Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charlotte's Web

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners complete a variety of activities related to the book "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White. They create a comic strip based on the characters, setting, and plot of the story, and examine the author's writing process. In small groups...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why the Whales Came

For Teachers 6th - 7th
In this Why the Whales Came worksheet, students answer questions about each chapter in the story for twelve chapters. Students answer five to ten questions about plot per chapter and complete a writing assignment for each chapter.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropy News

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students collect examples of local philanthropy and write a news article for a  local newspaper. In this philanthropy lesson plan, students read Helping Out by George Ancona to gain understanding of what philanthropic acts are....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's All the Fuss about Harry Potter?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete a survey to explore the popularity of Harry Potter books.  In this literature and controversy lesson plan, students examine why certain books are controversial or popular. Students write original plays about their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Exploring Boston's Big Dig

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners, in a high school class for autistic children, take a virtual tour of Boston's "Big Dig" and the artifacts discovered there. During weekly lab sessions, they discover the processes involved in artifact preservation. Using...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inquiring Minds: News and Philanthropy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students recognize philanthropy and collect samples from the newspaper or other literary sources. In this newspaper writing lesson plan, students observe acts of kindness and write about them in a newsletter.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Day in the Life

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students write an essay. In this comparison lesson, students read about a child's typical day on a fair trade cocoa farm in the Dominican Republic. Students write about a typical morning of a child in the US and make comparisons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Democracy in Action: Everyday Farmers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students experiment with a situation as if they were farmers in a co-op. In this democratic decision making instructional activity, students role-play as farmers that are members of a co-op and a have a serious decision to make about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Welcome to Our Classroom

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a brochure for new students. In this writing process lesson, students brainstorm, create and edit ideas for making a brochure for new students. Students use a word processor to make the brochure and edit, copy,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frog and Toad Are Friends

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Frog and Toad are Friends. In this reading lesson plan, 2nd graders complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shakespeare's Othello and the Power of Language

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing his astonishing command of rhetoric and figurative language. The diverse set of activities below include short group performances, writing exercises and the guided use of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Riding the Pony Express

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders list the four W's of the Pony Express. They also write an article about Buffalo Bill Cody and discuss the important facts about the Pony Express.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Language Arts: Plotting Stories

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders read the story, "The Foolish, Timid Rabbit," as part of a unit on appearances. After reading with partners, they write their own stories that include elements about some forms of matter from their science studies. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Problems with our Food System: Hunger

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students understand that hunger causes many deaths a year and many children are trapped as slaves through watching a video. In this hunger and child slavery lesson, students write letters to call attention to the problems of hunger and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eugene O'Neill on Page and Stage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the life and works of Eugene O'Neill. In this American theater lesson, students read biographical information about O'Neill and review Long Day's Journey into Night. Students then analyze the play in order to deliver...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fractured Families in American Drama

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers compare and contrast the flawed families in two plays. In this American drama lesson, students read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Long Day's Journey into Night. High schoolers research information about the playrights and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Native American Legend

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students compare the Native American version of Cinderella to the more popular version they know. They compare legends with fairy tales and explore character traits and discuss the meaning of good character. They write a fairy tale of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Ethnic Labels and Puerto Rican Identity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students brainstorm a list of stereotypes associated with the Hispanic or Latin culture. In groups, they use the internet to research issues of importance to the Puerto Rican community. They focus on the cultures that speak Spanish and...
Worksheet
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Conversation Completions

For Students 3rd - 4th
In this completing responses in conversations worksheet, students read dialogues of two people and fill in the blanks with the correct phrases. Students choose 4 answers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lights, Camera, Action...Crossing the Delaware in 9 Scenes

For Teachers 8th
How does reading a drama differ from reading a novel? Middle schoolers become playwrights and explore these differences. After viewing the A&E movie,"The Crossing," groups create stage directions, write dialogue, and design sets and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading the Movies: Another Approach To Teaching Critical Thinking Skills And Writing

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folktales around the World (Middle, Reading/Writing)

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students analyze, synthesize, and use the elements of various US cultural folk tales to describe the elements of fiction in general and in folk tales specifically.
Lesson Plan
Maine Content Literacy Project

Understanding Theme

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The ninth in a fourteen-lesson series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking in with the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Michael Blum: National Identity at a Distance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Immigration, refugees, and cultural change due to the movement of people around the globe is discussed. Learners examine the work of Michael Blum to gain an understanding of how national and cultural identities shift due to immigration....