Classroom Adventures Program
Creating Characters
Examine character in depth. Over the course of these six lessons, learners explore their own character traits, determine the traits of characters in the books they read, practice comparing and contrasting, and collaborate in small groups...
Curated OER
The Lightning Thief: Vocabulary Strategy
Take an in-depth look into the vocabulary from the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. With a list of words to choose from, scholars discover the definition, origin, stories associated with the...
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One Room School House Reading Lesson
Students explore schools during the Colonial period. In this American history instructional activity, students participate in a simulation of school days in Colonial America. Students visit a museum and use the schoolhouse as a setting...
Core Task Project
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...
Curated OER
Because of Winn-Dixie
Take an in-depth look at a passage from Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. Included here is the reading passage as well as a step-by-step procedure for reading the text, a set of text-dependent questions, and a final writing...
Schools Linking Network & Lifeworlds Learning
How Do We All Live Together?
Explore the concepts of community and point of view with these activities complementing the children's book Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Following a class reading of the story, ask students to either draw a map of the...
Curated OER
Author Study: Chris Van Allsburg
This short presentation provides an overview of the types of things students will learn about as they conduct an Author Study. The focus of this PowerPoint is author Chris Van Allsburg, but you could replace him with any author your...
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Sum It Up !!
Students practice various comprehension strategies to generate the main idea of the text. They encounter unfamiliar concepts and new vocabulary in their quest of the main idea in "Watson's Goes to Burmingham." The Five W's (What, Where,...
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Bring Literature Circles Into Your Classroom
Tips and strategies for adding literature circles to your language arts curriculum.
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Writing About Race
Fourth graders explore racial discrimination focusing on Jim Crow laws. They read an excerpt from Richard Wright's autobiography and discuss how viewing the subject from the his point of view affects their opinions.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Analyzing Literary Elements in Literary Nonfiction
Fourth graders identify the literary elements of a nonfiction text. In this literary elements lesson, 4th graders read the text Piano Starts Here--The Young Art Tatum and fill in a chart that includes the events from the book....
Curated OER
Coming to America
Students present tableaus showing scenes from The Memory Coat, a book about immigration. In this tableau lesson plan, students examine the cover of the book and make predictions about what is happening and who the people are. They...
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The Poetry of Sculpture
Fourth graders practice writing poetry while examining all types of art. In this art analysis lesson, 4th graders participate in a field trip to a sculpture garden in which they view sculptures and create different forms of poetry about...
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Reading Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
Students explore Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie. For this reading comprehension lesson, students answer questions and define vocabulary words before, during, and after reading the book Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie.
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The Lightning Thief: Questioning Strategy
Step into the shoes of the Oracle from the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, with this response to reading activity. After reading chapter nine, scholars answer questions from the Oracle's point...
Curated OER
Fairy Tales
Students research a variety of fairy tales on the internet. They experience their magical settings and imaginative context. Students look at the vocabulary of each tale in depth. They access a mystical atmosphere to enhance their...
Curated OER
Spring: Giving Thanks to the Herring
Students study the Wampanoag tribe to learn about the importance of the herring to their culture. In this Wampanoag lesson, students read information and complete multiple activities to learn about the role of the herring fish in the...
Curated OER
Letters from Rifka
Students read Karen Hesse's book "Letters from Rifka" and explore how it presents the experiences of a Russian immigrant to America. They research and write reports on the experiences of various immigrants from different cultures, keep...