National Endowment for the Humanities
Lu Shih — The Couplets of T’ang
Writing poetry in ancient China was the modern equivalent of sending a greeting card. Scholars learn about the ancient Chinese poetic form called the lu shih. They read about the context of poetry during the T'ang Dynasty and complete a...
Curated OER
The Art and History of Japanese Calligraphy
Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese writing...
Read Works
Edison Tried and Tried Again
How many times did it take Thomas Edison to invent a successful working lightbulb? Young learners read a short passage about this famous inventor and his determination in getting an idea to work successfully. Then, pupils respond to four...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 6
Wrap up your literary analysis unit with a discussion activity as tenth graders prepare for an end-of-unit assessment. After they have read and annotated Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His Love," Sir Walter Raleigh's...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 3, Lesson 3
What is in a word? Scholars look closely at the words from a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt. They analyze how she supports a claim without debate and without rejecting others. Learners use jigsaw discussion, guided questions, and respond to...
EngageNY
Making Inferences: The Fall of Saigon
Get hooked! Reel in and hook scholars to the unit with a slide show, text-based activity, and reading exercises. To increase curiosity, learners read only small pieces of Panic Rises in Saigon, but the Exits Are Few. Readers use the...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Isolating, Bag-of-Sounds
In pairs, pre-readers take turns holding up objects from a bag. As one child holds up an object, the other names it and says its initial letter sound. They work together to sort the objects into piles based on how they isolated and...
Manchester College
What’s Your Point of View?
Work on deciphering the point of view of various pieces of literature. As readers review the concepts of first, second, and third person perspective, they apply what they know to different passages.
Curated OER
Are You Listening?
To underscore the importance of practicing good listening skills class members engage in a series of activities that model poor listening skills. In pairs and then as a whole group, class members enact different, more positive techniques...
Curated OER
Arbitrary Arrangements: Daniel Sprick's Release Your Plans
Students investigate abstract artists as storytellers. In this art analysis lesson, students observe the small details in the painting called "Release Your Plans" by Daniel Sprick. Students collaborate in groups to create...
Shutterfly
Shutterfly Photo Story Lesson Plan
A reading of Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia launches a study of idioms. Groups then select several idioms, write the meaning of the expressions, draw or select images, and use GIMP or Photoshop to create an idiom book.
ReadWriteThink
Concept Map
When you think of one topic, related ideas and details invariably follow. That's concept mapping! Jot down ideas with a straightforward graphic organizer that works both electronically and as a printed resource.
Book Units Teacher
Skill Lessons – Prefixes and Suffixes
Sometimes the best way to understand a concept is to break it down. Young vocabulary pupils work with word parts in a hands-on activity that prompts them to connect flash cards with affixes to their root and base words....
For the Teachers
Story Strips Sequencing
What happens next? Work on story sequence with a lesson that prompts kids to put a story back in order. Additionally, they discuss what would happen if one event was missing from the sequence.
Road to Grammar
Fame
Smile for the camera and find out how your English language learners feel about fame! Class members read three different points of view on fame and then discuss ten questions about the topic.
EngageNY
Analyzing, Comparing, Sharing: Modern Voices
What do modern voices sound like? Scholars explore the topic, reading two concrete poems from John Grandit's Blue Lipstick and analyzing them using a graphic organizer. Next, they read a third poem and work with partners to look for...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment, Part 2: Explaining How New Information Connects to the Topic
Let's talk it out. Using the resource, scholars work in triads to discuss how their research has deepened their understanding about sustainable fishing. Next, pupils engage in a whole-class discussion to consider their next steps toward...
Curated OER
Apple Adjectives
Study different apple varieties and use appropriate adjectives to describe them. Learners alphabetize both the apple names and the adjectives before creating spreadsheet, bar, and pie graphs. A mix of language arts, technology, and...
Curated OER
Participant-Observer Guidelines Handout
Take your collaborative group work to a higher level with this informative handout about the nature, aims, and tasks of participant-observers. Teaching middle and high schoolers how to improve group process advances collaboration skills...
Curated OER
California Artists
Fifth graders identify and compare works of art from various regions of the United States. Telecollaborative partners, from different states, work together to complete this assignment. Using the internet, 5th graders research a specific...
Curated OER
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
Participate in authentic career research, and make effective and realistic career/academic choices entering high school. Develop communication skills, demonstrate English language arts proficiency, and share a group presentation with...
Curated OER
Comparing and Contrasting Heroes
Here is a language arts lesson that can be used with virtually any grade level. The only thing that changes is the reading level of the books. Learners compare and contrast different heroes and the characteristics they hold. They use a...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Development
Learners utilize various vocabulary strategies. They use vocabulary logs to record strategies they have been taught, such as the Frayer Model (definition, picture, examples, non-examples), writing their own definitions, and using...
Cloud Front
Grammar Camp Worksheet Packet
Whip your students' grammar skills into shape with this series of practice worksheets. Touching on all eight parts of speech, these exercises challenge learners to identify the relationships between different words...