Curated OER
Verb Tenses
Why is it so important to have consistent verb tense when writing? Discuss some of the implications with your middle and high school classes. Examples are provided, and both incorrect and corrected sentences are shown. There's a lot of...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 14: Dedication
Connect Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech, "I Have a Dream," to The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Taylor refers to the speech in his dedication, which creates a natural segue into talking about the speech and how it relates to the novel....
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Hatchet
Use this packet as a companion to your study of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The resource breaks the novel up into several chunks, and for each chunk provides activities, background information, vocabulary, graphic organizers, and response...
University of the Desert
How Do I Feel That My Culture Is Misunderstood by Others?
Using video clips of young adults from around the world describing their cultures and how they can be misunderstood, learners compare their own cultural point of view to that of others through discussion and writing.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Homestead Act
To understand how the Homestead Act of 1862 changed the US and the lives of the people during that time, class members examine primary source materials including letters, broadsides, and images. They then assume the voice of a...
Student Achievement Partners
Eleven
Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...
Curated OER
Beginner's Guide to Arabic
Introduce your language learners to Arabic. The most useful portion of this resource is the detailed information on the Arabic alphabet. Each letter is placed in a grid that shows the various ways to write it based on the situation...
Lakeshore Learning
Star of the Week
Encourage good behavior and effort in your class and promote positive reinforcement among classmates by picking a "Star of the Week" throughout the school year. This set of printables will help to get you started!
Reed Novel Studies
The Janitor's Boy: Novel Study
The perfect plan can easily backfire. Jack, in The Janitor's Boy, thinks he has the perfect plan to get back at his father. Little did he know he would end up being sentenced to help his father. Scholars read about Jack and his...
Reed Novel Studies
The Slave Dancer: Novel Study
What are the effects of a good literary cliffhanger? Using the novel study for Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer, pupils consider why the author chose to end the first chapter with suspense. They also answer text-based questions, practice new...
Curated OER
Revised: Adventures in Earth Day: Why Do We Care About Our Environment? - Biology Teaching Thesis
To describe the ecological and aesthetic importance of the Potomac River, Middle schoolers name the ways in which the river's values are jeopardized and explain the purpose of Earth Day. They write a response to a newspaper article in a...
Curated OER
Dance: Sharp and Smooth Energy Qualities
Young scholars use different qualities of movement to express themselves. In this lesson on movement, students use different qualities of energy and then use their experience as an inspiration for writing poetry.
Curated OER
Creating Interesting Characters
What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...
Curriculum Project
Gandhi
Introduce class members to Gandhi's non-violent, non-cooperative ideas with Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-epic. The film traces the experiences that gave shape to Gandhi's ideas and the actions that eventually lead to the end of...
Curated OER
Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive
Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...
Curated OER
The Question of Annexation
Students examine the sequence of events that led up to the annexation of Texas to the United States. They create a timeline of significant events, analyze primary source letters from this time period, and write a letter from the point of...
Curated OER
Introduce /y/
As you come to an end in your alphabet study, use these strategies to examine the letter y. Scholars examine the letter shape and listen to you pronounce the /y/ sound. Use these tips to explain how you do it as they try. Can they...
Mama's Heels
First Day Interview
The first day of school can be a bit scary when so many new faces are around. Help kids get to know one another through an interview sheet that highlights personal information, things that excite them, their favorites, and...
Curated OER
Johan Sebastian Bach
After reading a selection on the life of Johann Sebastian Bach, pupils utilize worksheets embedded in the packet in order to write a synopsis of his life's story. There is also a quiz on his life with questions such as: What instruments...
Curated OER
A Comparison of Dunbar and Central High In Little Rock, Arkansas
Young sociologists analyze the needs of white and black students. They discuss how Central and Dunbar High Schools are alike and different before 1957. They write an essay comparing the two schools.
Curated OER
Why Rules or Laws
Here’s a fresh approach to establishing classroom rules at the beginning of the school year. Class groups brainstorm what they know about rules for baseball, basketball, and football. They then consider how the games would differ without...
Curated OER
Word Structure- Prefix and Suffix
Identify common prefixes and suffixes used in the English language and categorize the different kinds of information provided in a dictionary entry. Learners will write at least five pieces of information that they learn about a word...
Curated OER
Dinosaur Crossword
In this solving a crossword puzzle about dinosaur worksheet, students read clues across and down, use the words in the word bank, and complete the puzzle. Students write 23 words.
Curated OER
Suspended 1,353 Feet Up
With a series of pictures you are transported to Chicago's Skywalk. Read about this magnificent tourist attraction and answer the reading comprehension questions provided. Extend this activity by having your class write about other...