Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Short Story Writers Say
There are so many authors of short stories, and your class can have the chance to study quite a few. This seventh lesson in a series of fourteen continues the decision-making process for the final assessment: a short story author study....
Annenberg Foundation
Gothic Undercurrents
Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...
Curated OER
Investigating the Swissair Flight 111 Tragedy
Middle schoolers read two articles about the same event: "Plane from J.F.K Crashes off Canada" from the New York Times and "No Survivors from Crash of Swissair Jetliner Off Nova Scotia" from the Associated Press. They then compare the...
Curated OER
Bias and Crime in Media
Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's 1901 Constitution: What Was at Stake?
Who should be able to vote? As part of a study of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, class members examine primary source document that reveal the reasons the authors gave to support their positions on this question and their assumptions in...
Curated OER
Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents
Arranged into small groups, learners read a paragraph of the news story "Texas Kid Writes Book About Presidents." As one reads, others mark the text (underlining important information and writing notes in the margin of the story). After...
Curated OER
Freedom, Rights, and Responsibilities
Students look at the primary sources that emerged from the Exodus (the Ten Commandments) and the War of Independence (the Declaration of Independence) and examine how each attempts to construct a free society and a definition of freedom....
Curated OER
Tunes for Bears to Dance to: Graphic Organizer Strategy
"What are Henry's options?" "What do you think Henry will do?" To better understand the central conflict for the main character in Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members engage in a compare-and-contrast activity that...
Curated OER
The Effects of Slavery
The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Local Color in the Late 19th Century
Kate Chopin's The Awakening introduces readers not only to the lush Louisiana setting of Grand isle but also to the nuances of Creole culture. the second lesson plan in a three-part series examines how Chopin's use of literary realism...
Curated OER
Request
Students play a game of questioning with the teacher after reading silently a beginning passage of text. They and teacher request specific information from each other until students are able to summarize and predict the outcome of the...
Curated OER
Casting Doubt: "Color-blind" and Nontraditional Casting Decisions
In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying, "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a Salesman'...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to the Short Story
How should pupils read short stories? Set them up for this unit with an introductory instructional activity that goes over the main characteristics of a short story and starts learners off reading their first short story of the unit. In...
Curated OER
An Exploration of Cradle-to-Cradle Design Thinking
Introduce cradle-to-cradle design thinking. Scholars first discuss the importance of natural laws and rights. They then use a variety of online and print resources to research eco-efficiency and cradle-to-cradle design.
Prestwick House
Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News
We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?
Curated OER
The Importance Setting and Mood in Fiction
Seventh graders examine the setting in pieces of fiction. In this story analysis lesson, 7th graders investigate the setting in fictional stories and the importance it has. Students discover new vocabulary terms applying to storytelling.
Curated OER
Distinguishing Fact and Opinion
Students pick up clues in the wordage of a sentence to determine if it is factual and give reasons for their feelings. They explain difference between statements of hard fact as found on the front page of a newspaper from that of an...
Curated OER
Ceramics: A Vessel Into History
Students review a previous ceramics lesson and journal about a personal clay vessel they will create. In this ceramics lesson, students recognize various ceramic forms created in different time periods and cultures and how ceramic...
Curated OER
African Americans and the Military of World War II
Fifth graders view a news reel of African Americans in World War II. In this World War II lesson plan, 5th graders discuss the newspaper clippings they get to view and hypothesize about why the African Americans use military news clips....
Curated OER
"On the Sidewalk Bleeding" by Evan Hunter
Learners read Evan Hunter's "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" and complete reading and vocabulary skill activities. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students review the vocabulary for the text and read the story. Learners...
Curated OER
Journalism with Natalie Moore
Learners analyze journalism in the 21st century. In this journalism lesson, students read about Natalie Moore and the changing field of journalism by completing the activities in the packet.
Curated OER
Peurto Rico and its People
Students engage in discussion and activities to help them explain Peurto Rican people, their language (and how it differs from the spanish spoken in other countries), regional differences, and the different stereotypes that they are...
Curated OER
Who Were The Samurai?
Students discover more information about samurai. They use primary and secondary sources to explain the samurai more clearly. They examine their role in society and disregard preconceptions.