Curated OER
Greed is Good?
From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...
Crafting Freedom
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: Lover of Literacy
This, the sixth in a series of 10 related resources, examines the life and works of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American author, born in 1825, who advocated literacy for both free and enslaved African Americans.
Curated OER
Remembering Ray Bradbury
Develop empathetic analysts of human character by exploring Bradbury's literary works.
Curated OER
How to Write a Biography
Looking for a great lesson on how to write a biography? Here, middle schoolers draw from magazine articles, novels, historical figures, and current events to choose a person, or character to write about in a biography. They follow a...
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 2
After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Local Color in the Late 19th Century
Kate Chopin's The Awakening introduces readers not only to the lush Louisiana setting of Grand isle but also to the nuances of Creole culture. the second lesson in a three-part series examines how Chopin's use of literary realism and...
Curated OER
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...
Curated OER
Pictures from Korea: Shards of an Almost Forgotten Past
Students explore the Korean War through photography. In this Korean War lesson, students examine photographs taken by a soldier and respond to question about them.
Curated OER
Comparing Themes Across Texts
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
Curated OER
Historical Background of Nightjohn Lesson Plan
Eighth graders use first-hand slave narratives that show conditions of slavery. They paste text into Appleworks and publish with a picture clipped from web sites. They create a group account of life during slavery to prepare for reading...
Curated OER
Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Lessons That Motivate
Incorporating nonfiction lessons into literature instruction can be interesting and engaging for all students.
Curated OER
Teaching Selected Poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems
Students explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.
Curated OER
Looking at Human Struggle Through The Language Arts Curriculum: The Faces of Slavery
Sixth graders examine the use of slavery in the United States. Using a map, they draw the route of the Tecora and Amistad voyages. Individually, they write an essay describing their opinions on whether the Africans on the ships should be...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Greek And Latin Root Words
Students examine Greek and Latin root words. They research the history of the English language, solve word games and puzzles, write paragraphs about the impact of Greek and Latin on the English language, and create flip chart study guides.
Curated OER
Inside the Mind of the Unreliable Narrator
Create interdisciplinary connections and promote high-level inferences by studying unreliable narrators.
Curated OER
School Activities
First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...
Curated OER
Using Scholastic News to Introduce the Net
Third graders log on to the net, type in the address for Scholastic and browse the subjects for the week. They select one area of interest and generate five interesting facts about the article.
Curated OER
Citizens for Responsible Change
Third graders write a petition to a school figure, get signatures from other students, share the petition with the appropriate authority, and then work as leaders to carry out the group's solution.
Curated OER
Earth Day
Third graders utilize technology to access, analyze, interpret and communicate information about Earth Day.
Curated OER
Quiz on Genre and Subgenre
In this quiz on genre and subgenre worksheet, 9th graders match 12 definitions to terms, then answer 3 multiple choice questions identifying genres.
Curated OER
Genre and Subgenre quiz
In this genre and subgenre worksheet, students complete multiple choice and matching problems about genres and subgenres. Students complete 15 questions total.
Curated OER
The Verbal Sketch
Learners use perspective observation sketches to understand verbal description. For this subjective writing lesson, students practice writing subjective conversations using the cartoon worksheets.