New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2013
It's out of my control! Pupils read passages about characters in situations beyond their control. They answer comprehension questions to demonstrate understanding of their reading and answer short answer questions. Scholars complete the...
EngageNY
Performance Task: Performing a Narrative
Calling all performers! Scholars present a modern-day theme of adversity by performing their narratives for the class. As individuals watch their peers, they take notes on each performance using an Audience Note Sheet.
Curated OER
What a Garden Can Teach Us
Third graders read "Seedfolks" and "What a Garden Can Teach Us" and discuss how a garden is like a community. They create a class quilt illustrating how their classroom community the lines of the poem.
Curated OER
Mother Goose on the Loose: Teaching Reading and Writing in a Way That's Exciting
Students become familiar with the conventions of print as they recognize Mother Goose poems. In this Mother Goose lesson, students follow the words from left to right as they read Mother Goose poems. Students recognize rhyming words and...
Curated OER
Creating A Memorial Day Poster Poem
In this activity, students create a Memorial Day word web and use it to create a poem about Memorial Day. They can write the poem and illustrate it as a poster.
Curated OER
Poetry: A Picture of Feelings
Students take a field trip to a place of interest. After the trip they share with a partner their most memorable memory about it. Later, they paint a picture representative of the trip and illustrate it with a poem using at least two...
Curated OER
Poetry: A Mirror in Which to See Myself
Fifth graders focus on their self-esteem and strengths while reading poetry. In groups, they research the contributions and achievements of African-Americans and discuss how they overcame obstacles. They are read a poem, define new...
Curated OER
Hyena: an Edward Morgan Poem
Students read, listen to and analyze the poem The Hyena by Edward Morgan. In this poetry techniques lesson, students explore the visual images of animals and their unpleasant traits. Students answer questions about the animal...
Curated OER
Poetry: "Seven Types of Shadow"
Students examine the way ghosts are portrayed in films and literature. In this poetry lesson, students listen to the first five stanzas of the poem "Seven Types of Shadow" read by U A Fanthorpe on The Poetry Archive website and...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
Students are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...
Curated OER
Christmas Poetry
Students explore writing using literary terms. In this Christmas poetry lesson, students write a poem about a Christmas tree or a snowman using at least one example of each: metaphor, simile, and personification.
Annenberg Foundation
Native Voices
The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - Mrs Twit
"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly." The second activity in an 11-part unit that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl uses poetry to encourage positive character traits. Mrs. Twit has ugly thoughts, but those...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Problem Solvers: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 4)
How can you teach a text to a group of readers who struggling with the language? The second in a set of three ESL lessons related to Theme 4: Problem Solvers engages English language learners by introducing vocabulary and grammar...
Syracuse City School District
Literary Elements
Address the literary elements in a piece of writing using these materials. The packet includes plenty of resources, and focuses mainly on theme, character, and point of view, with some materials for setting, symbolism, and author's...
ReadWriteThink
Word Recognition Strategies Using Nursery Rhymes
As a class, scholars read the poems, Humpty Dumpty, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, and Jack and Jill, in order to identify words with the same ending sound. Using their rhyming skills, learners brainstorm additional words...
Reed Novel Studies
Lion: A Long Way Home: Novel Study
Home is where the heart is. Saroo, a main character in Lion: A Long Way Home, desperately wants to be home. However, he is lost in a train station and has no way to contact family or get back to his home. Scholars learn new vocabulary,...
Reed Novel Studies
One-Eyed Cat: Novel Study
The Great Depression was a devastating period in American history that lasted for an entire decade. Using an enlightening novel study, scholars uncover additional facts about the era. They also write quatrain poems focusing on themes...
Reed Novel Studies
Nim's Island: Novel Study
A deserted island, a sea lion, and a volcanic eruption ... adventure awaits! Using a helpful novel study, scholars complete a brief vocabulary exercise and answer 10 reading comprehension questions about Nim's Island. Next, they write...
Reed Novel Studies
Snow Treasure: Novel Study
What does it mean to be courageous? With the study guide for Marie McSwigan's novel, Snow Treasure, scholars answer questions about the text and practice new vocabulary. They also write quatrain poems about courage or another theme from...
Reed Novel Studies
A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning: Novel Study
Scholars read about the unlucky events that continue to fall on the children in A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. A set of worksheet activities include completing sentences with vocabulary...
Reed Novel Studies
To Kill a Mockingbird: Novel Study
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American fiction writer whose biggest claim to fame was the creation of Tarzan. Using the novel study for Harper Lee's beloved novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, pupils research and list facts about him or another...
Reed Novel Studies
The Summer of Riley: Novel Study
The Labrador retriever is America's most popular dog breed. With the novel study for The Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting, scholars learn more about the sweet, lovable animal. Additionally, they write quatrain poems, explore foreshadowing...
Reed Novel Studies
Stella By Starlight: Novel Study
Who were the Ku Klux Klan, and what role did they play in the United States during the Great Depression? Using the Stella by Starlight novel study, scholars research the organization and answer questions relating to Sharon M. Draper's...