Seussville
The Lorax's Earth Day
Add a touch of Dr. Seuss whimsy to your Earth Day celebration with six pages consisting of Earth-friendly, inspiring, and engaging activities designed to enhance the beauty of your school campus and showcase the famous story, The...
Michigan State University
Friend or Foe?
What one person thinks is a pest may not be a pest to someone else. Here, scholars examine the characteristics of living things and pests through grand conversation and a variety of activities. Class members play a game of pest or not a...
Curated OER
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"
After reading "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, use the SMART board file to learn about Poe's background and use of irony. The lesson includes resource links to additional websites, as well as the SMART board file (you...
Curated OER
Elements of a Story - Plot, Characters, and Setting
Use this SMART board activity with any short story in your unit plan. The SMART board file contains a step-by-step guide to plot diagrams, including an interactive practice page and an assignment. This resource is beneficial for language...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast: Literary Analysis
Great for a reading intervention or remedial Language Arts class, this instructional activity uses two stories from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III ("Terri Jackson" and "Mary Lou" to reinforce note-taking skills, story elements,...
Curated OER
Winter Clothing
After listening to a reading of The Snowy Day, by Era Jack Keats, language learners use a SMART board and drag the appropriate vocabulary word to the correct clothing article. They then record and illustrate the new vocabulary words in...
Curated OER
Characterization of Mice and Men
Using a SMART board presentation (provided), your class discusses the characterization of Lenny, George, Curley, Curley's wife, and the farmhands in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The presentation includes a list of traits for...
Curated OER
Sum It Up
After a review of the steps involved in writing a summary, class members read The Physics of Baseball by Sarah Ives and use a story web to identify the important details to include in their summary. Class members then choose an article...
Curated OER
The 5 W's
Examine how to answer who, what, when, where, and why when reading text. Young writers listen to the story Skeleton Hiccups, and as a class answer and discuss the five W's. Independently they read the story silently, and write the...
Curated OER
Roboteacher
Present this slide show to your class and see what they think. It's the story of Roboteacher, obviously written and perhaps illustrated by a student. It could be used to reinforce story boarding, story telling, story retell, or creative...
Curated OER
Documenting Child Labor in Nepal
Fourth graders, using Apple's iMovie, create a digital documentary to raise awareness about the existing child labor in Nepal.
Curated OER
"Tis The Season" Bulletin Board
Students study the months and seasons by bringing in an item that represent the season the their birthday occurs in. They either write or dictate at least one sentence about the object and how it represents the season. Using their...
Curated OER
Animal Farm - The Rest of the Story
Students participate in a reader's theater using farm animals in the novella Animal Farm. In this Animal Farm lesson plan, students evaluate interpretations using the text, personal experience, and historical events.
Curated OER
Mapping Comprehension
Students explore story structure. They discuss questions they can ask themselves while silently reading. Students implement their story knowledge by making story maps. They read The Little Pink Rose and the Cloud and create a story map...
Curated OER
Track Stories
Young scholars identify animal tracks. In this animal track lesson, students look at "track stories" and identify the animals that made the tracks. Young scholars discuss if they believe the animals are predators or prey.
Curated OER
Splish Splash: Daily Use of Water
Students assess their daily use of water and write stories about how water is used in their lives and communities. Students read about water usage in Ghana and Kenya and compare and contrast water usage and resources between the countries.
Curated OER
War Stories
Students explore their feelings about the United States' invasion of Iraq. Using newspaper headlines and articles as a starting point, students express their emotions through creative writing.
Curated OER
Water Uses and Children's Lives in East Africa
Students identify how water use is part of life and culture. Students record their daily water usage and compare results with classmates. Students complete the graphic organizer on water and children. Students compose an essay, which...
Curated OER
Telling Our Stories of Giving - Writing to Persuade
After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...
Curated OER
Getting the Story
Students examine and discuss the basic elements of a newspaper article. They listen to articles, discuss the 'inverted pyramid' style of a breaking news article, and list imaginary current events based on mythological characters.
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign
The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...
Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Unsent Letter
Take a journey with your class as they explore the different settings from Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Middle schoolers write postcards in first person as if they were the characters of the story.
EngageNY
Revisiting Bud’s Rules: Survive or Thrive?
Bud followed a series of rules from Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. The question is, how did he use those rules to thrive or survive? After a grand discussion, class members explore the novel to locate and cite textual...
College Board
2002 AP® Psychology Free-Response Questions
A child tells a story of her visit to a fire house. How does her cognitive development impact how she remembers what she saw? Scholars explore a case study and a second prompt about psychological reactions using authentic College Board...