Curated OER
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
School District No. 43
Writing a Greek Myth
Ask your learners to dream up a myth set in modern day. These mythology writing prompts require individuals take on the role of an ancient Greek citizen who just woke up to a totally different world. Through this lens, class members...
National History Day
Challenging the Status Quo: Women in the World War I Military
Why are some so resistant to change? The status quo is often to blame for a lack of forward movement in society. Following the events of World War I, women in America suddenly had a voice—and were going to use it. Scholars use the...
Curated OER
Get in Shape with Geometry
Using geoboards, computer programs, and hands-on manipulative materials, elementary schoolers engage in a study of two and three-dimensional geometric shapes. This lesson is chock full of good teaching ideas on the subject, and the...
Curated OER
Dollars and Sense
Fourth graders read "Starting a Business" and answer the question: "How could you design an ad to let the community know about the business described in the story?" Then, they illustrate a written ad that could be posted in the...
Penguin Books
White Fang Teacher's Notes
If you're looking for a way to structure your unit on Jack London's White Fang, use a well-organized guide to bring the intrigue of the novel to your middle school classroom. Covering a biography of the author, main background and...
Moanalua Gardens Foundation
The Mystery of Rapa Nui
What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...
Curated OER
Poetic Elements
Poetry is all about sound and rhythm. The sound of the words, the rhythm of the lines, and the emotional atmosphere created by these elements and the literary devices poets use, compress whole stories into a few stanzas. The specialized...
Perfection Learning
In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson - Activity Book
Moving to a new country isn't easy, as Shirley Temple Wong learns in In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord. A series of language arts activities carry readers through the novel, addressing the story's themes,...
Reed Novel Studies
A Taste of Blackberries: Novel Study
Blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler ... what other recipes use blackberries? Scholars hunt for an interesting blackberry recipe to copy and share with friends after using the novel study for A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan...
Reed Novel Studies
What Katy Did: Novel Study
What doesn't break you
makes you stronger. Katy, in What Katy Did, learns this lesson the
hard way. After a terrible accident and a long recovery, Katy becomes what she always wanted to be—good and kind. Scholars learn
about Katy's...
Curated OER
Feelings
Students complete grammar and story writing activities with a theme of feelings. In this grammar and writing lesson, students discuss feelings and complete grammar revision for the future tense of verbs. Students read a story and then...
Curated OER
Picturing Shakespeare: Creating Illuminated Texts
Students experiment with illuminating important text. In this fictional literature instructional activity, students research Shakespearean sonnets. Students identify key elements of the sonnets, and examine the relationship...
Curated OER
American Folktales
Fourth graders read and interpret an American Folktale. Students create their own folktale about Indiana. Students use digital cameras and clipart from the computer to create a photo story. Students present their animated folktales to...
Curated OER
Scrambled Paragraphs
Students examine the structure of paragraphs. In this writing skills lesson, students examine a scrambled paragraph with no formatting or punctuation. Students rearrange the text to create a well-developed paragraph.
Curated OER
Butterfly Life Cycle
Students read books about animals and describe their structures, how they grow and change, and their life cycles. In this animals lesson plan, students also make animals out of pasta.
Curated OER
Rebus Writing
Fifth graders write rebus stories using technology. They share the rebus stories with younger students
Curated OER
The Three Sisters
Third graders explore companion planting. In this instructional activity, 3rd graders listen to the Native American story The Three Sisters about crop planting. Students determine the important roles within companion planting.
Curated OER
Tree Friends
Students are introduced to tree structure and use. They identify their special tree using all senses except sight. Students identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk (bark, phloem, xylem, cambium,...
Curated OER
Friends
Students complete vocabulary activities about friends. For this vocabulary lesson, students introduce themselves in a ball game format and discuss the topic of friends. Students complete a worksheet with related vocabulary and read a...
Curated OER
Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain - Kenya
Students accompany music to the story Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain - Kenya to show how sound and music can accompany story description. In this music instructional activity, students learn how to show sound during a story.
Curated OER
Animal Habitats
Students explore animal lifestyles by researching their characteristics. In this animal habitat lesson, students read the story Over in the Jungle and analyze the animal illustrations in the book. Students create clay animal characters...
Curated OER
Novel Analysis
Students read the novel, Lord of the Flies, then write an essay analyzing the novel. They analyze, in small groups, characters, plot, setting, style, symbolism, theme, critical responses, and historical influences
Curated OER
A Thanksgiving Feast
Students compare a Thanksgiving feast of today to the Thanksgiving feast of 1621. They analyze information to write a Rebus story about a Thanksgiving feast of today of the Thanksgiving feast of 1621. Pupils describe a typical...