Curated OER
The Last Lecture: Power Word Search
Powerful verbs. Significant nouns. Great adjectives. Readers of The Last Lecture conduct a power vocabulary search and create a list of words drawn from the text that will be used to craft a found poem.
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: What is Afghanistan Like Today?
After completing Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, readers research a topic of interest and prepare a five-minute presentation, and share their findings with the class.
Curated OER
The Power of Mental Images: Visualizing Literature
Looking for a powerful reading comprehension method? Try visualization! Learners use this strategy to increase comprehension of a chapter book selected by the teacher. As an assessment, individuals or small groups draw pictures of the...
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
Chunking Huck Finn
Read a designated chapter of the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and discuss the chapter summary in small groups. Groups present their summaries and answer questions specific to their chapter.
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Help Me Learn About the Holocaust
Young readers select a book from a provided list to use as the basis for an intensive class study of Holocaust novels. After completing their novels, groups create a multimedia presentation highlighting the elements of literature...
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Characteristics of Anne Frank
Eighth graders read selected passages from The Diary of Anne Frank. Working in pairs, 8th graders determine what qualities and characteristics they would assign to her from their selected diary entry.
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Comparing Themes Across Texts
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
Curated OER
The Power of Mental Images: Visualizing Literature
With a chapter book in hand, readers practice visualizing the events and characters of the story. The lesson plan gives suggestions of novels that are rich in detail to help facilitate the process. Drawings from what they read act as the...
Novelinks
The House on Mango Street: Discussion Web
As part of a final discussion of The House on Mango Street, groups examine a concept question about the text, record arguments for and opposed to the question, and then a draw their own conclusions.
Novelinks
The Book Thief: The Power and Influence of Words
To culminate a study of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, individuals craft a persuasive essay in which they assume the voice of a member of one of the political parties during the early 1920s, and advocate that their party offers the...
Curated OER
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Students, in groups, read and analyze the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor. They present their findings tot he rest of the class and then connect the various themes discussed to outside material, events...
Curated OER
Interpreting Meaning in Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Launch a study of Maya Angelou's "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings" with the Youtube video of Alicia Keys singing her "Caged Bird." Groups then read Angelou's poem and discuss the symbols employed. Although the text of the poem is not...
Curated OER
Multimedia Book Report
Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...
Curated OER
Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Learners read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
Curated OER
Design for Social Justice
Students create a solution to a social justice problem within their community. In this urban planning lesson, students read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. Students then complete a research...
Curated OER
Act It Out!
An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative lesson designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the play,...
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Gatsby and the American Twenties Newspaper
Students research 1920's US History. In this historical literature instructional activity, students use the novel The Great Gatsby as a tool to examine the era. They work in individually to create newspaper articles based on...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: Visions of Dust Bowl History Lesson Overview
Students complete activities with the book Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In this literature lesson, students read this story and view the Dust Bowl history from the eyes of a child. They discover the Great Depression and life in...
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Intro to Witch on Blackbird Pond
Fourth graders read Witch on Blackbird Pond and understand the difficulties of traveling to America during the colonial period. In this Witch on Blackbird Pond lesson, 4th graders compare the choices we have in...
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Jewish Stars of David
Students examine the history of the Holocaust and complete a KWL chart. Using the Internet, they research an aspect of the Holocaust they are interested in and watch a documentary. They read testimonies of survivors and identify other...
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Erie Canal: Journey Back in Time
Fourth graders read the novel, The Eric Canal, identifying the characters and setting. They respond to daily reading by writing in journals and complete a short answer test upon completion of the novel.
Curated OER
A River Runs Through It
Students study the novel A River Runs Through It. In this language arts lesson, students apply a pre-reading strategy to help them better comprehend the text. Students use guided imagery and write down what they saw. Students apply this...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 7: Logical Fallacies
What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...