Curated OER
Analyzing Literary Devices
Eighth graders identify figurative language and poetry in this literary analysis lesson. Using Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and a YouTube video for "The Walrus and the Carpenter," young readers complete a literary device...
Curated OER
Upside-Down Books
Students read various examples of literature. In groups, they brainstorm a list of views that go against what was in one of the stories. They illustrate the opposite ideas and compile them into a class book. They use each other to...
Curated OER
Predictions, Predictions, and More Predictions
Third graders pose questions about the subject of a short story based on the title and cover illustration; then read the story and determine if their questions actually pertained to the story line, and, if so, how the story answered the...
Curated OER
Five Parts That Contribute to the Whole
Students listen to and read an online story. Then they use a graphic organizer to learn the basic story elements. They select another online story and create a graphic organizer for its story elements.
Curated OER
Reader's Theater with a Twist
Second graders create a Reader's Theater script. In this reader's theater lesson, 2nd graders create their own script of a story in groups. They make props and act them out on FlipVideo and voice thread.
Curated OER
Rebus Writing
Fifth graders write rebus stories using technology. They share the rebus stories with younger students
Curated OER
Order, Order All Electrons
Students read the periodic table and apply their knowledge of the construction of atoms. They demonstrate reading the electron configuration of an element on the periodic file.
Curated OER
Afghanistan and The Breadwinner
Young scholars examine the use of the Hindu Kush mountains by explorers and traders. Using Afghanistan as an example, they research how different events can effect human settlerment patterns. They discuss how the physical...
Curated OER
Comparison and Contrast - D. H. Lawrence
Read The Horse Dealer's Daughter and The Rocking Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence, then write an essay comparing and contrasting the two stories. Learners choose some aspect to write about, such as themes, characters, setting, or plot.
Curated OER
Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Learners read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.
Curated OER
Focus on Figurative Language
Using the poems "First Snow" by Ted Kooser and "Eating Alone" by Yi-Young Lee (or other suggested poems by Robert Frost or Sara Teasdale), middle schoolers search for examples of figurative language. Guide your learners by discussing...
Curated OER
So Foul and Fair a Play
Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...
Curated OER
The Giver Literature Guide - Conflict
In The Giver literature guide worksheet, learners read several passages from the novel and identify the type of conflict it exemplifies and explain it.
Curated OER
A Formal Analysis of Science Fiction
Students write a five paragraph expository theme. They explain in their theme how the story they read qualifies as science fiction. Students write using all the conventions of English correctly.
Curated OER
Story Scrapbook
Students develop a comparison worksheet using one non fiction book and one fiction book they have read to be put into a class scrapbook. In their comparison students must have title, author, point of view, setting, characters, and other...
Curated OER
Pieces of Mind: Remembering What Matters
Students watch the program "Pieces of Mind" from PBS and participate in a class discussion about PET scans and their advantages. Students then brainstorm activities a PET scan could be used for.
Curated OER
Field of Dreams
Students study several of Marc Chagall's paintings with an emphasis on his use of symbolic color and of space. They explore learn basic techniques for using Scholar colored pencils, and create an artwork using a baseball theme.
Curated OER
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: Native American Life
Students read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.
Nazareth College
Creative Writing
Students discuss creative writing—what makes something creative writing? Each learner starts writing a story and after 15 minutes, they pass their story to another who adds to it. After another 15 minutes of writing, the story is passed...
Curated OER
The Crucible
Twelfth graders use an Internet scavenger hunt, vocabulary, sample essay questions, and short answer questions suitable for study and review of the play, The Crucible.
Curated OER
"Me and My Family Tree"
Students explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. In this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Students identify what the term...
Curated OER
Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this activity, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2
There is nothing more frustrating than discussing theme in literature, and now the Common Core requires that your learners determine two or more, and discuss the development of it throughout the text. This is crazy, but manageable with...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...