Curated OER
Language Arts: Becoming Fluent Readers
First graders develop letter-sound correspondence skills by segmenting words according to their phonemes. Using letter tiles and letter boxes, they spell words called by the teacher. After reading several books with the teacher, 1st...
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Building Background Knowledge: Learning About the Historical and Geographical Setting of Esperanza Rising (Chapter 1: “Aguascalientes, Mexico, 1924”)
Set up your class to read Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, through a class read-aloud and exploration of the setting. The detailed instructional activity outlines each step. First, class members read over the first few pages and...
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Pilgrims: The First Americans
Fifth graders become familar with the pilgrims and first Thanksgiving through essays about important people of the time. In this Thanksgiving activity, 5th graders choose an important figure from the time of the Pilgrims and write...
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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Students work in groups to imagine, research and simulate a dinner party involving an author, a fictional character, and a significant historical figure as dinner guests. The activity uses Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the time...
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Telling Stories in Art: Witness to a Brawl
Middle schoolers examine how a piece of art tells a story. In this visual art lesson, students interpret a piece of art work by writing a newspaper article that tells the story of the moment in time that is depicted in a picture. They...
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Getting the Message: What Did You Say?
Learners listen to and compare the first sentence of the Gettysburg Address spoken in different languages. They also compare frequency readings for each and discuss how the brain interprets spoken words.
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Harlem Renaissance and Toni Morrison's Jazz
Students study the historical time of the Harlem Renaissance, including key events and figures. They read literature that weaves fiction and history and survey some of the references to the Harlem Renaissance in the novel, Jazz, by Toni...
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Renaissance 'Movers and Shakers.'
Sixth graders complete a research project. In this research and Renaissance lesson, 6th graders take a pre-test on important Renaissance figures and discuss their answers. Students research their Renaissance figure and present their...
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Lord of the Rings: The Quest is Achieved
Students analyze what makes a hero in The Lord of the Rings, Book Six. They discuss the characters and the aspects of their behaviors that make them heroes and write essays regarding the climax and heroic gestures of a character. After...
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Visual Vocabulary
Students use context clues to determine an understanding for vocabulary words in texts. In this vocabulary lesson plan, students recognize linguistic features in their readings to help them to figure out words.
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Lincoln's Legend and Legacy
Learners evaluate Lincoln's impact on American History. In this Civil War instructional activity, students view a film clip of writings about Lincoln. Learners take notes and compare how the writings define his legacy. Students write...
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Thanks Be To You
Students research U.S. history by completing a worksheet activity in class. In this historical figure lesson, students identify the contributions and risks taken by the former African-American leader Martin Luther King Jr. Students read...
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Poetry of Abraham Lincoln
Fourth graders analyze Abraham Lincoln's poems "The Bear Hunt" and "My Childhood's Home" for word choice and deeper inquiry into the vocabulary he uses to convey emotion. They identify rhyming words and patterns in these poems. ...
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Activity Plan Mixed Ages: Fairytale Homes
Students create homes for fairytale characters. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop literacy, language, and problem-solving concepts as they create block structures related to specific fairy tales.
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Social Movements in American Politics
Learners explore American social movements. In this writing skills lesson, students read Orwell's "Politics and the English." Learners then apply the rules for writing that are included in the piece. Students follow-up by completing a...
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The Life of a President
Learners examine the life of President Gerald R. Ford. After reading an article, they discuss his legacy. They collect articles written during his time in office and examine the key issues of his presidency. They write an article about...
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Law & Ethics for Photojournalists
Students identify and discuss First Amendment rights, examine how to make sound legal judgements regarding photographs of private individuals, examine difference between public and private figures as far as libel law is concerned,...
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Heroes Or Role Models?
Students recognize that "heroes" and "role models" are not synonymous terms. By analyzing heroes of other cultures and periods, they determine that many heroic figures, mythic or historical, rather than providing a model of a societal...
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Women in Rhode Island History
Learners study women leaders. In this US histoy lesson, students discuss women who made a difference in Rhode Island and interview each other pretending to be one of these women.
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Research Activity: Grades 10-12
Students discuss the war in Iraq, Adam Michnik's essay "We, the Traitors," and the notion that we bear a collective responsibility to rise up against oppression, within a modern geo-political context. They each write a research report on...
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Bronte and Rhys' Portrayal of Bertha
Students, while reading and discussing the two texts by Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys, compare/contrast the two main characters and juxtapose them as the same character told from two different points of view. They gain insight of how to...
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Designing a Web Page
Students utilize educational software to create their own websites. In this web design lesson, students collaborate in groups to create web page designs based on workers and figures from their community. Students research...
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Lord of the Flies
Students participate in a panel discussion to decide who was responsible for each development on the island. In this Lord of the Flies lesson, students divide into groups supporting Jack and Ralph with a third group acting as...
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Creating Characters
Learners examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Learners then use the methods of...