Media Smarts
Bias in News Sources
As young consumers of media, it is important for high schoolers to explore concepts of bias and prejudice, and how they may be present in media. After discussing ideological messages that media can contain, individuals complete a warm-up...
Curated OER
Akron: This City Reads
Students write their thoughts about the value of reading and of Akron launching a city wide reading campaign. Students also research literacy in their own community, finding out how it compares to Akron's statistics where it has been...
PBS
How to Teach Your Students about Fake News
What media literacy skills do people need to evaluate a news source? Scholars listen to and discuss an NPR story about how fake headlines often dupe young people and adults alike. Next, they study news stories, using a fact-checking...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss and Read Across America
What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class members write a...
Curated OER
Arkansas and NAFTA
Build literacy through social studies and reading strategies. This instructional activity focuses on using pre-reading, vocabulary building, and comprehension questions to boost literacy while educating learners on international trade,...
Curated OER
Is Social Media a Trustworthy News Outlet?
Examine the role of social media in social and political uprisings. Pupils listen to NPR audio clips about social media and the Arab Spring and read an article that proposes the idea that revolution will not happen through social media....
Roald Dahl
Matilda - The Reader of Books
The titular Matilda from Roald Dahl's famous novel adored books above all things. Discuss why it is important to read stories from across cultures and around the world using the first chapter from the ever-loved story Matilda.
Curated OER
Activity Plan Mixed Ages: Fairytale Homes
Students create homes for fairytale characters. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop literacy, language, and problem-solving concepts as they create block structures related to specific fairy tales.
Curated OER
Through Many Lenses: How are Countries Depicted by the Media?
If you plan to utilize the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" in your classroom, consider incorporating media literacy and research skills. After (or while) learners view the series, they discuss ways information can differ from source...
Curated OER
Mouse Painting (Color Mixing)
After reading the story Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh, little ones make a mouse painting of their own. They discuss mixing colors, painting, and the story, then they "dance" with their fingers through puddles of paint.
Curated OER
Thrilling Information: Music and Reading
Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...
Curated OER
How are People Portrayed by Different Media?
Your 9th - 12th graders can hone their analysis and critical thinking skills by studying the way a subject is portrayed across media types. They examine how various print, visual, and online sources have portrayed key players in the 9/11...
ESL Holiday Lessons
Kwanzaa
Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...
Curated OER
Fears and Phobias
Take the fear out of reading with this series of three lessons from HotWire Magazine about fears and phobias. Each lesson contains pre-reading and post-reading activities aimed at improving learners' reading comprehension skills with the...
Media Smarts
Unit Two: Celebrities and World Issues
Develop media smarts by considering the power of celebrity involvement in world issues. A look at the work of such celebrities as Angelina Jolie, Oprah, and Bono prepare learners to develop their own media campaign for a global...
Media Smarts
The Impact of Gender Role Stereotypes
One of three lessons on gender stereotype, this resource from the Media Awareness Network discusses the violence that is inflicted on men and women as they try to live up to the stereotypes of their gender. The section on women focuses...
Media Smarts
Learning Gender Stereotypes
How do media representations influence our attitudes? Examining advertisements through the filter of gender representation forms the basis of this, the second of three lessons that address gender stereotypes. Resources include links,...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving Literacy Activity
Students explore why Thanksgiving is celebrated. In this cross-curriculum lesson, students listen to the book Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, and complete the sentence frame "I am thankful for ____." Students practice phonemic...
Curated OER
Reading Meet Writing
Thinking about introducing your middle schoolers to reading log journals? Try the approach suggested by this resource. After reading to the class an article or portion of a novel, demonstrate a Think Aloud and then model how to transform...
Curated OER
Guided Reading Lesson Plan
The students will be invoived in a guided reading exercise. The lesson is performed in a small group setting. The monitoring of reading is done by the teacher and scaffolding can also be provided as necessary.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension
After listening to a story learners engage in a kinesthetic activity to answer comprehension and critical thinking questions. Finally, the students identify three main facts about the story. Extensions include a fact and opinion...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phoneme Split and Say
Little ones are provided with all the tools needed to begin segmenting phonemes. There are twenty Elkonin box picture cards, five blank Elkonin box cards, and full instructions on how to help pre-readers practice splitting and saying...
Curated OER
Literacy: Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth
Students explore language arts by analyzing a children's book in class. In this vocabulary lesson, students read the book Slowly, Slowly, Slowly... by Eric Carle. Students identify the characters, setting and plot of the story before...
Premier Literacy
Point of View
Incorporate technology into a literature lesson with an innovative language arts lesson. Middle schoolers read an electronic version of original stories or fairy tales, and after determining the point of view, rewrite the tale from a...