Curated OER
Theatre Lesson Plan: Finding Your Way
Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson, 2nd graders act out familiar activities by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....
Curated OER
Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party
Seventh graders collaboratively research the life and times of Charles Dickens as it relates to a character from the story, and write and present a first-person character analysis.
Curated OER
Writing Worksheet
In this writing worksheet, students answer five questions relating to plot, write about a character and how they develop in four chapters, and answer questions about four characters. Students complete twenty short answer questions.
Curated OER
Martin Luther King Jr.
After listening to a story about Martin Luther King Jr., first graders answer questions about the text. They discuss the importance of the illustrations, identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and complete a writing...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: The Climate Change Debate
Is global warming all smoke and mirrors? Find out what your scholars think with this handout, which has them analyzing two political cartoons on the topic. Background information gives context, detailing the computer hacking during the...
Curated OER
Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...
Curated OER
Knights of the Round Table adapted by Gwen Ross
Everyone loves the tales involving King Arthur and his knights. After reading Knights of the Round Table by Gwen Gross, learners draw inferences and conclusions, analyze story elements, and discuss figurative language, including...
Curated OER
Building Literacy Through Character
Second graders connect reading to writing by making predictions, completing text to world connections, solving problems, and more. In this reading and writing lesson plan, 2nd graders draw conclusions after reading and write them down.
Curated OER
Where Do They Stand?: Perspectives on Othello's Marriage
Students read and discuss Act one, scene three of the play, Othello. They examine the text in small groups, determine each character's attitude toward Othello, identify text to justify their conclusions, then recite lines to the class.
Curated OER
The Tell-Tale Heart
Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...
Curated OER
The death penalty; What is your view?
Students write a persuasive essay about the death penalty. Students respond to students at St. Ignatius Catholic High School in Cleveland protesting the death of Adremy Dennis. Students research both sides of the debate, before writing...
Curated OER
Teaching a Short Story
Students work in small groups and prepare an analysis of a short story to be presented to their peers. They research the story and create a handout or a visual aid that cites sources of information and summarizes the main points of the...
Curated OER
Technology Integration Lesson Plan: Poetry
Sixth graders listen to a story for moral values and personality of characters. They use poetry to write a character sketch about themselves. Students integrate graphics into their poem; thus, creating a picture poem.
Curated OER
Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say
Students examine and create their own interpretation of a particular character from the play, King Lear. They read the speeches, write a paragraph about their character, and present a short performance of their scene.
Curated OER
Young Learner's Writing Workshop 2
Young scholars choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.
Curated OER
Unwind: Anticipation Guide
After responding to a series of prompts on an anticipation guide, readers of Unwind craft five predictions about what will happen in Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel.
Scholastic
Transitional Guided Reading
Use a fill-in-the-blank lesson plan template to enhance your guided reading lesson plans with details surrounding decoding strategies, fluency and phrasing, vocabulary strategies, comprehension, and more!
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin: Master Diplomat for One Last Time
At 81, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, where he exercised significant influence in shaping key elements of how the United States operates. The class examines his role, using “The Scene at...
Prestwick House
The Grapes of Wrath
At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath...
Chicago Historical Society
Are We the People?
Taking on the roles of a fiery Boston patriot, a Philadelphia merchant's wife, and a prominent abolitionist, your young historians will consider the reactions of these early Americans to the creation of the Declaration of...
Curated OER
Genetic Analysis
Students formulate a hypothesis regarding the validity of the current status of the Arizona Hedgehog cactus as a distinct variety of cactus. They design a procedure to isolate DNA from the tissue of plants, given a list of chemicals and...
Curated OER
Creating Plays from Children's Stories
Students explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.
Curated OER
Bronze Bow
Explore ancient Rome through reading The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. Readers activate prior knowledge by examining objects that relate to the story and predict the significance of the items. Their curiosity is aroused...
Curated OER
Red Hot Resume!!
Sixth graders identify personal strengths and the importance of highlighting their talents when writing a resume. They write a reflection narrative on "Cool Stuff I Can Do." They generate the information for the narrative from class...