Curated OER
What Makes Jokes Funny?
Explore how language is used for comic effect. Middle schoolers determine which of the three formulas for jokes (double meanings, unexpected outcome, humorous mental image) make each of 18 classic, corny examples funny. They complete a...
My Career Space
Just Joking
After reading a workplace ethics scenario regarding an employee who makes racially insensitive comments, your learners will discuss how language that stereotypes others is discriminatory and never "just joking."
Roald Dahl
The Twits - Muggle-Wump Has an Idea
If a bar of chocolate was on the floor, would you try to pick it up? What if it was covered with glue? The eighth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has scholars imagine crazy scenarios. The lesson...
Curated OER
Dear Mrs. LaRue; Letter Writing
Learners listen to the story about a naughty dog who writes to his owner in letter form. In this writing a letter lesson, students pretend to write to a character in the story and practice their literacy skills. Learners then create a...
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Let your writers take a break from formal writing and experiment with undirected freewriting. First they'll discuss the difference between directed and undirected freewriting. Then they'll put their knowledge to work and create some...
Curated OER
Lesson 4:Writing a Letter
Students write business letters and emails. In this letter lesson, students use the seven-day road trip they had planned in a previous lesson and contact the Chambers of Commerce for the cities they plan to visit. They write business...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own terms for common classroom objects,...
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Analyze the free-writing method of brainstorming to explore how to write an essay. Middle schoolers plan their writing from the beginning after reading two samples of free-writing, then creating their own. The lesson includes extension...
Global Oneness Project
Clowning Around
Being a clown is hard work — no joke! Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's Laugh Clown Laugh, a short film about German clown Reinhard "Filou" Harstkotte, asks viewers to consider the various roles played by clowns and to consider the implications of...
Curated OER
Pre-Assessment / Introductory Essay Jigsaw Part A
Students investigate Imperial Japan. In this Japanese history instructional activity, students listen to a lecture about Imperial Japan and then complete jigsaw reading activities about the country during the 20th century. Students write...
Curated OER
The Joke's on You!
First graders share and create jokes to promote and enhance reading skills (fluency, emphasis, timing and sight word recognition), acquire vocabulary and recognize homophones. Students read their jokes aloud, concentrating on voice...
Growing Minds
Potato Exploration: Projects All About Potatoes!
How many potatoes tall are you? Unearth this rich resource! A reading of John Coy’s Two Old Potatoes begins a cross-curricular exploration of potatoes. Class members read, write, weigh, measure, and experiment with potatoes. Additional...
Curated OER
Exploring the Power of Puns
Read and analyze a variety of Shakespearean and contemporary puns using Visual Thesaurus computer software. Middle and high schoolers analyze a pun as a class; in small groups they analyze a Shakespearean pun using contextual clues and...
Childnet International
Crossing the Line: Cyberbullying
Members of the LGBTQ community are more likely to be bullied online than their peers—and bystanders who do nothing can be as problematic as the bullies themselves. Middle schoolers explore ways to protect themselves and others on the...
Curated OER
Explore your Culture through Storytelling
Explore the cultural heritage through of your class through reading, writing, and speaking exercises. They create illustrated mini-books that express their unique cultural and personal experiences. They share their stores with the class...
Curated OER
Oxford Compiles Top 10 Irritating Phrases
Explore well-known expressions that are frequently used. Middle schoolers read an article with the author's opinion of the most annoying phrases. Afterward, they complete numerous activities that check their reading comprehension. Some...
Curated OER
April Fool's Day
Young scholars research how April Fool's Day began. They identify and discuss various theories, interview family members, write original myths about the first April Fool's Day and design a wild goose chase for another class.
Curated OER
No Joke - My Voice Counts!
Students respond to cartoons. In this social and cultural issues lesson plan, students examine how cartoons can be used to get a message across to the reader. After examining numerous cartoons, students create their own cartoon with a...
Curated OER
Sexual harassment
Students research sexual harassment. In this sexual harassment lesson, students discuss and research sexual harassment. They write a script for a scenario dramatizing the incident, how to respond and or prevent the incident.
Curated OER
Stereotypes
Students analyze then sort a given list of words by selected categories about stereotypes. They complete a list of activities then write their opinion about national stereotypes to present to the class.
Curated OER
Character and Relationship Changes
Fifth graders examine text for examples of changes in character relationships. In this character and relationship changes lesson, 5th graders read Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, chart changes in relationships, and write about specific character...
Curated OER
Get the Joke!
Students explore humor through word context and inference used in everyday language.
Curated OER
The Joke is on You
Students discuss catacombs, casks, and Amontillado. The class reads the first two pages of the short story, The Cask of Amontillado, and discuss the situation of the story and the mental state of the narrator. Then they predict what...
Curated OER
Woman Walks into a Bar
Students create an imaginative response to a book title as a way to anticipate what the book is going to be about. They explore the use of humour to make a serious point. Students are asked what they think that statement 'Woman walks...