Mr. Ambrose
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...
Curated OER
Picture This
Elementary writers practice writing descriptive paragraphs by adding adjectives and sensory words to their writing. They use a picture of a monster for their descriptive paragraph. This 12-page lesson should increase your charges...
ReadWriteThink
Living the Dream: 100 Acts of Kindness
Inspire kindness in and out of school with a lesson that challenges scholars to perform 100 acts of kindness during the time between Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Valentine's day. Leading up to a celebration of friendship, learners...
Curated OER
Writing to Argue
Students analyze speeches for or against continued military presence in Iraq. In this writing to argue lesson, students listen to speeches given before Parliament to identify rhetorical devices used. Students compare techniques used and...
Achievement Strategies
CCSS Unit Design Template for Art
Art classes, like any lab class, require extensive preplanning and set-up time. Use this planning template in the quiet before the storm to identify the equipment and materials that will be needed, the procedures and processes...
Curated OER
Connotation in Propaganda
High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...
Curated OER
Speakers in Action
Tune into C-Span and tape politicians delivering testimony before congress. Class members view these tapes, formulate a rubric for rating the effectiveness of such a speech, and then emulate best practices and include them in their own...
Curated OER
Conventions: Hyperbole
Fifth graders discuss hyperbole. For this language arts lesson, 5th graders understand that hyperbole enables writers to make a point by describing something in an overly dramatic way. Students create a list of objects that can be used...
Curated OER
Method for Teaching the Blending of Sounds: Train Technique
Pupils explore the blending of individual sounds to make words and, using visuals and manipulatives, equate this process to the hooking up of railroad cars to make a train. They link individual letters/sounds to make short words.
Deer Valley Unified School District
Close Reading: Analyzing Mood and Tone
The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...
Curated OER
Character Impressions
Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this lesson could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing process, pupils use...
Dream of a Nation
Congressional Debate
Should junk food be banned in schools? Should the US open its borders to all immigrants? Should the US impose term limits for the House of Representatives and for the Senate? Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a...
Poetry4kids
Simile and Metaphor Lesson Plan
Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five similes and...
Curated OER
Persuade Me
Seventh graders give persuasive presentations based on the questions they have researched. They examine appropriate delivery techniques for effective persuasive presentations. (Note: This lesson should be taught, after students have...
Creative Educator
Sell It with Propaganda
Augment a unit on propaganda by prompting class members to create propaganda. Using Frames software, groups demonstrate their understanding of propaganda techniques by designing a new product, creating a commercial to sell their product,...
Curated OER
Altered Books
Students transform a discarded book into a creative art work of art that encompasses a theme and utilizes a variety of media and techniques.
Curated OER
Laurence Yep's Dragonwings
Young scholars 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...
Curated OER
Escape from Reality: Miro and Surrealism
Students examine the artwork of Joan Miro. In this art appreciation lesson plan, students research the life and work of Miro as a surreal artist. Students create their own surreal art as they follow Miro's techniques.
Curated OER
Nouns and Verbs and Proper Nouns, Oh My!
Second graders identify nouns and verbs in written communication. They distinguish between between nouns, proper nouns, and verbs. Students discuss the difference between these parts of speech. In partners, 2nd graders write a sentences...
Curated OER
Juvenile Justice-Adjudicatory Hearing
Students list the role of the prosecutor and the role of defense counsel. They state the elements of robbery and defense of compulsion. Students conduct a mock hearing, following the sequence of steps in an adjudicatory hearing and...
Curated OER
How Does Power Affect Conflict?
Students use several short stories to analyze different types of power. While discussing the role of power in these short stories, students will practice communication skills essential to conflict transformation, specifically attentive...
Curated OER
Popular Sovereignty Under the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Seventh graders examine the implications of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In this slavery lesson, 7th graders examine a map of 1820 America and discuss the balance of power implied by the map. Students then read Stephen Douglas's speech on...
Curated OER
A Conventional Family
Students explore writing techniques by analyzing their own families. In this family values instructional activity, students view the film "The Incredibles" in class and discuss the different types of modern-day families. Students write...
Curated OER
Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students use the music of Bruce Springsteen to learn literature techniques.