Curated OER
Belief Systems Along the Silk Roads
Students reflect on similarities and differences among belief systems. Using excerpts of translated religious texts, they organize these quotations into broad themes. The quotations will be posted on a Silk Roads map as reminders of how...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension - Scanning
Students use scanning as a comprehension skill when reading certain types of publications. They compare the reading technique used when reading in their mother language to those used when reading English.
PBS
Racial Equality: How Far Have We Come and How Far Do We Have To Go?
Is everyone treated fairly in America? The culminating fifth lesson from a series of five has pupils explore racial inequalities from the 1960s and decide whether or not society has changed over time. The lesson comes with a speech from...
Curated OER
iPoetry: Modern Interpretation of Classic Poetry
Learners interpret a piece of poetry with images and music in a movie project.
Curated OER
What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations
What do Robert Downey Jr., Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Fritz Weaver, Roger Moore, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Daffy Duck have in common? Why, it’s elementary, my dear Watson! They all have portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Literary detectives...
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 2
To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 1
What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.
Curated OER
NteQ Lesson Plan for S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders
Explore literature through the completion of reading comprehension worksheets in class. After reading the classic book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, middle schoolers review each chapter by completing study questions and story webs....
Curated OER
Exploring Race Through Literature
Provide your class with an opportunity to examine race through a variety of literary works. They read and analyze a chosen poem, interview, speech, or story describing race in America. They then use key words from the original work to...
Curated OER
Understanding the Bush Tax Cut Plan
The class examines the new tax cut plan proposed by President Bush. They practice calculating income tax rates and interpreting the data. Then they research topics that are of interest to them related to taxes.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Thank You, Mr. Falker: Identifying the Superpowers of Reading
Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...
EngageNY
Close Reading of That Book Woman: How Did People Access Books in Rural Areas of the United States?
For this ninth lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit, close reading skills are used independently to find the gist of the story That Book Woman. Rereading for important details is the targeted skill to unlock a deeper...
Curated OER
United States Entry into World War I: A Documentary Chronology of World War I
Learners identify several important events that led to U.S. involvement in World War I. They examine different explanations, form an opinion about the evidence for each rationale and then create a slideshow to present their findings.
Annenberg Foundation
The Search for Identity
Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...
North Carolina State University
Integrating Your Research
Employ this resource to expand efficient ideas on how to present and organize activities that describe how researchers can implement their research by using direct quotes, paraphrasing, and summarizing—without plagiarizing. Activities...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Problematic Situation
Individuals read a series of passages from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, rank the statements from the least to the most racist or stereotypical, and share their rankings and rationales in small groups before a whole class...
Curated OER
Lesson 3 - Lighting Design
The final lesson in a series on theatre design spotlights how lighting is incorporated into a production. After watching videos that focus on lighting fixtures and their positioning, individuals create a basic design plan for a scene,...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
EngageNY
Clarifying Thinking on Water Management: Revisiting the Gallery Walk
One, two, three, go! Scholars gather in triads and number themselves one to three. Each number is responsible for sharing a section of the map homework completed the night before as learners discuss domain-specific vocabulary terms using...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Ancient and Medieval China
This is a thorough lesson plan on Chinese history that includes readings from primary and secondary sources, guided reading questions, videos, and a take-home final assessment. While it indicates an audience from 9th through 12th grade,...
Middle Tennessee State University
A House Divided: The Civil War Home Front in Tennessee
To broaden their understanding of both the short term and long terms effects of the Civil War, class groups examine primary source materials and then assume the role of a family member and draft a letter to a soldier describing life at...
Curated OER
Applying Elements of the Graphic Novel to Traditional Literature
The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan, provides a series of exercises designed to be used with a reading of the graphic novel version of Hosseini’s The Kite Runner....
Virginia Department of Education
Identifying the Main Idea in Fiction
Discovering the main idea in fiction is like uncovering buried treasure; one must persevere to locate it, and the reward is priceless. Scholars delve deep into leveled stories using three questions to aid in identifying the main idea.
Curated OER
Lesson 1- Set Design
Line, shape, color, texture, space. The first in a three-part series of lessons intended for advanced theatre arts classes introduces the elements of set design. Class members examine maquettes and analyze how designers have put together...