Curated OER
Discussion Guide for The Catcher in the Rye
Is Holden Caulfield a trustworthy narrator? Groups work together to find evidence in The Catcher in the Rye to support a yes or no stance.
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Chalk Talk
Discussion doesn't always need to be spoken. Before you begin The Tempest by William Shakespeare, have kids connect their ideas and experiences to central questions of the play with a silent discussion activity. Once they have...
Novelinks
The Good Earth: Biopoem Strategy
To gain a better understanding of characters in Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, kids create a biopoem for one of her characters.
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Narrative Essay
Finish a unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a narrative essay. Based on Santiago's harrowing adventures, the essay prompts readers to think about a time when they were faced with a challenge, overcame a...
Orange County Department of Education
The Glass Slipper Shatters
High school freshmen craft their own definition of honesty. They provide an example from their lives and reflect on the outcomes of their honest behavior. They also identify a time when they may have been dishonest in a relationship and...
Storytelling World
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Ring in the holiday season with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. A teacher's guide to each chapter, crossword puzzles, quote matching, and creative writing prompts are just a few of the language arts...
Wildlife Conservation Society
Build Your Wild Self
Get wild with an interactive web site that challenges scholars to create their wildest self. Future wild things begin as an average person—eyes, mouth, clothes—then morph into animal attributes—horns, tails, wings—and end in the...
EngageNY
Learning from the Narrator’s Point of View: Introducing Flush
It is all down the drain. Scholars read chapter one of Flush and write any unfamiliar words in their word catchers and identify the narrator and point of view of the story. Pupils complete a point of view anchor chart and use Thought,...
EngageNY
Comparing Multiple Accounts of the Same Topic: Learning about the Great Migration (Promises to Keep, Pages 10–13)
Get the story straight. Scholars gather information about the Great Migration as they listen to a reading from Promises to Keep. They then examine the text to find evidence to support the feeling of resentment. Learners take part in...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
After reading Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, bring your class to the computer lab so they can study for an upcoming unit quiz. There are 12 multiple choice questions provided, and they all have to do with information...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
EngageNY
A Rainforest Folktale: Determining the Message of “The Wings of the Butterfly,” a Tukuna People Tale
Did you the message? Scholars listen to a read aloud of The Wings of the Butterfly to summarize and determine the message of the text. They discuss the folktale and vocabulary in groups, then use a double bubble map to compare the story...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Problematic Situation
Present your pupils with some moral dilemmas to examine. The scenarios, which learners rank by seriousness individually and then in groups, require learners to think about right and wrong.
National Constitution Center
Born in the U.S.A: Music as Political Protest
Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...
International Technology Education Association
Singin' the Black and Blues
How does the color of the sky change from blue to reds and oranges to black? An illuminating lesson explains how light travels through different mediums using the sun's light as an example. By examining diagrams and illustrations, pupils...
Curated OER
Nonfiction History Stories
Three different reading comprehension worksheets are all related to understanding informational or historic stories. Learners read the stories (non included) then answer ten short answer, ten multiple choice, and ten five 'w'...
Curated OER
Story Retelling
Students explore storytelling by participating in an image analysis activity. In this story structure instructional activity, students read the book Cookie's Week by Tomie dePaola and retell the story to their teacher in sequential...
Curated OER
Assessing Reading Fluency Using the Flip Video
Utilizing a video camera, learners will read a story while being recorded. Later, they analyze the footage. After identifying their strengths and weaknesses with the teacher, they discuss reading fluency techniques. Adaptation: Instead...
Arkansas Department of Human Services
Caps for Sale
Bring to life a class reading of the children's book Caps for Sale with this printable set of manipulatives. Color, laminate, and cut out these pictures of the peddler, his caps, the tree, and the monkeys, using them act out the...
Curated OER
Reading Rainbow
Beginning readers observe and demonstrate a variety of reading expression strategies. They listen to the teacher read the book Ten Hungry Monsters both with and without expression, and discuss the difference. Then it's their turn!...
Curated OER
Elements of a Short Story (SMARTboard)
TV for homework? Your pupils' dreams have come true! After reading Sandra Cisneros's "Eleven," they analyze the elements of the story, particularly the plot and and climax. The lesson could work with any short story that you are using to...
Curated OER
Story Spinners
Students read a book orally using a "Snaking It" technique. The students make a curvy path around the room and take turns reading a sentence orally. They then create a project using paper plates and colored pencils to identify the main...
Curated OER
New Vocabulary: The Ugly Duckling
The class hears the story of The Ugly Duckling to build vocabulary. They hear the story, then pull three to four vocabulary words from the text. The teacher then helps them use the context of each sentence to construct a meaning for each...
K5 Learning
The Parade
Parades are a joy to watch and learn about. Class members read about a child who attended a parade with her mother and brother, match past tense verbs from the reading, identify and fill in blanks for sight words candy,...