Curated OER
Stone Soup Lesson Plans
With "Stone Soup" lesson plans students can learn about cooperation, and have a delicious meal, all at the same time.
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Comparison of Multicultural Literature
Students examine three different versions of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and complete a comparison activity. Their own version of the poem is created and illustrated in this lesson.
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Technological Grand Conversations
Conduct a written literary discussion and diminish stress about public writing. Class members, already arranged into literature circles, compose and post responses to novels, signing with initials or class number. The process continues...
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The Hunger Games
Enjoy this exciting novel with your students, and bring the games to life in your classroom!
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Writing to an Author
Provide your young readers with step-by-step directions for crafting a friendly letter to their favorite author. After drafting and revising their letter, class members illustrate a favorite scene in the book and mail their letters to...
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Discover Picture-Perfect Projects
Use classic, well-loved picture books as means of infusing visual and language arts in the elementary classroom.
Prestwick House
Catcher in the Rye Activity Pack
The Catcher in the Rye is the focus of a sampler that models some of activities included in a for-purchase packet based on J. D. Salinger's novel.
Prestwick House
Star Wars and the Hero's Journey
Is Luke Skywalker the archetype of a literary hero? Follow the path of the Hero's Journey with an engaging lesson that details the plot structure, applies it to Star Wars: A New Hope, and invites class members to choose their own...
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Compare and Contrast: Literary Analysis
Seventh graders are able to use active listening skills, take notes and identify literary elements of a short story. They use/create graphic organizer, compare/contrast literary elements from various stories and compare and contrast traits.
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The Faithful Friend
Learners work in co-op groups to create a Reader's Theater production of the story. Students create a flow map that sequences the major events in the story. Learners research the island of Martinique and create a travel brochure...
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Scribbleboy
Fifth graders are introduced to the text, SCRIBBLEBOY, discussing the cover page for clues to the genre. They discuss the ordinary surroundings contrasted by the graffiti and the words and phrases used to provide information about the...
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Fairy Tales Retold
Students use writing processes effectively to adapt and retell stories. They reread a favorite fairy tale, then adapt and retell in a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation. They present their rewritten and edited presentations to...
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"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write...
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Bud, Not Buddy: Anticipation Guide
Hoover flags? Hoover blankets? Hoovervilles? Drawing upon prior knowledge of the Great Depression class members respond to the prompts on an anticipation guide for Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis’s tale of Bud Caldwell’s quest to...
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Rhyme Time Lesson Plan
What words rhyme? Help young learners deepen their understanding of rhyming words with this interactive plan. First they identify some words that rhyme, then they participate in a picture walk. Use books with rhyme, like Come Rhyme...
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Animal Legends
Seventh graders review the concept of a legend. Using the internet, they research animals found in Illinois. They write their own legends based on the animal they researched. They share their story and show pictures of the animals to the...
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Lyddie
Students investigate the character trait of perseverance and how it is used to help a girl gain independence in a fictional story. The story also has them think about the value of relationships and then write reflectively about...
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Comparing Cultures
Young readers compare two stories/cultures, identifying how they are alike and different. They share their own version of a well-known story and adapt it to another culture. They explain their adaptations.
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Discourse
Explore the different types of discourse and language with your lecture students in this presentation, which explores "sweet language," "stuffy language," and "poetic language," among others. Helpful for English, Sociology, Semantics, or...
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Something is Different: Same/Different
In this different/same worksheet, student draw an X on the picture in a box that is different from the others, 6 sets total. A reference web site is given for additional activities.
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Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition: Corridos
Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition lesson, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In addition, students...
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The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding
In this review of The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding worksheet, 6th graders answer questions in the sections Before you Begin, What to Do Next, and Chapters One, Two, Three, and Four. Students write 29 answers.
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Literary Elements Worksheets and Graphic Organizers
Using graphic organizers can be an effective way to teach literary elements.
Curated OER
Creative Ways To Teach Characterization Lessons
Teaching characterization can be a creative, engaging experience for students.