Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The New Colossus: Determining Author's Perspective

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Introduce young scholars to the concept of the author's perspective with a lesson that uses Emma Lazarus's poem, "The New Colossus," as the anchor text. Groups use a T-chart to identify words that reveal the author's point of view...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

That Which We Call a Rose: Connotation and Denotation in Romeo and Juliet

For Teachers 9th Standards
Words carry weight. And some words carry baggage. Scholars learn the difference in a study of connotation and denotation. Individuals sort the cards into three groupings using words from Shakespeare's play. After sharing within groups,...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Consequences of Time Travel: Analyzing Short Stories

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder" is the anchor text in a lesson that asks high schoolers to find examples of cause, effect, and foreshadowing in the tale. They then create a brochure advertising trips with Time Travel, Inc.
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

No Imitations, Please! Avoiding Plagiarism

For Teachers 8th - 10th
With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

More than Meets the Eye: Direct and Indirect Characterization

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Willy Wonka takes center stage in a instructional activity about direct and indirect characterization. Scholars read a passage from the story about Wonka's Grand Entrance and watch a film clip of the same, noting examples of direct and...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Making Sense of MLA: Citing Sources and MLA Formatting

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Sheet is about giving credit where credit is due. And while there are different style sheets, the one most often used in Language Arts is the MLA. In this lesson, high school scholars learn how...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Nose Like a Cherry: Understanding Similes and Metaphors

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Clement Moore's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" models the power of descriptive language for middle schoolers. They identify the similes and metaphors in the tale and consider what these descriptions add to the story's emotional...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Is Pizza Epic? Word Choice

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Remember when everything was Fantastic! Fabulous! Awesome! Iconic! A series of activities encourages young writers to move beyond these overused descriptors and instead choose a more precise language.
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Say It with Style: Syntax and Parallel Structure

For Teachers 9th Standards
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech provides the text for a lesson that introduces scholars to the significance of syntax. After examining several types of clauses, phrases, and structures, class members use the...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

If You're a Bird, I'm a Bird: Symbolism

For Teachers 8th - 9th Standards
Would a bluebird be as scary as a vulture? Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is the central text in a lesson about symbolism. After a close reading of the poem, learners consider what the raven might represent to the narrator. They then...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Sweet and Savory Writing: Descriptive Writing

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
The engagement is in the details. Young scholars learn the benefit of weaving descriptive and sensory details into the fabric of their writing through the activities in this lesson. As their hands explore items concealed in bags, a...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Speak Your Truth: Techniques in Spoken Word Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of Spoken Word Poetry, class members watch a series of performance videos and note where poets get their ideas and the performance techniques used by the poets. Pupils then draft and share their poems.
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Spiders, Spiders, Everywhere: Poetry Analysis - Theme And Metaphor

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Walt Whitman's poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider" provides high schoolers an opportunity to reflect on the importance of perseverance and fortitude. After drafting a Quick Write about a time they tried and tried again to accomplish...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Voices from the Past: History and Literature

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
Art can enhance the understanding of history. That's the big idea in a lesson that has young scholars read Randall Jarrell's poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" and an excerpt from John Hersey's Hiroshima, which provide a...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The War of the Words: Grammar and Parts of Speech

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Here's a instructional activity that adds some zip to a study of parts of speech. Class members read two versions of the same article, one loaded with evocative nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, while the other is missing this...
Lesson Plan
1
1
NASA

Cleaning Water

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Give young scientists a new appreciation of fresh, clean drinking water. After learning about the ways astronauts recycle their air and water, your class will work in small groups creating and testing their very own water...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Let's Investigate Mars

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Those Who Have Come Before Me

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Class members are transformed into explorers as they work in groups to locate hidden items and map their journey along the way. They then leave clues for other groups of students to follow, and ultimately discover how past explorations...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Smithsonian Institution

Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Baylor College

Do Plants Need Light?

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
Turn your classroom into a greenhouse with a lesson on plant growth. First, investigate the different parts of seeds, identifying the seed coat, cotyledon, and embryo. Then plant the seeds and watch them grow! Measure the new plants...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Baylor College

Pre-Assessment: Earth's Energy Sources

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
A ten-question, multiple-choice quiz assesses what your elementary earth scientists know about the atmosphere both before and after a unique unit on global atmospheric change. Make sure to check out the activities and lesson plans...
Lesson Plan
Baylor College

Why Is Water Important? Pre-assessment

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This water worksheet is just the tip of the iceberg! It a multiple-choice quiz meant to be a pre-assessment for a wonderful water unit. There are 10 questions to be answered regarding the role, properties, and behavior of water. Make...
Lesson Plan
Baylor College

How Much Water Is in a Fruit?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Compare the volume of an orange to the volume of liquid that can be extracted out of it. Also compare the mass of an apple before and after it has been dried out. In both of these activities, children find that there is an appreciable...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Baylor College

What's Is Soil Made Of?

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
It's time to roll up those sleeves and get a little dirty in the second lesson of this series on the science of food. Investigate where plants and animals get the minerals they need to live in this two-part exploration of soil. First,...

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