Curated OER
Disco - Voices of a New Generation
Students analyze lyrics of selected Disco songs for content, theme and vocabulary. They write an extended response citing specific lyrics in response to three general themes.
Curated OER
Fusion: Calligraphy of Thought
Learners read about Calligraphy of Thought, a collection of poetry linking Islam to the West. In this art and poetry activity, students read about the poetry collection and complete a culture flower.
Curated OER
Understanding Europe: A Cultural Mosaic (Theme 1)
Students discuss the cultural similarities and differences found in Northen Europe, Southern Europe, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and create daily journal entries charting their discoveries. This lesson is the First Part in a Four...
Curated OER
You've Got to be Taught to Hate and Fear
Students explore themes of prejudice and acceptance. In this character education lesson, students listen and respond to several fiction books, poems, and lyrics with a similar theme. Students locate articles with the main idea of...
Curated OER
Shakespeare and the Concepts of the Renaissance
Ninth graders familiarize themselves with the English Renaissance period and recognize the symbolism in Act V of "The Merchant of Venice" and analyze how it relates to the Italian Renaissance Themes. They produce an extended response...
Curated OER
Gotta Dance!
Students explore how dance can invoke the significance of experiences in their everyday lives. They work in small dance troupes to create their own dance pieces reflecting themes and experiences relevant to their lives.
Curated OER
History Close to Home: Creating Your Own Special Museum
Students create their own museum exhibit. In this museum creation lesson plan, students research their local history so they can decide on a theme for their exhibit and what objects they will use in order to design a museum exhibit. A...
Curated OER
James Whitcomb Riley
Students describe James Whitcomb Riley's poems and identify the themes they portray. For this poetry lesson plan, students read the history of James Whitcomb Riley and read some of his poems.
Curated OER
Exploring the Self
High schoolers use different pieces of music and writings to explore the theme of self-reliance and individuality. After viewing a video clip, they discuss how the images made them feel. They keep a writing journal to evaluate their...
Curated OER
We Are Alike, We Are Different:A Focus on Japan
First graders develop a connection with students in a first grade classroom in Japan. They begin to develop a curiosity about Japan--the landscape, the people, and their culture, while developing an understanding of the Five Themes of...
Curated OER
Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Experimental Shorts
Students design and create an experimental film to express a theme or concept regarding heroism. They establish shots of locations, write dialogue, create montages and subjective footage.
Curated OER
Form and Observation
Use a familiar song and adorable baby animal pictures to teach youngsters about genetic variation. Begin by listening to "Twelve Variations on 'Ah vous dirai-je Maman,'" which you will need to find online (there are several versions...
Reed Novel Studies
The Trumpet of The Swan: Novel Study
What lengths will one go to for love? Louis, a swan in The Trumpet of The Swan, struggles to gain the attentions of a girl because he cannot trumpet. Thankfully, his father creates a plan that may work. Scholars discover Louis's attempts...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Instructional Routine
After reading "The Bullet," a particularly intense chapter in Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members listen to the Spanish and the English versions of "Dimelo" by Enrique Iglesias. They then discuss how the...
Smithsonian Institution
Water/Ways: The Poetry of Science
Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
Curated OER
Computer Basics
Students review basic terminology that they would use to reference computers in media arts. In this computer terminology lesson plan, students use terms frequently.
Curated OER
Fisheries And Songs
Students view examples of songs that have the ocean and its life as their themes. After hearing and reading them, students write their own, having done research on the social and political issues of the ocean's environment.
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie and The Grapes of Wrath
Students examine American idealism. In this literature and music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of Woody Guthrie songs as well as the themes of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Students examine parallels between the characters in the...
Curated OER
Edinburgh Festival Lessons That Teach About Culture And Art
The Edinburgh Festival provides a way for students to explore lesson plans about opera, theater, and music.
Curated OER
Ottoman Lyric Poetry
Students explore the Ottoman style of poetry. They view a video, Suleyman the Magnificent, and view maps of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. They research the Ottoman Empire and keep a journal. They read various Ottoman...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Songs: Vocabulary Reinforcement Activity
Learners compose songs using vocabulary words. In this vocabulary activity, students are introduced to a new set of vocabulary words and their definitions. Learners collaborate in groups of three or four to write new lyrics to the tune...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Preview for Reading Passages
For this vocabulary worksheet, students fill in the blanks in 8 sentences with words from the word list. These have no theme or connection.
Curated OER
Pay it Forward
Students explore the basic concept of micro-financing. For this economics/literacy lesson, students listen to One Hen by Katie Smith, in which a small loan changes the life of the main character. Students employ comprehension strategies...