Curated OER
Lesson: A Spider's Perspective
A fun way to grow a class of creative thinkers, is to add creative projects to your weekly line up. Kids pretend they are small insects or spiders crawling up the side of a huge building. They use vivid imagery, rich detail, and their...
Curated OER
The Little Star: Learning About Christmas
Students listen to the story, discuss how Christmas is celebrated, and construct a nativity scene. In The Little Star instructional activity, students hear the story showing Christmas as a religious festival. Students act out the story...
Federal Reserve Bank
Something Special For Me
People often save money, but what are the benefits and drawbacks of that action? Youngsters learn about saving, savings, and opportunity cost through the lens of a short book, called Something Special for Me.
Curated OER
The Outside Dog
Students observe the book, "The Outside Dog," and predict the events of the story. At the conclusion of the story, students act out various paragraphs from the book and write about specified characters. Additional cross-curriculum...
Curated OER
Literature Through Silent Movies
Students participate in an engaging, alternative assessment activity: making a silent film of an Edgar Allen Poe story. This project offers them an additional way to demonstrate their mastery of the topic.
Curated OER
The Patriot Act: What Is the Proper Balance Between National Security and Individual Rights?
Pupils discuss the Patriot Act and are given questions at the end of the lesson to respond to.
English Worksheets Land
Animals and Earthquakes
Can animals sense an earthquake before the ground starts to shake? Read two short passages that feature stories about animals that acted strangely just before an earthquake. Learners then answer a few reading comprehension questions that...
Victoria Theatre Association
The Ugly Duckling Resource Guide
Our differences aren't meant to divide us! Use Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale "The Ugly Duckling" to reinforce the concept that appearances don't define someone's character, and that there is always somewhere where we belong.
Curated OER
The Viking Legends - In the Beginning
Students listen to a broadcast with two stories on a radio that deals with Viking legends: The Building of the Wall and a creation story similar to Genesis. They discuss each story, write a short scene from one of the stories and then...
Annenberg Foundation
The Search for Identity
Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...
Curated OER
Writings on a River
Students identify words that can be used to describe Mark Twain's character Tom Sawyer. Students explore stage production of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by reading and discussing "An Older (and Calmer) Tom Sawyer". They develop their...
Curated OER
Was Goldilocks Innocent or Guilty?
Fourth graders act out a mock fairy tale trial. They use a fairy tale like "The Three Little Pigs", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Hansel and Grete"l, and/or "Little Red Riding Hood".
Curated OER
Decisions: Action or Apathy
Students examine the issues of action versus apathy as related to life pressures, values, consequences and career decisions. They read poetry, short stories and plays and respond to issues personally, critically and creatively.
Curated OER
Events Leading to the Indian Removal 1830-1832
Students consider the effects of Indian Removal on the Cherokee Nation. In this American history lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Students write short stories that detail the...
Curated OER
Creative Caribbean Story
Learners read stories about the Caribbean. They write about the Caribbean lifestyle. Students write their own stories of the Caribbean, using facts and researched information.
Curated OER
Telling a Story Through Dance
Students explore how to tell a story through dance. For this dance lesson, students watch Swan Lake and choose a story of their own to show through dance.
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Curated OER
Portrait of a Place, Portrait of a Family
Students act out stories based on lives of famous people from Harlem. In this memoirs lesson, students compare the life of the people in Harlem in 1930 to the people of today. Students explore how "home" is different for different...
Curated OER
Learning to Give
Young scholars study philanthropy and point of view while reading the novel Gentle Annie. In this point of view lesson, the learner writes a persuasive letter from a character in the novel. Students work in small groups to act out a skit...
National Endowment for the Humanities
On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
Scholastic
Identifying Types of Irony Using "The Gift of the Magi"
O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...
Curated OER
Animal Actions
First graders act out a story. In this animal actions lesson, 1st graders listen as a story is being read and performs movements to represent the animals described.
Curated OER
Dramatizing Folktales, Legends and Myths
Learners read different folktales from Native American cultures. They work together to act out different scenes. They discover the difference between folktales, legends and myths.
Curated OER
Fibers and Fabric
Students are introduced to a variety of different fibers. After acting out a short story, they discover how yarn and basic weaves are made. To end the lesson, they practice making their own weave pattern using paper strips and then yarn.