National First Ladies' Library
Save the Animals: The Creation of the ASPCA
Students read Black Beauty and study the history of the founding of the ASPCA and learn about endangered species today. Then they write a short paper about the book, or on some aspect of the history of the ASPCA, and, after exploring the...
National First Ladies' Library
Finding Treasure Island; An Exciting Escape
Students read Treasure Island. They have a choice of a number of activities associated with the novel, including writing a review of the book. Students also participate in a National Geographic High Seas Adventure, going on an Internet...
Curated OER
Further Activities with Language
Students chose a favorite passage from a Shakespeare play. They write a letter from one character to another in a novel they have just read. They take a scene from a movie and write it in Shakespearean language.
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Total Physical Response Storytelling
Fifth graders are introduced to the strategy TPRS (Total Physical Response Storytelling) for studying world languages. They utilize this strategy as a vehicle to storytelling and expand their vocabulary by contextualizing it in high...
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Teaching A Tale of Two Cities
Ninth graders read "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. In groups, they analyze the opinions of various philosophers on the French Revoluion. To end the activity, they take all the information gathered during their readings and...
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Continuing Story
Students interpret scenes from a novel they are reading. In this literature lesson, students select scenes from The Stone Cutter to perform for their classmates. Students should attempt to recreate the emotions that think the...
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Web Quest on "How to Write a Mystery."
Students complete a Web Quest on How to Write a Mystery. They listen to or read a short mystery story and discuss its elements. They write an outline of a mystery story using all of the elements.
Teach With Movies
Title: "The Red Badge of Courage" - Topics: U.S./1860 - 1861; Literature/U.S.
Designed to be used with a showing of the 1951 version of The Red Badge of Courage staring Audie Murphy, this learning guide includes discussion questions, suggestions for activities, and topics that can be discussed with parents.
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Newbery Medal Winners Quiz: 1990s
Fifteen questions cover nine Newbery-winning novels from the 1990s in this interactive quiz. Voracious individual readers can test their memory and comprehension, or groups can pool knowledge and work together to complete the quiz....
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Briar Rose: Anticipation Guide
Prepare your readers for Briar Rose with an Anticipation Guide that asks them to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect issues raised by Jane Yolen’s narrative about a young girl’s research into her grandmother’s...
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Pre-Reading Strategy Instructional Routine: Maus I and II
Vladek's attitudes are difficult for many young learners to understand. Prepare your class for the events represented in Art Speigelman's graphic novel with a pre-reading activity that has them read articles about and interviews with...
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Tangerine: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Designed for teachers who use Tangerine in the classroom, this resource provides background information on the novel, issues raised by the story, and literary devices Bloor employs. A good addition to your curriculum library.
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My Antonia: Concept Analysis
Use this analysis of My Antonia to help inform your instruction and prepare your pupils for the project and enrichment ideas listed at the end of the resource. The analysis covers big questions related to the text, themes, plot elements,...
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The Catcher in the Rye: List-Group-Label Activity
Here's a list-group-label vocabulary activity for The Catcher in the Rye that will knock readers out, it really will! Groups sort, label, and define a list of words taken from Salinger’s novel. Complete directions for the activity, the...
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Pairing Picture Books with Edith Hamilton's Mythology
As a before reading strategy, class members select a tale from mythology, examine several picture book versions of the myth, and fill out part of a Venn diagram with observations about the hero in particular and the myth in...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Concept/Vocab Analysis
Focus on the literary elements of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with a concept analysis sheet. With suggestions and explanations for many of the book's concepts, vocabulary, and other issues that may arise in...
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Gary Paulsen's Canyons: Question the Author (QtA) Strategy
Gary Paulsen’s Canyons is the focus of an exercise that models how to read closely using a Questioning the Author (QtA) strategy. Complete directions for the strategy, which can be used with any text, are included in the richly-detailed...
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Hiroshima: Question Answer Response Strategy (QAR)
“The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable. . .” After reading “The Aftermath,” the final chapter of Hiroshima, class members use a Question Answer Response (QAR) strategy to reflect on issues raised...
Novelinks
The Color of Water: Concept Analysis
Considering using James McBride's autobiography/memoir The Color of Water with your class? Check out this seven-page informational packet that includes background information on McBride, the organization pattern of the book, and...
Novelinks
The Tempest: Vocabulary Bingo
Bingo! Practice vocabulary from William Shakespeare's The Tempest with a fun matching game. As you call out the definitions, class members mark the new vocabulary words that match and try to get five in a row.
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Phineas Gage: Concept Analysis
Prepare for teaching Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with this written analysis of the book. The analysis includes a summary, considerations for teachers, project ideas, and a list of additional resources that...
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History/Mystery: Regionalism and Ethnicity in the American Detective Novel
Students use mystery novels to focus on the history and ethnicity of different regions of the United States. As a class, they are introduced to the elements of a mystery and compare them to the other types of novels they have read. In...
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African Novel Study
Seventh graders participate in literature circles as they read African novels. They read, work on word studies, and complete comprehension activities. They share their reading with other literature circle groups in the class.
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Language and Cognition
In this psychology worksheet, students complete 5 short short answer review questions on language and cognition. They explain when a form communication is considered a language.