Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 7
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.9
As the saying goes: there are no new stories. Standard 9 for reading literature in the Common Core addresses this fact and requires that students be able to analyze how authors use the themes, stories, and characters of earlier works....
National Woman's History Museum
Susan B. Anthony: She's Worth a Mint!
A instructional activity all about Susan B. Anthony showcases the Civil Rights leader's contributions towards equality. A Susan B. Anthony coin sparks engagement. Scholars take part in a discussion that sheds light on what being an agent...
Curated OER
Lesson: Double Album: The Collection and the Archive
An open discussion starts this instructional activity off. The class takes a critical look at five works of art that demonstrate the impact and purpose of identity through collections or archives. They then write a list or draw 10-15...
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: Tree of Life
Paul Chan's work has been known to show the cycle of change. Learners explore the concept of change by analyzing his work and reading the poem "For Which it Stands." They consider symbolism, communication, art, and society as they use...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 2: The Historical/Biographical Approach
"How does our environment shape our identity?" After researching biographical information about John Knowles and considering how these experiences are reflected in A Separate Peace, class members consider the strengths and weaknesses of...
EngageNY
Looking Closely at Stanza 2—Identifying Rules to Live By Communicated in “If”
Pupils take part in a close reading of the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, in which they delve deep into its meaning and identify its rules to live by. As the grand discussion progresses, learners then relate the poem's rules with those...
Curated OER
A Landmark Lesson: The United States Capitol Building
Young scholars study the events in American history that affected the US Capitol Building. They name activities that happen in and around the Capitol by looking at primary source documents that are available online.
iCivics
Step 3: Become an Expert
Have you ever been called an expert before? Pupils analyze how to break down sources of information using group work and individual skills. They begin to understand the tools of becoming an expert on a topic by using subtopics and...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Achieving Diversity: The Question of Affirmative Action in College Admissions
How can a college board of trustees both increase cultural and racial diversity and offer all incoming students equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment? Class members debate the question using readings about how colleges use...
Education Foundation of Sarasota County
Self-Calming Strategies to Manage Emotions
Tweens and teens learn coping skills to help manage strong emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness with a lesson that asks them to generate a list of self-calming strategies they use and to consider the suggestions in a short video and...
EngageNY
Getting the Gist: Steve Jobs Commencement Address (Focus on Paragraphs 6-8, and connecting to Chapter 6)
As part of a unit study of Bud, Not Buddy, readers compare Buddy's list of rules to live by with those that Steve Jobs enumerates in his commencement address to Stanford's 2005 graduating class.
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Unsent Letter
Have you ever wanted to tell a character what you really thought of him or her? Use a lesson based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter to encourage learners to write a letter in response to a character's actions.
EngageNY
Notices and Wonders of the Second Stanza of “If”
Here is an instructional activity that asks pupils to analyze poetry and sparks discussion about two different types of texts: asking how is the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling alike and different from the story, Bud, Not Buddy by...
Curated OER
ICYouSee: A Lesson in Critical Thinking
Stress the importance of authenticating online resources and understanding the sources of websites' information with this activity. Using a Web-based activity, the lesson prompts young learners to think critically about determining the...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4
The fourth standard for reading literature in the Common Core calls for young readers to be able to determine the figurative and connotative meanings of words and phrases. Use this resource, a continuation of a series of Common Core...
Manchester University
Veteran’s Day
Before honoring courageous veterans, get to know more about who they are and why November 11th is a special day. Scholars obtain such information through a read aloud of Eve Bunting's The Wall, grand conversation, and...
Health Smart Virginia
Keeping the Peace
A lesson examines ways young learners can keep the peace with conflict resolution. Scholars share a conflict then discuss the difference between conflicts and bullying. Pupils read scenarios and practice their negation skills.
Curated OER
The Ancient Art of Shadow Puppet Plays
Shadow puppetry has an ancient past, it is also a great way to build oral expression and reading fluency. Young thespians research folk tales, compare and contrast reality and fantasy, then create and perform a shadow puppet play based...
Curated OER
Vowel Lessons: To Help Improve Spelling
There are a few things every good speller knows: spelling rules, vowel sounds, and word endings. Help your learner with dyslexia become a more efficient speller with a few tips from a dyslexia expert. Included in the lesson is a video,...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Challenges Bosnian Refugees Faced Fleeing and Finding Home
What challenges did Bosnian refugees face as they fled home during the Bosnian War? Scholars read an interview with four refugees and identify common themes that connect the universal refugee experience. They also engage in a...
EngageNY
Carl Hiaasen’s Perspective of Florida: Part 2
Look it up. Scholars read Florida: A Paradise of Scandals Excerpt 1 and use a dictionary to look up any unfamiliar words. They then do a close read of the text and answer text-dependent questions. Learners analyze author perspective by...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: A Guided Tour
Albert Bierstadt's painting Wind River Country shows viewers how a reader progresses through a story. Your class studies the light and dark areas, how the eye moves across the painting, and what attracts the audience to the work, and...
Pace University
Publishing Writing
Scholars become familiar with tagline literature with the help of the story, Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Terrible Day by Judith Viort. After a read-aloud and whole-class discussion, leveled groups complete...