Curated OER
Everyone's a Critic: Analyzing Sitcoms as Cultural Texts
Start by defining the word sitcom with the goal of launching a discussion. What exactly is a sitcom? How is a sitcom different from sketch comedy, drama, and reality television? Class members give examples, remember storylines...
Prestwick House
"Because I could not stop for Death" -- Visualizing Meaning and Tone
Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death" provides high schoolers with an opportunity to practice their critical thinking skills. They examine the images, diction, rhythm, and rhyme scheme the poet uses and consider how...
Curated OER
Talk To Me About It
Students present an analysis of a short story. Working in small groups, students prepare a presentation of up to 30 minutes analyzing the major elements in a story they have read. Completed presentations are given to the class and...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Anticipation Guide
Introduce Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner with an anticipation guide that asks class members to consider their opinions on a series of statements related to themes presented in the novel.
Curated OER
The Language of the Civil Rights Movement
Tenth graders develop a website documenting poetry integral during the civil rights movement in the United States. Working in pairs, 10th graders research the people and poetry of that was prevalent during the civil rights movement. ...
Curated OER
The Concept of the Hero
Young scholars explore the symbolic implications for the concept of the hero with a focus on the Beowulf theme. In this hero concept lesson, students find specific examples of monsters from Beowulf to complete the chart. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Latitude & Longitude Bingo
Students practice map reading skills through a reinforcement game of bingo. They select any 24 of 30 listed cities to write on blank bingo cards. Then using atlases, locate a city based on the latitude and longitudinal coordinates...
Curated OER
Heritage
Students examine Florida literary heritage. They use multimedia learning activities to focus on Florida heritage and the literature of Florida. Students investigate books and special web sites on Florida cities and Florida authors....
Curated OER
Aristotle's Six Elements Of A Play
Fifth graders view the play, The Ant and the Grasshopper. They define Aristotle's six elements of a play. At the end of the lesson plan, 5th graders be asked to participate in the play by acting like busy ants. This lesson plan would tie...
Curated OER
Maniac Magee: Picture Book Strategy
Who would have thought to explore the concept of race through children's literature? After reading Bell Hooks' picture book, Skin Again, and chapter sixteen of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Grapes of Wrath and Pronouns
Many regard John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as the great American novel. The lesson plan combines a variety of strategies, including partner work, independent practice, creative writing, grammar instruction, and small group...
Curated OER
Sybil Ludington's Ride - a poem
Fourth graders examine the role a teen from the Hudson Valley played in the American Revolution. They view the map of Sybil's ride and calculate the distance using the map's legend.
Curated OER
Food on the Map
Students work together to examine the tastiest towns in the United States. After discovering the names of the equipment, they identify the seven continents. They take a survey and locate the cities and states of the foods mentioned.
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird - Introductory Role Play and Historical Background
Students participate in role-play activities to explain that emotional and social effects of prejudice discussed in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Curated OER
Fossils
Students complete a unit on fossils. They read and discuss informational handouts, define key vocabulary terms, answer discussion questions, create a geologic timeline and a timeline of their own life, analyze bones, and create a fossil...
Curated OER
Why Save? Better Off Saving
Middle schoolers examine the pros and cons of saving versus spending money and evaluate real-life situations as well as their own spending habits. They discuss the best and worst purchase they have made and why, explore the "Downtown...
Curated OER
To Walt Whitman
Pupils examine the poem To Walt Whitman by Angela de Hoyos. They divide into groups. Each group creates a poem written from one of two perspectives: to Walt Whitman or to de Hoyos from Whitman.
Curated OER
Incident
Students gain insight into human behavior from the study of literature. They read a poem and respond by creating a poem of their own. After a lecture/demo, students utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to help them compose an...
Curated OER
The Life and Times of Robert Frost
Students explore the life and times of Robert Frost. Using a fact worksheet imbedded students access websites to gather information about the life and writings of Robert Frost.
Curated OER
Day And Night
First graders examine how the earth experiences day and night by using a flashlight and a globe as a model.
Curated OER
Habitat Cards
Young scholars discuss the relationship between a habitat and the environment. In groups, they use the internet to research the relationship between the animals and the habitat on their card. They present their information to the class...
Curated OER
Homes Sweet Homes
Students view various examples of homes by Robert Harris. In groups, they describe how houses are different in various climates around the world. Individually, they use one artifact from their own home and research its significance in...
Curated OER
Race & White Privilege
Students read and analyze the Tomas Rivera novel "...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him." In small groups they select three paragraphs from the text that are relevant to the issues of racism or white privelege, conduct Internet research,...
Curated OER
Meteorology -- Clouds
Fourth graders examine the processes of condensation and evaporation. They identify the three types of clouds and state the weather that is possible with each type of cloud. They ask questions to end the lesson.