists label a photograph of a human heart by comparing it to a colored diagram on the same page. The video that is mentioned in the procedure does not seem to be available, but the overview provides plentiful background...
Council for Economic Education
Teaching Economics Using Children's Literature
Introduce young learners to the subject of economics using their favorite stories and books. Including 24 separate lessons, this guide covers economic principles such as trade, scarcity, consumer goods and services, renewable and...
K20 LEARN
Hooking Your Reader
Hook your class into inquiry-based, hands-on learning with a activity on narrative leads. Pupils research different types of hooks and decide which one to use in their own writing. Carefully scaffolded to include all learners, the...
Curated OER
Illustrate With Character
Students examine character traits and apply characteristics of those traits to images and quotations. They design, save and print using a desktop publishing program. They utilize reference tools to locate quotations.
Curated OER
Knights and Castles and Kings Galore
Fifth graders create a fairy tale story with emphasis on castles. After reading various texts featuring castles and their residents, 5th graders complete a book report project. The book report serves as a springboard to the writing...
Curated OER
Writing Original Adventures About Imaginary Sidekicks
Students explore storytelling by conceptualizing a story with classmates. In this publishing lesson, students identify the idea development process and discuss word choice when writing a story. Students utilize a graphic organizer to...