Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Discussion Web
Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with a...
Spreading Gratitude Rocks
Gratitude Quote Poster
According to Cicero, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." Pupils explore similar inspirational quotes after watching a time-lapse video. Next, scholars interpret one of the quotes by creating...
Curated OER
Revisiting Writing through Revision
Strategies to teach and motivate your students to revise their writing.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Thank You, Mr. Falker: Identifying the Superpowers of Reading
Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...
Serendip
Genetics Vocabulary Review Game
Taboo, anyone?! A vocabulary review lesson asks learners to give their partners clues to help them guess the target word. The catch? There are words that are taboo. If they use the prohibited words, they don't get credit if partners...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Characters
Are your learners only talking about the plot of the story and not the richness of the characters? Then show them how important characters are to literature with the information available here. The learner will know how authors create...
Curated OER
Who Will I Be Tomorrow?
Students examine various careers and character traits. They create an Affinity Chart using career survey results, compare/contrast personality traits and character traits, and discuss why character traits are important for jobs.
Curated OER
Nature and Nurture
Pupils look into the role both nature and nurture play in determining an individual's traits. They examine how genes and the environment affect personality
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Semantic Feature Analysis
Racist, independent, conflicted? Readers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brainstorm words that describe the traits of characters in Twain’s novel and then rate these qualities in several of their favorite characters. Individuals...
Curated OER
Autobiography - Student Trading Cards
Motivate your class with this lesson! Learners use the trading card format to create an autobiography. They are given a list of characteristics to list, write down what they would like to include on their trading card, and head to the...
Curated OER
Understanding Character
Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...
Curated OER
Artifacts 1: What Can We Learn From Artifacts?
Sixth graders are introduced to artifacts and explore an online archaeological site to connect clues about how people once lived. In this deductive reasoning lesson, 6th graders participate in the stratigraphy game on Kids Dig Reed.com...
Curated OER
Collaborative Mural
Collaborative murals are a great way to let kids show what they know about nearly any subject. Murals can be about the environment, life cycles, habitats, character traits, or even the human body! Here you'll find handy tips and tricks...
Curated OER
Heredity: Your Connection To The Past
Students investigate genetics and the process of reproduction in living organisms.
American Psychological Association
Using Psychological Perspectives to Answer Questions on Behavior
Perspective is everything when it comes to assessing human behavior. Class members examine a series of statements and identify the perspective represented by each to demonstrate their understanding of different psychological perspectives.
Curated OER
Character Building-Brick Wall
Students develop and recognize positive traits and random acts of kindness through modeling, positive reinforcement, class discussions and activities and charting the traits. This continues throughout an entire year.
Curated OER
Gene Puzzles
Students come to understand that in sexually reproducing organisms, such as humans, typically half of the genes come from each parent.
Students examine a fictional pedigree and determine which gene is responsible for a given trait. The...
Curated OER
Service Learning
Students view video clips to define service learning. In this civics instructional activity, students read quotes, take a survey, and define altruism. Students view video clips and evaluate the motivation and impact of those who perform...
Curated OER
Women in Ancient Greece
Young scholars interpret the myth of Arachne and its depiction of women's activities and valued traits.
Orange County Department of Education
Black Cowboy, Wild Horses
Fifth graders read the selection Black Cowboy, Wild Horses and identify characteristics of self-discipline shown by story's main character, Bob Lemmons. Students then identify some of their own traits of self-discipline and reflect upon...
Curated OER
Small Actions with Big Purpose
Seventh graders examine the trait of perseverance. In this character education instructional activity, 7th graders discuss community causes they care about and make plans to contribute their time and energy to overcome their...
Curated OER
Super Citizens
Third graders read City Green and discuss how citizens work together. In this citizenship lesson students, group citizens by community, state or nation. Students list ways to be good citizens in each group. Students discuss the common...
Curated OER
What a Character!
Young scholars look at the role of characters in a story. In this character lesson, students discuss how different types of characters change the plot of the story. They see how storytellers use their body, face, and voice to tell stories.
Curated OER
Doing the Right Thing
Middle schoolers examine the trait of courage. For this character traits lesson, students discuss how to their face fears in order to do the right thing as they discuss the corageous acts of Jackie Robinson.