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
Syllables
How many syllables? This practice learning exercise starts with a brief introduction on segmenting words, encouraging kids to say words aloud. They categorize 12 words into lists based on number of syllables: one,...
Curated OER
Different Strokes For Different Folktales
Young readers use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and story maps, to analyze a variety of folktales and the elements of a story. They use writing, sequencing activities, and creative art to identify the morals learned from a...
Curated OER
From George to Martha: Writing a Sonnet Using Primary Sources
What was the relationship like between George and Martha Washington? To protect their privacy, Martha Washington destroyed all her husband’s letters after his death so historians have little evidence of their lives together. Two letters...
Scholastic
Hill of Fire Teaching Plan
Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...
EngageNY
Planning Ideas: Developing a Colonial Character Profile
The second instructional activity in a historical fiction series encourages pupils to develop a character profile of a colonial person using research acquired in the previous unit. Learners prepare their historical fiction narrative by...
EngageNY
Practice Planning a Historical Narrative: The Wheelwright
Fourth graders use a four-square graphic organizer to plan a paragraph writing about a wheelwright. Using gathered research from the previous unit, young writers discover how to organize a plot in preparation for writing a historical...
EngageNY
Drafting a Historical Fiction Narrative: The Wheelwright
Young writers use the four-square graphic organizer to draft their historical fiction narratives' first, second, third, and fourth paragraphs on the wheelwright. The instructional activity promotes discussion and modeling of what makes a...
EngageNY
Planning a Historical Fiction Narrative Based on Expert Trades
Pupils plan for a historical fiction narrative based on their previous research on expert trades from the Colonial Era. Individuals use the four-square graphic organizer to organize the information they want to be detailed in their four...
EngageNY
Revising for Organization: Timely Transitions
During the eighth lesson in a historical fiction unit, pupils practice thoughtfully transitioning their ideas sequentially. After the teacher models how to add these transitions using the Wheelwright draft created in a previous lesson,...
EngageNY
Revising for Organization and Style: Bold Beginnings
Get young writers thinking about how to write a great beginning for their narratives. After examining examples of solid beginnings in literary text, young writers discuss the criteria for a compelling introduction. Then, independently,...
EngageNY
Peer Critique for Organization and Style
Put another set of eyes on your class's historical fiction narratives with one of the final lessons in the unit. Fourth graders use feedback from their peers to annotate their drafts for revision, particularly their bold beginnings and...
EngageNY
Reviewing Conventions and Editing Peers’ Work
Encourage young writers to edit text based on conventions. After reviewing the conventions, fourth graders watch a teacher demonstrate how to revise a paragraph for correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, or dialogue. Then, pairs...
EngageNY
Revising for Organization and Style: Exciting Endings
Young writers compose a gripping ending to their historical fiction narratives. Following the previous lesson plan, where learners wrote a bold beginning, class members examine exciting endings from a literary text. They then draft their...
EngageNY
Planning for When to Include Dialogue: Showing Characters’ Thoughts and Feelings
Young writers examine dialogue conventions, including indentation, quotation marks, and expressing thoughts and feelings through a fictional text. By noticing where and when authors use dialogue, they decide how to incorporate dialogue...
EngageNY
Publishing Historical Fiction Narratives
Class members discover what it means to publish their works. Working on a computer, young writers use an online dictionary to edit their spellings and conventions based on the information added to the rubric. From here, and most of the...