Curated OER
Origin of the Modern Summer Games
Where did the Olympic Summer Games originate? The class takes a look at ancient origins of modern Olympic games. They research the Olympics and write a compare and contrast essay that describes how the Olympic Games have changed since...
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DR-TA Reading Strategy
Foster critical thinking skills by using the DR-TA Strategy with Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” Class members read portions of the essay, stop and discuss what is happening, make predictions based on evidence from the text, and...
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Much Ado About Nothing: Bloom's Taxonomy Questioning Strategy
Do your class members’ questions lack depth? “Sigh no more . . .sigh no more.” Use a questioning strategy based on Bloom’s taxonomy to encourage readers to create questions that probe the themes of any text. The model discussion...
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The Chosen: Anticipation Guide
"Parents' views on issues should not affect how their children are treated." "Children should respect their parents even if they have different views on issues." Prior to reading chapters 13 through 17 of The Chosen, class members...
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Finding My Voice
Have your class learn the essentials of public speaking. They compose a speech for their fifth grade celebration using iPods and presentation software. This would be a great end of the year activity for any grade level.
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Passport to Africa
Students begin the lesson by reading a novel about the diversity of geography in Africa. They are to create an oral report based on information they research. They also communicate with someone through email about the situation in Africa.
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A Wanderer's Point of View
Students write an imaginative story using a specific point of view. Students imagine what life along the Mississippi River is like and pretend they are there. Students may use the scenario provided, or create their own for their story.
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Spain and Bullfighting
Learners research Spain and bullfighting. They use the Internet and other reference materials. Spain's bullfighting festivals and activities will be used as a springboard for inspiring students to write creatively.
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Flashbacks
Learners create a piece of original fiction utilizing flashbacks. Students define and identify the use of flashbacks in the novel Holes. Definitions and examples are recorded in student journals. They use their examples as springboard...
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CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: EXAMINE EXPRESSIONS THROUGH PORTRAITURE
Young scholars use a work or art as a springboard to a personal narrative or descriptive writing, create a collage to identify tone through art, and use inference to discern what might have caused an individual to feel the emotion that...
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Game Plans
Students consider the online game Neopets as a springboard to developing the characters, settings and plots for online fantasy games. They draft technical plans that describe how their games be presented and played on the We
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Egyptian Fairy Tale
Students explore ancient Egyptian culture and government. In this social studies lesson plan, students compare the legal system from ancient Egypt to our current American legal system. Links are included for web searching Egypt and the...
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Be a Celebrity and Share Your Life with Us
Sixth graders discuss their likes, dislikes, hobbies, goals, and special events in their lives. They write a five paragraph autobiography focusing on style, transitions, and details. This is well-suited for either explanatory or...
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American Women Who Shaped the Civil Rights Movement Explored Through the Literature of Eloise Greenfield
Examine the women who contributed to the Civil Rights movement. In groups, children read excerpts of writings from Eloise Greenfield and research the women she mentions using the internet. To end the lesson, they create a timeline of...
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Journal Writing
Young scholars creatively utilize a word processor in order to do daily journal writing. They explore with using simple, compound, and complex sentences in order to present ideas with clarity and precision. They gain computer skills...
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Louisa May Alcott: The Candle and the Mirror
Students discuss the life of Louisa May Alcott and create an outline of a biography of her life and times. In this Louisa May Alcott lesson, students explore the Transcendentalist involvement in the abolitionist movement, relating...
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Call of the Wild: After-reading Response Strategy
Readers select a character from Call of the Wild, record their responses to a series of prompts in a spiral notebook, and use details from the novel to support their thinking. The spirals are then used as source material to support a...
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The Book Thief: Discussion Questions
Expand your study of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak with a question for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy. These questions focus on part four of the novel; each is paired with at least one quote from the text for context and teacher reference.
Appalachian State University
Science Fiction - Genre
Unsuspecting George McFlys are presented into the craft workings of the science fiction genre of literature. Speculations are developed through teacher-led dialogs about how science fiction impacts science, technology, and comments on...
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Clever Contraptions
Learners appraise the qualities of successful inventors and inventions, as well as examine the ways in which the Internet supports inventors, as a springboard for designing and 'patenting' inventions that would be helpful to them in...
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Poetry And Freedom
High schoolers read and write poetry that reflects true self expression. They use the published poetry as a springboard instead of a formula to write from the heart.
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Relationship Role Plays
Learners connect a scene from a play they are reading to events in their own lives. Working in male/female pairs, students act out a scene from "Hamlet." Pairs work to role play a scene as an extension of the one they have read, using...
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Cinderella: an Adaptation
Students create a list of characteristics for the heroine of a fairy tale and discuss ways these images affect behavior and self-esteem. In this, The House on Mango Street gender equity instructional activity, students identify common...
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Frontier Life Story
Learners undertake a similar (but not quite as drastic) adventure as that of Frontier House as they explore the day-to-day realities of frontier life through a Laura Ingalls Wilder story, and reflect on which time period suits them...