Curated OER
What did I find?
Students excavate an artifact. In this archaeology lesson, students get a bucket filled with dirt and a broken up artifact. They work in groups to take it out and to find what its purpose was.
Curated OER
Stir Up a Character Analysis Recipe
What ingredients make up a character? A cup of honesty, a dash of humor, a pinch of cynicism? Based on real cookbooks they review in class, learners at any grade level three and up write recipes to describe characters familiar to your...
Curated OER
Forming Plural Nouns
Interactive SMART Board activities provide young grammarians with practice changing singular nouns to plural nouns. Learners then create collages on which they inscribe the singular and plural form of the noun label.
Curated OER
The "Write" Stuff: Strategies and Conventions for Imaginative Writing
Fifth graders develop and practice the steps involved in imaginative writing. They follow the steps/worksheets included and write imaginative stories of their own.
Curated OER
The Final Copy
Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...
Curated OER
Figurative Language
What is figurative language, and why do we use it? Introduce your high schoolers to some examples and discuss the importance of including this element in your writing. After studying a text and searching for examples, writers will...
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Literary Terms: Take Me to the Theater!
Take your class to the theater! First graders will examine characters that actors play such a villians and heroes. Then participate in creating plays and performing in them. They will also research what it takes to create scenery, props...
Curated OER
De-Mystifying Poetry: Understanding Narrative Poetry
Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
A Search for Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...
Shoop English
Literature Terms Activity
Designed to be used with an independent reading book, this activity provides practice with identifying and explaining literary terms. While they read, individuals find instances of literary devices and elements in use in their books....
Curated OER
Re-Presenting Race in the Digital Age
Teen-aged scientists analyze a graphic organizer of how trash is removed from New York City and then answer standard questions about a graph and a diagram. Resources are mentioned, but there are no links to these resources, so you will...
Curated OER
The Portrayal of the Witches
Eleventh graders discover the importance of the fortune teller in Shakespeare's Macbeth. After watching two interpretations of the play, they examine and compare the portrayal of the character. They create their own modern adaptation of...
Curated OER
Shapes
Learners participate in a number of hands-on shape-related activities. They match and sort shapes by attribute, read books about shapes, complete shape art projects and explore and compare parts of shapes.
Curated OER
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Students, in groups, read and analyze the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor. They present their findings tot he rest of the class and then connect the various themes discussed to outside material, events...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
Young adventurers embark on a journey, setting sail along the blue ocean with Christopher Columbus. Teachers will find that this unit makes their lesson planning smooth sailing!
Curated OER
Censorship In Fahrenheit 451
Tenth graders explore the concept of censorship through a reading of Fahrenheit 451. They discuss the issue and its relation to contemporary society. Students work in groups to debate the pros and cons of censorship in our society.
Curated OER
Writing Limericks
Eighth graders compose or create works of communication for specific audiences and purposes. They locate, access, and select relevant information from a variety of sources. They revise and edit their work to improve content, organization...
Curated OER
The Giver
Tenth graders identify the different ideas, emotions that different colors represent the significance of color in real life. They examine the significance of the lack of color in The Giver and the movie Pleasantville. They develop...
Curated OER
Poetry Book
Students study the following terms and concepts: word choice, dialect, invented words, concrete terms, abstract terms, figurative and sensory language. In cooperative groups, they select three of the terms, research them, and pick poems...
Curated OER
Cloud Painting
Young scholars explore clouds and abstract thinking through painting. This lesson uses higher thinking skills and encourages self expression.
Curated OER
You Be the Critic!
Students review several pieces of art and choose one that inspires them. They research the artist and his or her contributions to art and then recreate the artwork and compare their copy to the original.
Curated OER
Miriam Schapiro Action Figures Collage
Students create a background with a marbling technique. They plan and create a figure from assorted papers, mixing solids and patterns. Students glue the figure to the background, and embellish negative space with glitter.
Curated OER
Geometrically Artistic/Artistically Geomtric
Students identify the two-dimensional geometric shapes Lowrey utilized in the painting Untitled. Students compare the two-dimensional shapes in terms of equivalent fractions, congruency, symmetry and asymmetry. Students create their own...
Curated OER
Geometry and Tony Smith Sculpture
Young scholars respond to Tony Smith's sculpture as art and brainstorm about math concepts inherent in his work. They create a sculpture with polyhedra nets, calculate the cost of covering sculpture in gold, and write an exhibit label...