Curated OER
"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
Curated OER
Examining Persuasive Literature
Examine persuasive literature and writing. For this persuasive literature lesson, pupils work through a variety of activities over the course of three weeks (each week is planned by day). The unit's purpose is to examine examples of...
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Teaching Story Elements: Jack and the Beanstalk
Middle schoolers define fictional story elements. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read Jack and the Beanstalk and view an included SMARTboard lesson. Middle schoolers use the SMARTboard to match the story element terms...
Curated OER
Elements of Poetry Analysis
Poetry analysis lessons can allow students to explore the mechanics of poetry, and the emotions evoked.
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Heroes, Kindness and "To Kill A Mockingbird"
Students read To Kill a Mockingbird and relate the action sof the characters to behaviors in students lives. In this heroism, bullying, kindness and compassion lesson, students identify characters who are heroes in the story. Students...
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Child Literacy
Young scholars read information on the importance of literacy and complete a worksheet. In this community service instructional activity, students evaluate children's literature and practice reading fluency. Young scholars spend two...
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Online Reading Logs
Students record book reading and practice spelling and vocabulary on this free online reading-log site. In this lesson, students work online to complete reading logs. Students are assigned 30 minutes a night in reading.
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Introduction to the Poetry Unit
Young scholars explore, analyze and interpret one form of poetry writing called Poetry Slam. They hear several examples of unexpected poetry and view a video of "Slam Nation." The books, "Hey You! C'mere: A Poetry Slam," by Elizabeth...
Curated OER
Fighting Prejudice and Discrimination against People with Learning Disabilities
Students work to understand learning disabilities and discrimination. For this teaching tolerance lesson, students examine what learning disabilities are and how people are discriminated against. There are different activities for...
Curated OER
Heroes, Kindness, and "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Young scholars explore the concept of heroism. In this character education lesson, students reflect on the actions of the characters in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird as they create mission statements for Atticus Finch and prepare...
Curated OER
Common Theme in Folktale: 900 Versions of Cinderella
Seventh graders examine various stories that have a Cinderella theme. In this Language Arts lesson, 7th graders compare and contrast stories. Students write various journal assignments in regards to the stories.
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Out of the Dust
Learners create a poem that expresses the physical and emotional turmoil of living through the Dust Bowl. In this Out of the Dust lesson, students research facts about the time period and discuss the cause-effect patterns associated...
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Plot Summary for Story Element
Seventh graders identify story elements utilizing a plot summary organizer. In this story elements lesson, 7th graders discuss the elements of a good story. Students use The Three Little Pigs to practice finding the plot elements....
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Gandhi's Autobiography and the Study of Memoir
Seventh graders explore the life of Gandhi using his autobiography and memoir. In this Gandhi exploration lesson, 7th graders analyze Gandhi's literary voice by reading his autobiography. Students identify literary techniques in Gandhi's...
Curated OER
Gandhi's Non-violent Revolutions: Examining Tools to Make Non-violent
Students analyze Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent social change. In this nonviolence and social change lesson, students research a leader from the attached list who practiced nonviolent social change. Students write their own poem...
Curated OER
Who Am I Without Him?
Pupils read and discuss the book, Who Am I Without Him? In this fluency lesson, students practice reading with expression and making text to self connections. Pupils practice writing expressively in their journals.
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Telling a Story Through Dance
Students explore how to tell a story through dance. In this dance lesson, students watch Swan Lake and choose a story of their own to show through dance.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
Students explore the book A Midsummer Night's Dream. In this literature lesson, students identify main characters and vocabulary words from the text. Students participate in a book discussion group.
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Theatre: Meaningful Monologues
Students perform dramatic monologues. In this drama instructional activity, students write their own monologue and perform it in front of their peers.
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Students identify lightning words from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to complete definition and synonym activities. In this word study lesson, students discuss lighting words and read a Mark Twain quote. Students then read specific...
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Miracle on 34th Street
Students compare the movie Miracle on 34th Street to the book. In this holiday lesson, students read the book and view the 1995 version of the movie, Miracle on 34th Street. Students use a Venn diagram to analyze the similarities and...
Curated OER
The Correct Use of the Articles "A" and "An"
Students discover the grammatical rules regarding articles. In this grammar instructional activity, students study the rule regarding the use of "a" and "an" in writing. Students are encouraged to discover the rule on their own and apply...
Curated OER
The Mormon Trail Through Iowa
Students read selections from travel diaries and create their own travel diary. In this Mormon Trail through Iowa lesson, students discover background of the Mormon Trek of 1846 and discuss how a group may be persecuted for beliefs. ...
Stanford University
Civil Rights or Human Rights?
Young citizens consider the American civil rights movement as part of the global struggle for human rights. After using a timeline activity to learn about the major events in the civil rights movement, class members study Malcolm X's...