Curated OER
Through the Eyes of the Big Bad Wolf
Imagine how the wolf would tell the tale of Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs. Young writers re-imagine classic tales by adopting the point of view of another character in the story. After reading models like The True Story...
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Bambara's The Lesson
Twelfth graders read the short story The Lesson. They research the socio-economic and cultural context of the story and author. They examine the author's point of view. They analyze the first person narration in the story. They rewrite...
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Animal Farm Chapter 2 Discussion Notes and Mini-Project
Imagine having the opportunity to create your own country. After responding to questions about chapter two, readers of George Orwell's dystopian classic are given a chance to design a utopia for one-million people, complete with...
Avi Writer
Crispin: The End of Time
Crispin: the End of Time is the core text for this teaching guide, a valuable resource for those who use Avi's trilogy as whole-class reading, in book circles, or as independent reading.
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A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching The Grapes of Wrath
Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...
Curated OER
First-Aid Newspaper
Eighth graders research, write, edit and publish a class newspaper focusing on topics related to first aid. They research how to care for injuries and write informative articles for the paper. Students compile the articles to produce a...
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CTBS Mechanics Practice #1
Use this CTBS mechanics worksheet to reinforce the correct use of commas, punctuation, italics, letter writing, and capitalization. Middle schoolers are given information on each of these areas and then answer a total of thirty multiple...
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Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury: April Eighth, 1928: Narrating from an 'Ordered Place'?
High schoolers analyze a character of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury to catch a glimpse of a family and the changes they, and the Old South, undergo. The use of time as it relates to the structure of the plot is covered in this...
Curated OER
A Study of Twentieth Century British Culture through Art and Literature
Here’s an interesting approach to the analysis of similar subjects in different mediums. Based on the methodology of Professor Jules Prown, learners apply his three stages (description, deduction, and speculation) to a painting and a...
Curated OER
Arkansas and NAFTA
Build literacy through social studies and reading strategies. This lesson focuses on using pre-reading, vocabulary building, and comprehension questions to boost literacy while educating learners on international trade, NAFTA, and...
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The Laundry News
In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "What happened to the very first edition of the Laundry News?"
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Men of Steel
Students explore early 20th century steel making. In this U.S. history steel making instructional activity, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry. Students...
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Behind Closed Doors
Students explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking lesson plan, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a door as a...
Curated OER
"I Never Knew That!"
Incorporating To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, narrative writing, and friendly letters, this lesson plan is ideal for any number of units in your classroom. First, read chapter 10 of the novel, noting Scout and Jem's reactions to...
Curated OER
For Whom the Bell Tolls Quiz
CliffsNotes has generated 15 multiple choice questions based on Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. Bring your class to the computer lab to check their basic recall of the story's events.
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The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Louis Heilbroner
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions based on The Worldly Philosophers. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
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Rhyming Words
Rhyming words are the focus of this language arts presentation. Young readers are introduced to the "ot," "ob," "op," "od," "og," "ox," and "oy" family of sounds. Additional slides have pictures that use these families of sounds with one...
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Student Opinion: Who Inspires You?
Inspire your class to write about role models and personal heroes with this resource from The Learning Network. Class members read a New York Times article excerpt about basketball star Jeremy Lin and how he inspired the author. After...
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Exploring Themes in Literature: The Oral Tradition
Are you are considering a unit on Beowulf or Superman, on myths, or tricksters? Here's a great overview you can use to launch a study of universal themes and archetypes. The focus here is on the oral tradition, but the concepts apply to...
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Informational Text: What's It All About?
With the Common Core State Standards' growing focus on informational text, it's the perfect time to showcase this PowerPoint to your team of teachers. It's 59 slides focus on seven best practice structures: reading-as-thinking,...
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Beginning Your Inquiry
If you're starting a research project, use this guide to help young learners form the inquiry for their research. With steps that outline the entire process, including note taking and gauging the quality of an inquiry question, this...
Curated OER
Commas 101: The Basics
Clear up common questions about commas with this handy resource! Useful as a reference page as well as a grammar activity, it presents six different rules for comma usage, including fanboys, lists, and parenthetical words and phrases. A...
Curated OER
Easy Access: Creating Annotated Versions of News Articles
How can news coverage be made more accessible for teens? Model for your class how to use technology to annotate news stories containing unfamiliar references that hinder their interest in and understanding of a news story. Use the...
Curated OER
Holocaust Studies: Five Poems by Dan Pagis
Teaching a unit on the Holocaust? Consider using the personal statements of Dan Pagis’s poetry to contrast with the more “distanced” historical accounts found in textbooks. Five poems, discussion questions, and background notes are...