Curated OER
A Life Lived Well
Students write poems based on words and phrases found in an obituatuary. They write autobiographical obituaries that imagine their own lives and future accomplishments.
Curated OER
Book: The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity
Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity,"begin to analyze the motivation behind European colonization. They convey the setting of the scene into a writing piece to illustrate the...
Curated OER
The Odyssey Lesson 6
"How are belief systems represented and reproduced through nature?" This essential question guides lesson 6 of this unit on The Odyssey (the rest of the unit is linked). Students first write about a scenario in which they are...
Curated OER
Assignment # 1: Merry-Go-Round Story
Class members use e-mail and the merry-go-round story format to create a science fiction story. Each writer begins by selecting one of three prompts, crafting the introductory paragraph and sending the paragraph to the next person on the...
Curated OER
Character Traits
Using a three-column chart labeled "Character," "Action," and "Trait," pupils analyze the traits of several characters from a short story. The lesson is designed for a SMART board, but a teacher could easily do the lesson without the...
Novelinks
The Cure: Guided Imagery
Prepare class members for a discussion of Sonia Levitin's dystopian novel The Cure, by leading them on a guided imagery exercise designed to encourage visualization of written descriptions.
Curated OER
Literary Elements: Storytelling Techniques
Learners think about what makes a story interesting to read or hear. What kinds of details make a story come to life? How can a storyteller create a feeling of excitement or suspense? What kinds of characters do students like? If anyone...
Curated OER
Story Starters for Beginning Readers and Writers
Students respond to a story starters about a dinosaur, present, pet store, puppy or another topic of interest to primary-grade students. They dictate or write stories in response to 15 story starters designed to develop language skills.
Alabama Learning Exchange
CELEBRATE!
Strengthen research skills by reviewing the months of the year and the holidays celebrated during those months. Learners draw and label a timeline for the months and label each holiday. They work in groups to research the holidays, and...
Curated OER
China is Unique
Sixth graders study the culture of China by comparing it to that of the United States. They write all questions and notes in a journal. The students access the internet to obtain the information and internet sites are suggested in the...
Curated OER
Choosing Words Carefully
Use literacy tools to select precise vocabulary. High schoolers respond to discussion questions that require them to consider the denotation and connotation of words. They then read non-fiction passages and identify words in the passages...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Hero
Chinese legends are the focus of an interesting lesson that combines social studies with writing. Learners read the Chinese folk tale, "Li Chi Slays The Serpent." After the story is over, they make a list of the courageous things...
Curated OER
Teaching Grammar in Context: Using Sentence Combining to Teach Subordination
Reinforce sentence styles with this lesson, which prompts young grammarians to build complex and compound-complex sentence structures. They respond to non-print text and identify subordinators as parts of speech procedure. They spell...
Curated OER
Science: Invent a Gadget
Third graders invent gadgets using simple machine principles. Once they have assembled graphic organizers containing information about their invention, they draw diagrams and explain how their gadget works. Lastly, 3rd graders write...
Curated OER
Reflective Journaling
High schoolers write to influence positive change. In this service learning lesson, students reflect on their service learning experiences as they journal about sharing their time, talent, and treasures. High schoolers share their...
Curated OER
The Rest of the Story
Third graders make predictions about the story "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" based on background knowledge. They read the story, stopping to verify or reject predictions. They write their own opinionated fairytales.
Curated OER
Pond Theme Unit
In this pond theme worksheet students research facts on pond life. Students complete comprehension questions, crosswords, word search, and math puzzles. Students write a short report.
Curated OER
The Yo-Yo Problem: Solving Linear Equations
Students write the algebraic equation to determine the number of weeks money must be saved to purchase a yo-yo. In this algebra lesson, students create a pattern of one penny surrounded by six pennies. They continue the pattern and...
Novelinks
Oedipus the King: Biopoem
The biopoem is a great way for instructors to get to know class members, classmates to get to know each other, and readers to flesh out their understanding of a character. Why not create a biopoem for a character from Oedipus the...
Curated OER
Beautiful Ohio
Third graders read the poem, Beautiful Ohio, discuss it and then write their own descriptive songs/ poems about nature and the environment.
Curated OER
Picture This
Students examine their life experiences as well as their classmates when they share their heritage or an important event from their past through writing as an extension of an Orientation.
Curated OER
Things Are Looking Up
In this activity, students will write a description of a person in their community whom they admire.
Curated OER
"Theseus and the Minotaur"
Students analyze the features of myths and legends. They read the myths "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "Orpheus and Eurydice," identify the myth story elements, evaluate each story for the overall theme, describe the characters, and...
Curated OER
The Mural of the Story
Students write a description of what they believe is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. After reading an article, they discuss the restoration of the mural on its ceiling. They brainstorm a list of important buildings and write a...