Curated OER
Success Using Interactive Story Elements
Engaging learners with resources and activities to achieve and reinforce mastery of content.
Curated OER
Developing a Topic for Writing Using an Idea Web
Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...
Curated OER
Story Mapping A Favorite Book
First graders create a diagram of a story by using the computer program Kidspiration. In this diagramming lesson plan, 1st graders will pick a book to write about. They then will plug in story elements of the book into the computer...
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...
Novelinks
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Concept Analysis
Ready yourself for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with this analysis of the novel. Included here is a summary of the plot, a list of themes, notes on vocabulary and other issues, a brief analysis of plot elements, and project ideas that...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Clique
Mean girls and bully packs are favorite topic for films and TV shows that focus on the destructive power of cliques. High school freshmen are asked to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of cliques by reading a short...
Curated OER
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
In this online interactive reading comprehension activity, students respond to 11 short answer and essay questions based on Winesburg, Ohio. Students may also access an online quiz on the selection using the link at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
In this literature activity, students respond to 20 short answer and essay questions about Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Literature: Esperanza Rising
Young scholars read and discuss the book, Esperanza Rising. After analyzing and identifying the novel's structural elements, they examine working conditions for migrant workers in the 1930s. As part of the lesson, students in groups...
Curated OER
Main Events in Fiction
Students complete a literature analysis of fiction texts to study elements of fiction. In this fiction analysis lesson, students read various fiction texts and examine them to learn about fiction elements. Students learn to draw...
Curated OER
Exploring the Night Sky: Fall/Winter
Students explain how moon phases occur. They explain three ways that the night sky has been used through history. Students locate some of the constellations in the night sky. They discuss stories and myths surrounding stars.
Curated OER
Wild Things
Students draw a literacy response picture demonstrating knowledge and appropriate use of computer hardware components (monitor, mouse) using KidPix and Kidspiration software with a minimum of two different pictorial details on their...
Curated OER
The Roanoke Mystery
Fourth graders hypothesize about what happened on the island of Roanoke. In this South Carolina history instructional activity, 4th graders use primary documents to draw conclusions about what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. This...
Curated OER
Strategies to Build Comprehension Skills
Reading strategies that realy work. Here is an introduction of six active reading strategies to improve reading comprehension. Super helpful for newer teachers.
Curated OER
The Perfect City
Students analyze group influences on people, events and culture. They design their own perfect society and report it to the class.
Curated OER
Weather the Storm
Fourth graders complete multi-curricular activities for weather. In this weather instructional activity, 4th graders complete creative writing, research, and weather data analysis activities for the instructional activity.