Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Many Bens: Character Revealed in Writing
Benjamin Franklin may be known as a Founding Father, but he was also a prolific writer. Scholars examine his better-known pieces to learn about genre, voice, and early American history. The resource includes options for various...
Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a activity that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate where they...
Curated OER
Adventures in Wonderland: A Genre Study
Students explore the concepts of fantasy writing through this nine lessons unit. The unit presents semantic mapping, discussions, comparisons of various works of fantasy, and the opportunity to create their own fantasies.
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: 1st Light and 5th Light
Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work. They...
Curated OER
Explanatory Myths Lesson
A myth is a story that explains something in nature or society. Dive into the study of mythology as you read The Golden Flower with your class. Charts are used to define the characteristics of myths as well as to determine the main point...
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Labeled Diagrams
Examine the book Stargazers by Gail Gibbons. Young readers will practice reading and interpreting information from diagrams in this informational text. They work together as a class on this skill and then move into independent practice....
Curated OER
The Art of Studying Art
Students explain the value of different genres of art. In this art lesson, students describe the differences in various genres of art and make comparisons between them. Students choose an art genre and create an original work of art...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Comparing Key Ideas and Details in Fiction and Nonfiction
Students recognize the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. In this genre study lesson, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Students listen to a read aloud and vote whether the text is fiction or...
Curated OER
Reviewing Features of Fiction Books
Students identify the features of fiction books. In this genre study instructional activity, students are introduced to the book Armadillo Rodeo and identify the cover, title, author, illustrator and title page. Students discuss how the...
Little Kids Rock
The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”
When you hear the first few beats of "Despacito," the unrivaled Latin pop hit of 2017, you can't keep your feet from moving! A music analysis lesson plan examines the intoxicating hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and introduces the...
Curated OER
VH1 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll Lesson 6
Young scholars study vocal style and techniques in various genres. They critique vocal performances by completing critique charts.
Curated OER
Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson - Lesson 1
Appeal to your music lovers with this lesson. Middle and high schoolers listen to and describe music from contrasting styles. They identify the common elements between gospel and bluegrass music and have a class discussion regarding the...
Curated OER
Exploring Russian Folktales
Students examine Russian Folktales. In this folklore lesson plan, students discuss the attributes of common folktales they know and then discover details regarding Russian folktales. Students read 3 folktales and then complete the...
Curated OER
Introducing Biographies-Getting to Know You
Students study biographies as a nonfiction genre while examining a variety of examples. Next, they access and complete an online tutorial about biographies. They choose one person that interests them to conduct further research using a...
Curated OER
Lesson 1: Beginning and End
Students study fairy tales. In this fairy tales lesson, students discover beginning and ending phrases characteristic of these types of stories. They listen to their teacher read The Frog Prince, take notice of those familiar phrases,...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Early American Poets
The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...
Reading Shakespeare
Shakespeare Literature Circles Role Sheets
Tired of those blank stares after your class reads a particularly complex passage from a Shakespearean play? Help high schoolers untangle that prose with a literature circle activity. Ten different roles prompt class members to focus on...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record interesting...
Scholastic
Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales for Grades 7-9
Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.
Prestwick House
Analyzing Multiple Interpretations of Literature
There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...
Curated OER
The View From Here
Study the beauty of the landscape around you with an innovative art lesson. After discussing the foreground, background, and middle ground of landscape art, kids work on making their own piece of landscape art. The lesson provides...
EBSCO Industries
Music and Poetry
Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...
Curated OER
CCC: Credible sources, Creative Commons Images, and Citing Your Sources
As part of a unit devoted to the study of autobiographies, this one-day library session focuses on developing research skills. Class members locate and properly cite a sketch of a Creative Commons image, as well as record the call...
Curated OER
Manga and Me
Upper elementary and middle school learners study Manga cartooning and create a Japanese character based on their own features and personalities. This style of cartooning is easily-accessible for most students. With a little practice,...