Curated OER
Picture Prompts: Arctic Hares
Prompted by a picture of two white arctic hares, students complete the story based on their own creative ideas. This writing template could couple with a winter unit, an animal unit, or even as simple writing practice. A text box allows...
Curated OER
Wrapped in Mystery
Sixth graders can identify five basic elements that most mysteries contain. They put the elements of mystery into a graphic organizer they can follow. They construct meaning after reading Poe's short story and identify or infer the...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
A basic lesson on personal narrative writing is here for you. In it, learners are asked to imagine they're going to share an experience of their own with someone who did not participate in that experience. They verbally tell the story to...
Curated OER
Prince Ibrahima
Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...
Curated OER
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"
Young scholars explore nature by reading stories in class. For this animal characteristics lesson, students read the story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," by Rudyard Kipling and identify the different animals mentioned in the book. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Create A 3-D Community Model
Students listen to a short story and take notes on the details. Using a graphic organizer, they state what makes up their community. They create a 3-D piece of art that tells someone something about their community. They share them...
Curated OER
The Lady or the Tiger
Eighth graders make predictions on the topic of a story based on the title and the preview. After reading the story, they analyze what took place and create a graphic organizer explaining what they think would have happened had the...
Curated OER
Mississippi Delta Blues Moves: Second in a Series of Three with Barb Hoffman and Steve Hoskins, MGM
Students complete a graphic organizer reviewing Barb Hoffman's prior lesson," Slave Songs (1840-1876)" as well as listen to and discuss Delta Blues music samples. Students research one Delta Blues singer and write a "color coded"...
Curated OER
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
Students, after reading the book, "Esperanza Rising," create a virtual display by combining different story elements into a visual representation. They choose the setting and characters of a scene that will act as a springboard of ideas...
Curated OER
Just Plain Fancy
Learners complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Just Plain Fancy. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...
Curated OER
October Sky
In this rockets activity, students complete the questions while watching the video, October Sky. Students learn about the experimental aspects of building a rocket. Students complete 4 graphic organizers and 11 short answer questions.
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify...
Curated OER
Most Wanted Villians
Students review the characteristics of various characters in fairytales. As a class, they review the story details and create a concept map using a software program. They create their own wanted poster of the villians in the fairytale to...
Curated OER
Narrative Prompt - Lesson 2
Second graders review the structure of a narrative piece of writing. Individually, they write a narrative based on their best day of school. After being read different stories, they share their own narratives with the class. They are...
Curated OER
Organizing Main Ideas and Supporting Details
Students read given information and identify the main ideas and specific detail of the story. In groups, they read a historical title and create a "book talk" for each one, summarizing the story. In addition, students create a...
Curated OER
Problem and Solution Lesson
Students explore problems and solutions in literature. In this literature lesson, students identify problems and solutions in short guided and independent reading samples. Students also discuss characterization techniques used to develop...
Curated OER
Outlining Essays (Grades 3-6)
Students brainstorm story idea in preparation of writing an expressive essay. They study how to outline essays to assist them in writing an expressive essay. Each students conclusion should summarize their main idea and restate their...
Curated OER
We Thank You, Veteran!
Fifth graders use information from videos, picture books, and relatives' military backgrounds to write a short or extended message of gratitude on a greeting card for local veterans.
Curated OER
Literature Circle Preparation
In this literature circle preparation worksheet, learners draw a picture of something important in the story, summarize what they read, answer a teachers question, and write two new words they learned. Students answer a total of...
Curated OER
‘Pay it Forward’ Lesson Plan
Students develop their speaking skills. In this oral communication lesson, students read "One Hen" by Katie Smith Milway and work in groups to discover how making a small loan to the main character in the story had positive effects....
Curated OER
The Mystery Seed
Second graders create a short descriptive story describing a mystery seed they have planted. They incorporate needs that must be met in their story for a seed to grow. They create an original picture using the Kid Pix software program.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Creating Original Fiction
Fourth graders create fictional stories and demonstrate the use of various writing techniques. After selecting their main ideas, they find appropriate graphics to use as illustrations. In groups, 4th graders apply Hyperstudio in...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 1 Day Lesson
After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 5 Day Lesson
Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...