Curated OER
Stories
Young scholars read a short story and answer questions. For this comprehension lesson, students read a short story and complete a worksheet answering comprehension questions and identifying the parts of a story. Young scholars...
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And the Moral of the Story is...
Learners discover the parts of a story through the retelling of a fable as well as characters, plot, and setting. This activity is completed using the program Pixie to create an online storybook.
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Perceptions
Students gain a better understanding of perceptions and how different points of view about the same set of events leads to conflict.
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Nobel Peacekeeping
Students examine the goals of eradicating poverty, preventing conflict and promoting democracy--outlined in Kofi Annan's 2001 Nobel Peace Prize lecture--as they apply to today's news.
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Legends of the Fifth
Students explore the the legends and myths of the Orient, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas in this six lessons unit. Different cultures and belief systems of the inhabitants of these areas are examined through storytelling techniques.
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Comprehension Skills: Picture, Question and Summarize Using Fiction Stories
Students build a variety of comprehension skills through the nine lessons of this unit. Picturing events, monitoring understanding during reading, forming questions, and summarizing stories form the core of the lessons being taught...
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We Can Work It Out
Learners practice conflict resolution by considering alternatives before reacting to a conflict.
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Nonviolence and Conflict: Its Importance to Building Community
Students study nonviolence and the values associated with nonviolence. In this social science lesson, students identify the six steps of nonviolence and the six principles of nonviolence as put forth by Martin Luther King, Jr. Students...
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Rights in Conflict
Learners study situations where rights are in conflict. In this conflict in rights activity, students review a conflict situation and the Supreme Court ruling for the issue. Learners review the Bill of Rights and then receive their own...
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Follow the Leader: Line in the Visual Arts
High schoolers explore line in painting and drawing and examine how it is defined in the visual arts. Recognizing line in the composition of a number of art works and how it affects these works of art is the focus of this instructional...
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Animal Self-portrait Mosaics: A Visual Arts Elective
Out-lined here is a two-week procedure that has the class creating ceramic animal tiles that are metaphorical representations of their own personalities. They discuss animal images found throughout history, what they mean, metaphor, and...
Independence Public Library
Unmasking the Truth Behind the Red Death
"The Masque of the Red Death" provides readers with an opportunity to research and plan a presentation about a topic related to Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story.
New York City Department of Education
What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue: How Did Jazz Influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...
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Do a Ditty
Fourth graders work in cooperative groups to create a ditty to teach the characteristics that distinguish literary forms to younger students. The ditty is performed before the class.
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Exploring A Streetcar Named Desire
High schoolers investigate the dramatic elements of a Streetcar Named Desire. In this drama instructional activity, students explore the theme of the Tennessee Williams play as they read the play and watch performances of some of the...
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'Twasn't the Night Before Christmas
Students describe the elements that make up particular writers' styles. Small groups then choose an author, write something in his or her style, and invite other groups to play 'literary detective' in identifying whose style they have...
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Show Me the Story
Learners examine the elements of a story, read a review of Chris Rock's new sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris" and create original sitcom episodes based on their own lives.
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Simile and Metaphor Lesson Ideas
Teaching students about literary devices, such as simile and metaphor, can be a year long experience.
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Haunting Music
Students discover music that was inspired by the spooky and bizarre. In this music of Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saens lesson, students identify elements of music and listen to the Symphonie Fantastique and Danse Macabre....
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Analyzing Two Dances and Making a Dance Map: The Nutcracker
Students discuss dance elements and create a dance map. They choose a dance theme and incorporate movement into their dance maps and choreography. They also experiment with different types of music.
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Understanding Native American Culture
Ninth graders explore Native American culture. In this early Americans lesson, 9th graders will visit several stations around the room and examine native American artifacts then draw comparisons to other cultures. Students will then...
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The Teller of the Tale, Part 2
Students discuss character types and their qualities. They select two characters and write about their dress, speech, habits, attitudes and beliefs. They write a monologue as the characters presenting a moral theme.
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Laurence Yep's Dragonwings
Students read independently the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep and make connections between a text and the world. They summarize, paraphrase, analyze and evaluate skimming and scanning techniques when reading a novel. Each student...
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Comparing Shakespearean Film Adaptations
Though this lesson deals specifically with Hamlet and its themes, many of the strategies and approaches here may be used with most any of Shakespeare's plays that have been adapted to film. Viewing clips of the same Shakespeare scene in...