Teach with Movies
Learning Guide to Thirteen Days
While Thirteen Days is a fantastic film to use in the classroom in reference to the Cold War and the Cuban missile crisis, it is important to take care to effectively and properly incorporate its contents into your curriculum. This...
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Leprechaun Dust
Learners make "leprechaun dust" in this short art lesson using Jello instant pistachio pudding, small jars, milk, and spoons. Ideal for celebrating St. Patrick's Day with early-elementary students. Can be combined with the reading of a...
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The Five W's!
Students explore reading comprehension strategies. They discuss the story-grammar strategy. Students discuss the importance of comprehension. They discuss questions they should ask while reading a text. Students read a story and stop to...
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Owls
Students read books, learn about the letter o, and sing nursery rhymes all to learn about owls. In this owls lesson plan, students also make owls out of their hand prints.
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The Higher Power of Lucky
Students complete activities using the book The Higher Power of Lucky. In this literature lesson, students read the story and identify the parts of the story. They create a wind chime like that found in the book.
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Pigs
Students read books, learn about the letter p, and eat pigs n mud all to learn about pigs. In this pigs lesson plan, students also dance with pink ribbons and make pigs out of construction paper.
University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...
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What Happened Next?
Fifth graders read one short story on their own. After reading, they are given a series of sentences and events from the short story and put them into the correct sequence. To end the lesson, they draw pictures from the story and...
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Dialogue Disguises
Students read a story out loud to a partner and change their voices and expressions when depicting specific characters. In this language arts lesson plan, students focus on the person's voice who is reading to them, while keeping track...
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Oh Look, You're Fluent!
Young scholars practice decoding unknown words and improving their fluency. They review using cover-up sticks to decode unknown words while reading. They practice sentences and a short story to increase their fluency. They work in...
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DRMRS VANDERTRAMP: Le pass?? compos?? avec ??tre
Students assess the acronym DRMRSVANDERTRAMP (Dr & Mrs Van Der
Tramp) to help them memorize verbs. They pair up to create a short story describing what they did yesterday incorporating ten to fifteen of those verbs. In addition, a...
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Comparing Fiction and Nonfiction
Fifth graders compare and contrast an informational article with a fictional story. They read the story "The Contest" as a class, and discuss the different types of literature genres. Next, they complete a vocabulary worksheet and a...
National First Ladies' Library
Writing (and Rewriting!) History
Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...
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Understanding Character
Young scholars are introduced to literary elements and definitions in the worksheet Understanding Character but reading through each of the elements and definitions aloud. They read the story, "La Bamba" and identify examples of the...
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How Does Power Affect Conflict?
Students use several short stories to analyze different types of power. While discussing the role of power in these short stories, students will practice communication skills essential to conflict transformation, specifically attentive...
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Homes for Hermit Crabs
Students discover the differences between hermit crabs and mollusks and identify their parts. After reading a story about hermit crabs, they complete an anatomy worksheet. For another activity, students fold and cut a diagram of a hermit...
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Young Learner's Writing Workshop 2
Students choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.
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Truman Capote: Other Voices, Other Rooms
Students read and analyze Truman Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory." They discuss writing styles, conduct Internet research on Truman Capote, write a book review, and write a short story based on one of Truman...
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Summarizing
Fourth graders listen to the teacher discuss the definition of "Summary." They read a story aloud with their classmates. After finishing the story, 4th graders are asked to choose the best summary statement.
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For Richer or for Poorer
Students read about one cross-class marriage and create scenes to dramatize interactions among the family members and consider how class shapes relationships. They imagine the issues faced by cross-class couples by writing a short story.
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House Opposite
Students read the short story House Opposite to help them differentiate between the terms "religion" and "spirituality." Students make connections to situations of people who struggle between the two in the real world by creating a...
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Readers Theatre: The Three Snow Bears
Students dramatize the story, Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. In this readers theatre lesson, students read the story and then dramatize the events during readers theatre. There is an included script.
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Through the Looking Glass: Eudora Welty's Photography and The Ponder Heart
Students study the context of The Ponder Heart through Welty's photographs.
They analyze how illustrations and photographs interact with written text and
create their own images to illustrate a well-known Welty short story....
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The Ogre Bully
First graders complete activities with the story The Ogre Bully. In this literature lesson, 1st graders discuss opposite words and then read the story. They answer questions for comprehension and complete phonics activities and...