Curated OER
The Artist As Storyteller
Pupils practice the art of storytelling by examining scroll writing techniques of Asia and applying them to a monthly story of their own classroom. This lesson is in two parts (Part II continues throughout the school year).
Curated OER
Persuasion
Young scholars explore the characteristics of a persuasive letter. They label each characteristic and they create a persuasive letter using the correct business letter format. Students recommend a school rule or change of a rule and...
Curated OER
Changes and the Individual
Students evaluate the social effects of inventions and other developments on the lives of ordinary individuals. They create a profile of an individual who might have lived at that time and whose life would have been affected by those...
Curated OER
Picture Prompt: St. Patrick's Day Kids
A picture of two leprechauns with a pot of gold prompts students to finish the story. Students provide the title of the story, as well as the beginning, middle, and end. The prompt includes a text box for teachers to type in preferred...
Curated OER
Picture Prompt: Dolphin Games
Kids who love dolphins will get a kick out of this prompt, which includes a picture of two dolphins playing with a beach ball. Using the picture for inspiration, students complete the beginning, middle, and ending of the story. A text...
Curated OER
Picture Prompt: Elf at the North Pole Village
Great during the Christmas season, this prompt gives students a picture of an elf in the North Pole Village to inspire students to begin and end the story. A word box provides teachers the opportunity to add words from a spelling or...
Curated OER
Picture Prompt: Reindeer by Cottage
Given a picture of reindeer by a snowy cottage, students begin and complete a story that is inspired by the picture prompt. Teachers can add desired words in a word box before printing.
Curated OER
Picture Prompt: Birds and Kite
A cute illustration of two birds looking at a kite from their nest helps students to think of a topic for their story, which they can title, begin, and end. A text box allows teachers to provide words from a spelling or vocabulary list...
Curated OER
Glue-line Insect
First graders explore characteristics of ladybugs. They view ladybugs in ventilated containers and discuss their observations. Students read a story about ladybugs and create a glue picture of a ladybug.
Curated OER
"Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is quite the story-teller. Read "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" and follow it up with this two-page instructional activity. Readers will revisit the text to answer higher level thinking questions....
Curated OER
Creating a Life Map
Middle schoolers create their own life map in which they introduce themselves to each other by sharing what they are most proud of. They use a life map to expressive themselves creatively.
Premier Literacy
Point of View
Incorporate technology into a literature lesson with an innovative language arts lesson. Middle schoolers read an electronic version of original stories or fairy tales, and after determining the point of view, rewrite the tale from...
Advocates for Human Rights
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
To gain a deeper understanding of the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, class members read stories written from the point of view of an emigrant, map the individual's journey, and note the human rights affected by each stage of the...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Game
Help scholars discover new ways to build their vocabulary. Groups create a game involving their vocabulary words. Using the jigsaw model, the groups shuffle and play the games of the other groups. Save the games and use them for other...
Curated OER
How Historians Know: Investigating a Midwife's Life
Students view "A Midwife's Tale" to explain the methods historians use to study the past. They complete worksheets to identify what historians look for.
Curated OER
Use of Personification and Imagery in Poetry
A reading of Theodore Roethke’s dark "Root Cellar" and Sylvia Plath’s more abstract "Mirror" launches a discussion of imagery and personification in poetry. After finding examples of personification in the poems, class members...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Presenting the Water Cycle
Third graders complete a unit of study about the water cycle using both print and Internet based resources. They examine fresh and salt water and complete an online quiz before developing a multimedia presentation highlighting the phases...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Levers - Weight Lifters
Students investigate how levers help to lift heavy loads. They view and discuss examples of levers, explore various websites, experiment with the levers brought to the class, and watch the video for the book "Mike Mulligan and His Steam...
Curated OER
Sharing Our Strengths
In this activity, students appreciate their own unique talents-and that of others-by presenting an interest, talent, or hobby.
Curated OER
Cross-Cultural Dialogue Lesson
Students view situations from more than their own point of view. They use the incidents in the author's story to explore the concept of crossing cultures and reflect on what it is like to feel like an outsider (in the way that the author...
Curated OER
Digital Storytelling Lesson Plans Bring Stories to Life
Students can use technology to enhance and improve their stories using digital storytelling lesson plans.
Curated OER
A Ticket to Japan
Fourth graders discover similarities and differences in the lifestyles and geography of Utah and Japan. They use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast daily life and geography in Utah with daily life and geography in Japan. They make...
Curated OER
The Children of World War II
Students examine the lives of children during WWII. In this WWII lesson plan, students investigate the effects of the war on children, what life was like on and off the battlefield and how the geography influenced decisions. Students...
Curated OER
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
For this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about Mann's The Magic Mountain. Students may submit their answers to be scored.