Curated OER
The Art and History of Japanese Calligraphy
Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese writing...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Use of Irony in a Short Story
Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...
Curated OER
THE OCCUPATION OF KOREA BY JAPANESE IMPERIALIST FORCES
Students read and respond to a history of Korea. In this occupation lesson, students work in groups to research the effects of Japanese occupation and create an illustrated timeline. Students listen to a lecture and write an acrostic....
Curated OER
Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen
It is entirely fitting and proper that Wilfred Owen’s powerful “Dulce et Decorum Est” is the poem used for an exercise in close reading, discussion, analysis, and argumentative writing. Class members discuss focus questions in pairs,...
Curated OER
Landscapes of the Mind
Young scholars review Emily Dickinson's biography and examine themes and forms of some of her poems. They measure ways Graham integrates aspects of Dickinson's life and the themes and forms of her poetry into Letters to the World.
Curated OER
Our Town: Using Song Lyrics in the Classroom
Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown” and Billy Joel’s “Allentown” motivate young lyricists to craft poems about their own home town. Groups compare the two songs, identifying details, symbols, and conflicts. Individuals then picture a place...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Imaginary Creatures
Drama and movement are wonderful ways to cover story elements such as setting, character, and descriptive writing. Little ones listen to a poem about imaginary creatures. As they listen, they shape their bodies into what they think the...
Curated OER
The Art of Locomotion
Tenth graders examine the artistic legacy of trains by comparing the representations of trains in the painting of Turner and the photographs of Terry Evans. They write an essay, story or poem using their own observations of trains,...
Curated OER
Digging Deep for Figurative Language (Hyperbole)
What are hyperboles? Examine the attributes of hyperboles with your high school classes. Pupils read selected poems and prose selections that feature hyperboles and discuss their functions in each work of literature. Specific poems and...
Curated OER
Peace Brainstorming Activity
Students study the topic of peace and use brainstorming techniques to create a clustering diagram. In this peace brainstorming activity, students organize brainstorming material to complete a writing assignment. Students create...
Curated OER
Halloween Counting Book
First graders recognize and write numerals from 1 to 10. They estimate and count to identify sets with more, fewer, or the same number of objects, listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts, and take turns speaking in a...
Curated OER
Philanthropic Behavior
Youngsters create class rules by determining the environment they would like to have in their classroom. They come to a consensus about how to have a safe, fair, fun learning environment by discussing the rules in the Karla Kustin poem,...
Curated OER
Comparison of Multicultural Literature
Students examine three different versions of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and complete a comparison activity. Their own version of the poem is created and illustrated in this lesson.
Curated OER
Marvelous Magnets
Students investigate the properties of magnets. In this physics instructional activity, students view a Powerpoint presentation on magnets and list facts about magnets they learned. Students use magnets in the classroom to identify what...
Curated OER
Gordon Parks:First Survival, Then Success
Have your class examine the work of Gordan Parks. They determine how Park's childhood in Kansas inspired his artwork as they analyze his writings and photographs. Students complete the provided worksheets as they compare, contrast, and...
Curated OER
End-of-the-Year Celebration Program
Students sing songs, recite a poem, share what they can now do that they couldn't before and explain how they see their accomplishments. They read "Leo The Late Bloomer" and create graduation hats.
Curated OER
Disasters (Natural & Man-made)
Students chose a natural or man-made disaster, such as a tornado or an oil spill, to research using the assigned web sites. They choose a presentation type from a list which includes poetry, radio broadcasts, and safety brochures, to...
Curated OER
Character in a Box
Partners choose, research, and analyze fictional or historical characters and design character life boxes to represent them. They also compose a rhyme royal, which they understand inductively by deconstructing examples. Based largely on...
Curated OER
Our Town
With the songs "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen and "Allentown" by Billy Joel, learners examine external versus internal conflict. When they have finished the first part of the lesson, they create their own poem (or song) about the...
Curated OER
Stewart's Boxes
Learners collect memorabilia and create shadow boxes in the style of David Stewart. They also compose a poem and explain their identity in an oral presentation. This is a rare lesson that works quite well for a variety of age levels.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Ode to the Ordinary
Eighth graders select ordinary objects, determine their uses, and write poems about them. Once they select an object, they create a web about its uses to serve as an outline. Once they have written their own odes, 8th graders meet in...
Scholastic
Biographical History
Elementary learners study and research an important historical figure. They research a historical figure and use a four square organizer to take notes. They develop a timeline and poem that reflects the life of the historical figure....
Curated OER
"O Captain! My Captain!"
Who was Walt Whitman, and what link does he have to president Abraham Lincoln? After Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" This poem and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" are the focus of...
Curated OER
The New England Fishing Industry:Sea Changes in a Community
Explore New England's economic and cultural past and possible issues New Englanders will face in the future. Middle and high schoolers research the fishing industry and the need for regulation. They analyze the topography of New England...