Curated OER
Editorials
Students investigate editorials. In this literacy critical thinking activity, students compare and contrast two newspaper editorials and two letters to the editor by completing a Venn diagram. Students work in groups to write...
Curated OER
Groundhog Day
Don't miss this resource when Groundhog Day arrives! Youngsters read the book Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons and practice reading comprehension skills, and then choose from a series of engaging, cross-curricular activities to help...
Curated OER
8th Grade Reading Comprehension Success
Augment your eighth grade language arts curriculum with a thorough set of reading comprehension activities and assessments. Focusing on a variety of skills, including vocabulary in context, text structure, main idea, and author's style,...
Ogden Museum of Art Education Department
Literacy and Landscapes
As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...
Curated OER
Opinion
An important concept for youngsters to learn is that there is a difference between facts and opinions. Use Kirsten Hall's Animal Touch to introduce the idea that an opinion is how one feels or thinks about something and that others are...
Curated OER
Electrifying Franklin
Fourth graders research and present information about Benjamin Franklin's life and accomplishments. In this lesson on Benjamin Franklin, 4th graders review idioms and sayings written by Franklin then compare and contrast his various...
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Literature Review
Here's a great game that will help your class review a book or unit before an exam. Three students act as judges while two teams take turns responding to your knowledge, interpretation, and judgement questions. Complete directions for...
Curated OER
Identifying Facts and Forming Opinions
Kirsten Hall's animal books provide learners with an opportunity to practice forming statements of opinions and factual statements. Using sentence starters such as "I learned. . ." and "I think. . ." class members craft sentences cite a...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Media Literacy with Focus of Strategies for Collaboration
Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 3
Should researchers be able to excavate, examine, and remove Native American artifacts from historic sites? Should companies be permitted to build on sacred Native American land? After watching West of the West's documentary, The Lone...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Socratic Seminar
After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and an article about the use of the novel, class members engage in a Socratic seminar focused on whether or not Twain's book should be banned.
Curated OER
Turning Literature into News
Students examine the newspaper. In this writing purposes instructional activity, students read the newspaper and discuss the purpose: to inform, entertain and persuade. Students identify facts and opinions. Students write an article and...
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Is That a Fact, Harry?
Students use excerpts from books to determine whether sentences are fact, fiction, or opinion. They state reasons for their choices.
2012 Teaching Resources
Analyzing Character Traits
Character analysis becomes easy with a 24-page packet packed with mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and activities. A must-have for your curriculum library.
San Francisco Symphony
Mr. Lincoln Through the Eyes of Aaron Copland
Use Aaron Copland's symphonic piece, "Lincoln Portrait" to engage learners in a cross-curricular experience. They'll listen to the piece, watch a video, read the Gettysburg Address, and write a series of fact or opinion sentences. An...
Curated OER
The Quilting Connection....a Teaching Unit on Slavery, the Underground Railroad And Quilting
Students research the Internet, read designated books and selection, participate in discussions and write short reports while completing this series of lessons about slavery and the Underground Railroad. As a final project, they design a...
Curated OER
Internet Investigations: Unsolved Mysteries
Students conduct Internet research to investigate the facts and fiction of various unsolved mysteries. They examine the facts and opinions of the mysteries, and create a Powerpoint slide show to present the theories and the group's...
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I Am Special and You Are Special Too #6
We are All Alike…We Are All Different is the springboard for the creation of an illustrated book in which young writers record their impression of themselves, their families, and their interests. Sharing the completed books in circle...
Curated OER
Literature Review Paragraph
Tenth graders review the structural elements of a literary paragraph and organizational paragraph formats. They author a paragraph examining and reviewing a piece of literature currently being read in class. Students peer-review the...
Curated OER
Is That a Fact?
Third graders listen to a paragrah as it is read and write down points that they think are important. They answer several comprehension questions to check for understanding of the passage. They then read pages in their science text book...
Curated OER
Playing Vocabulary Basketball
Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...
Middle Tennessee State University
A House Divided: The Civil War Home Front in Tennessee
To broaden their understanding of both the short term and long terms effects of the Civil War, class groups examine primary source materials and then assume the role of a family member and draft a letter to a soldier describing life at...
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Crocodiles
Work on research procedures in this instructional activity, which prompts writers to collect and evaluate information pooled from a number of sources. They work in teams to collect information about crocodiles from different sources....
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Active Reading with American History
Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...