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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories

For Teachers 2nd - 8th Standards
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Information Problem Solving

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers locate the specific elements of text and illustrations that communicate setting, characterization, and plot in order to evaluate how the text and illustrations work together to communicate effectively.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Morality "Tails" East and West: European Fables and Buddhist Jataka Tales

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Have your class explore Buddhist Jataka Tales to compare and contrast them to European fables. After defining fables, Jataka tales, and the elements of each, learners identify themes and patterns for both types of narratives and the...
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Study Guide
Scholastic

A Reading Guide to A Wrinkle in Time

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 12: Story Event

For Teachers 6th Standards
Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....
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Organizer
Curated OER

Fiction, Poetry, and Drama Part 1

For Students 5th - 8th
Similar to a textbook, this resource includes multiple texts, plenty of explanation, lots of practice, and several graphic organizers. Use all of the materials, or pick and choose from such texts as "The Circuit," "Shoes for Hector,"...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

Count of Monte Cristo: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
Explore the complex themes of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo with a concept and vocabulary analysis lesson plan. Lead your class in a discussion about the underlying social and historical issues surrounding the novel, as well...
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Activity
Curated OER

Pudd'nhead Wilson: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learn all about the book Pudd'nhead Wilson with this analysis of the text. You can plan your unit with the useful teacher information provided here and use the project ideas to enrich instruction.
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Writing
Wordpress

The Inn of Lost Time

For Students 6th - 8th
Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Little Prince: Concept/Vocab Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Focus on the literary elements of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with a concept analysis sheet. With suggestions and explanations for many of the book's concepts, vocabulary, and other issues that may arise in instruction,...
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Unit Plan
ReadWriteThink

Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Makes a Novel a Novel?

For Students 4th - 8th
As your authors prepare to write a hypothetical novel, they need all the inspiration they can find! Using a book they have already read (and enjoyed), learners complete a literary analysis by filling in eight short-answer questions....
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Lesson Plan
Student Achievement Partners

Eleven

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...
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Activity
Curated OER

Peter and the Starcatchers: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Are you preparing to teach Peter and the Starcatchers? If so, you'll want to take a look at this analysis of the text, which describes plot and literary elements in-depth and explores potential implications related to diversity and...
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Worksheet
Warren County Public Schools

Small Group Discussion Questions

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions challenge...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do You Have Character?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders read Katherine Paterson's novel, Bridge to Terabithia, and watch a video of Maurice Sendak's book, Where the Wild Things Are. They examine the characters in both stories that share similar characteristics. Students use the...
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme

For Teachers 6th Standards
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

CTBS Reading Practice #1

For Students 6th - 8th
Expose your class to a variety of excerpts of poetry with a reading practice activity. There are four excerpts from different poems included in this resource; there are three to five related questions for each poem. Learners read each...
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Lesson Plan
Hampton-Brown

Esperanza Rising

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Accompany a reading of the novel, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, with a series of lessons that dive deep into the literary world of a young girl and the journey she takes to start a new life. Lessons and their...
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 9: Climax

For Teachers 6th Standards
Conduct a close reading of chapter 9 of The Cay. Read the chapter again and ask pupils to respond to a list of included text-dependent questions. Finish the class with the provided writing assignment, which asks learners to use textual...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Parts of the Plot: Constructing A Plot Diagram

For Teachers 6th - 9th
After reading "The King of Mazy May" by Jack London, learners reinforce their literary analysis skills in this SMART board lesson. The provided SMART board file allows themto define elements of a short story, and then add it to the plot...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Character Development-Nanavi, A Girl from Benin, West Africa

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars examine the ways a character changes throughout the course of a story.  In this literary analysis lesson, students discuss a story that spans three years in a young girl's life.  Young scholars analyze the changes the girl...
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Activity
Curated OER

The Book Project

For Teachers 4th - 9th
In this book project worksheet, students select a container to decorate and fill with questions, vocabulary, and other items that depict the elements of the text in some way.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Literature via Literature Circles

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...