Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Before and After a Moment in Time
Think about a moment, frozen in time. Now take a critical look at the painting, Better, Homes, Better Gardens. This painting works to provide learners the opportunity to analyze art, critique artist's choices, and write a story inspired...
Curated OER
Use The Polar Express to Develop Rich and Detailed Writing
Bring The Polar Express into your middle school classroom to spark the creativity of your emerging writers.
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Curated OER
Pretend Memoirs
Elementary schoolers explore the concept of a memoir. The teacher tells a story from his/her childhood as an example of what a memoir is; a written account of one's past. The kids are asked to pretend that they are now adults, and are...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Songwriting Skill - Elaboration: Jesse McCartney - “How Do You Sleep?”
The practice of developing lyrics by elaborating with sensory details and examples continues in the third lesson on songwriting. This time class members examine Jesse McCartney's "How Do You Sleep?" Using procedures established in the...
Curated OER
Abstract Nouns and Concrete Nouns
Practice identifying concrete and abstract nouns with a worksheet that offers three different ways to show what enthusiastic grammarians know. First, pupils read a passage and identify the nouns; second, they think up three more of their...
K12 Reader
Identifying Adjectives
Support your bright young grammarians with identifying adjectives using these simple, yet effective skills practice worksheets. Presenting with a series of 18 sentences children are asked to first circle the...
K12 Reader
Adjective Synonyms
Practice identifying adjectives and using synonyms with one exercise! Learners find the adjective in each sentence and replace it with a synonym from the word bank when they rewrite the sentence.
Curated OER
How Do Authors Use Imagery to Shape Their Writing?
Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their...
Curated OER
Applied Science - Science and Math Lab 4B
Learners experiment with the combination of vinegar and baking soda. In this applied science lesson, future scientists compare qualitative and quantitative data collected from their exploration. Then they work together to analyze and...
K12 Reader
Appositive Hunt
How do you find appositives? Why you look for clues, those words or phrases, set off by commas, that tell readers more about nouns. Young grammarians can practice finding them with this worksheet.
Curated OER
Our Poetic Planet - Writing Poems about the Earth
As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...
Curated OER
Improving Descriptive Writing: Painting an Original Picture
Descriptive writing is rich in sensory appeals and paints pictures in the minds of readers. Show young writers how to use an on-line thesaurus and a cliché website to create fresh, descriptive writing. The presentation ends with an...
Curated OER
Fused Sentences (Run-on Sentences)
Run-on sentences can be annoying to read, and are a tough habit to break in writing! Fix this problem in your language arts class with this straightforward grammar worksheet. Pupils rewrite fourteen sentences to split run-on sentences...
Curated OER
Setting Worksheet
Set your class up for success with writing descriptive settings with these two graphic organizers. On the first page, writers note specifc details about their chosen setting and comment on how each character views the setting. The second...
La Jolla High School
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: In Search of Figurative Language
While this resource was originally made to be used in conjunction with John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, it could be used for any literary text. A reference sheet for readers, the resource includes terminology related to figurative...
Frost Middle School
Write Your Own Greek Myth
Invite your pupils to create original Greek characters and myths for their characters to star in. Similar to a traditional Greek myth, the story must explain a natural phenomenon, depict a struggle between good and evil characters, and...
Avi Writer
City of Orphans: Teaching Guide
"Amazing things happen" in Avi's City of Orphans, and the suggestions in this teacher's resource will guide readers through through the many stories of the different characters living in the tenements of 1893 New York.
Curated OER
Jelly Bean Math Activities
Using jelly beans as math manipulatives can be a tasty way to introduce and reinforce math concepts. Regardless of the time of year, candy can be used to excite learners and facilitate a wide variety of mathematical concepts.
Curated OER
Rejoice, It’s National Poetry Month!
Cultivate an interest and enjoyment of poetry school-wide!
K12 Reader
It’s Elemental
This comprehension learning exercise provides readers with an article about basic matter and then asks them to use this information to respond to a series of comprehension questions.
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: Background notes about the novel, The Great Depression, and The Dust Bowl
If your class is reading the historical fiction novel, Out of the Dust, then you are in luck. Here are a few slides that will help you provide historical context for the book, as well as define main characters, setting, symbolism, and...
Curated OER
Being Alive
Young biologists use a activity to fill in the blanks of five sentences. Each one needs a word from a word band at the top of the resource. All of the sentences are about things that are alive, and how we know they are alive. The words...
Curated OER
Human Parts
Very young learners who are studying the human body will use this worksheet to identify certain body parts. A cartoon drawing of a boy is shown, and learners must draw lines matching up words such as arm, tummy, foot, and toes to the...