Curated OER
Finding Science in An American Childhood by Annie Dillard
High schoolers read excerpts from Annie Dillard's memoir, "An American Childhood," with the teacher. They experience opportunities to connect English, science, nature and art together from a new and unique perspective. This approach...
Curated OER
Insect Body Parts and their Functions
Students explore all the parts of an insects body and assess their specific functions. They review an extensive vocabulary list of terms and then relate the parts of an insect to those of a human being. Dragonfly Poetry is also taught...
Curated OER
Approaching Walden Curriculum Unit
Students engage in a literature study unit. They use various exercises to build reading comprehension using a wide variety of literature texts. While reading the books, students are encouraged to think reflectively in order to appreciate...
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Art and Literature: What's the Point?
Eleventh graders analyze the social/political purpose(s) of art and literature. They create written and visual texts that bring attention to a social/political concern. Presentation and discussion of art and literature in connection with...
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Seventeenth Century Pick-up Lines
Students analyze passages from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, or the Arts of Wooing and Complementing, written in the seventeenth century. Students analyze the images, words and figures of speech the author used and compare the...
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Analyzing and Evaluating Holocaust Literature
Students examine the history of the Holocaust through literature. Using different pieces of literature, they critique the items in terms of being historical accurate and its value in telling the stories of the Holocaust. They create a...
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The Diary of Anne Frank: Selected Passages
Students read the novel, "The Diary of Anne Frank". Using the internet, they gather information on the effect of the Versailles Treaty, formation of the Weimer Republic and the Nazi Party on the Holocaust. They view propaganda...
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Major Holocaust Themes in Elie Wiesel's Memoir, Night
Young scholars read accounts of children during the Holocaust and read Elie Wiesel's "Night". Using the internet, they share ideas and discuss topics with peers across the nation. They examine the role of the individual in the...
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Using The Complete Maus to Enhance the Student's Understanding of Maus
Students read The Complete Maus to explore how Maus is actually three books in one. In groups, they evaluate the book as a tale of surviving the Holocaust and a tale of impacting future generations. They examine the conditions at...
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Salvaged Pages: Writing as a Response to Literature
Students discuss the topic of the Holocaust. Before reading and discussing Elie Wiesel's "Night", they complete an activity giving them a different perspective on the event. They read diaries and journal entries of children and write a...
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Introduction to the Graphic Novel Maus
Students begin reading the graphic novel "Maus". Using the Internet, they discover fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity. Using excerpts from the novel, they identify animal metaphors used for nationalities and ethnic...
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Celebrating Women: Toni Morrison
Students research Toni Morrison's life, work as a writer, and major contributions to the field of literature; students choose one of her novels to read, & perform a scene from it; each group member writes an autobiographical essay...
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Bookmark It!
Students analyze piece of literature for symbolism and create a bookmark containing an illustration of the symbolism in it, a quote that shows the symbolism and an explanation of how this symbolism enhances the work.
Curated OER
Seven Daughters and Seven Sons: the Middle East Through
Sixth graders read "Seven Daughters and Seven Sons" and examine aspects of Middle East culture and geography. They define vocabulary from the book and map locations described in the book.
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The Velveteen Rabbit
First graders discuss and touch stuffed animals and a real rabbit. They complete a KWL chart about rabbits. They listen to the story The Velveteen Rabbit and discuss it. They research rabbits in the library and make a book.
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Robinson Crusoe: The Original "Survivor"!
Fourth graders read and analyze Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, and participate in problem solving activity similar to television show, Survivor. Eight lessons on one page.
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Storytellers: Bruce Springsteen
Students use the music of Bruce Springsteen to learn literature techniques.
Beacon Learning Center
Challenging the Human Spirit
High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...
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Dateline: 442 BC Antigone
High schoolers create and videotape a newscast about the events that take place in the play, Antigone. They perform scenes describing the main events, the main characters and their conflicts.
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Defending Great Literature
Students defend Mark Twain and the study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn using persuasive techniques, appropriate word choice, and correct letter format, in response to a fictional letter by an upset parent.
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Discovering Ourselves in Literature and Life
Students read literature and view other media to discover how print and non-print texts answer the thematic question: Who am I? students compare the ways ideas are presented, and create their own portfolios or personal Web pages...
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'Twasn't the Night Before Christmas
Students describe the elements that make up particular writers' styles. Small groups then choose an author, write something in his or her style, and invite other groups to play 'literary detective' in identifying whose style they have...
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Great Expectations Character Adoption
High schoolers write a detailed character analysis by adopting a character from the novel, Great Expectations, and become an authority on the character.
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A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Discuss a Nero Wolfe mystery on brining criminals to justice. Secondary students will read the book A Nero Wolfe Mystery: The Doorbell Rang. They then will watch the movie depicting this story and answer discussion questions. There are...