Curated OER
Uncommon Heroes of Today
Learners create a photo-biography of someone they consider a real life hero. In this character sketch lesson, students define a hero and identify heroic characteristics in short stories. Learners use descriptive words to...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Hero
Chinese legends are the focus of an interesting instructional activity that combines social studies with writing. Learners read the Chinese folk tale, "Li Chi Slays The Serpent." After the story is over, they make a list of the...
Curated OER
Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
Curated OER
Zero The Hero, Trout The Lout
Students use a graphic organizer create a character sketch of Trout Walker from the novel Holes. Using the provided worksheet, students fill in the important character traits of Trout. Worksheet and answer key are provided with the lesson.
Curated OER
Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
Curated OER
Fictional Hereos
Students are introduced to the definition of a hero. As a class, they compare and contrast the difference between non-fictional and fictional hereos they have read about. They read a story, create a story map of one of the heroes and...
Curated OER
Tall Tales
Give your class an overview of American tall tales and some examples with these slides. The basic definition of folk stories, legends, and tall tales is explained, followed by famous characters from American lore. Reading suggestions are...
Waunakee Community School District
Identifying Themes in Literature
If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward instructional activity to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title,...
KIPP 3D Academy
Epic Poetry Unit
The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...
Curated OER
Everyday Heroes
Students research how Ernie Pyle's descriptive narratives and "every man's" perspective of the war allow them to examine personal traits such as courage and heroism. The lesson can be extended to include more examples to teach character...
Curated OER
Mythology Mystery
In this literature worksheet, students read 6 clues. Each clue is a description of a hero, god or goddess from Greek mythology. Students write the name of the character, then self-check by circling every 3rd letter in a letter grid.
Curated OER
Heroes and Heroines of the Underground Railroad System (UGRR)
Fourth graders choose one leader, either Tubman or Coffin, and write a persuasive summary paragraph that explains why the leader displays the character traits of a hero/heroine in the UGRR
Teach With Movies
Title: "The Time Machine" - Topics: Science-Technology
Director George Pal’s film The Time Machine, based on H. G. Wells’ 1895 science fiction novella and starring Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Yvette Mimieux, is the focus of a lesson that considers the consequences of time travel. Viewers...
Ohio State University Extension
Teen Leadership
Are the young leaders of tomorrow sitting in your classroom right now? Polish their skills to perfection using a series of teen leadership activities. Each lesson promotes both personal growth and team building, while helping scholars...
Curated OER
Storytelling in the Oral Tradition
Seventh graders research Greek mythological characters. They write about problems faced by middle school-aged children and how the character would handle them. Students also create story boards to accompany their oral narratives.
Curated OER
Writing Mythological Narratives
Students compose a creative writing piece based on a painting of a mythological scene. In this creative writing lesson, students write about the scene in the painting and tie in their original stories into tales from the life...
Curated OER
Tall Tale Rollers
Young scholars explore American tall tales. In this tall tale lesson plan, students discover the six characteristics that are included in tall tales. Young scholars survey their class to find each student's favorite tall tale character...
PB Works
Film Viewing Guide for the movie “Glory” (1998)
Check out this simple, ready-to-use worksheet that your young historians can complete as they watch the motion picture Glory. It begins with a very brief list of characters to track, followed by seven short-answer questions to be...
Curated OER
Writing From Mythological Narratives
Students compose a short piece of creative writing based on a painting depicting a mythological narrative. For this creative writing lesson, students create a short piece of writing and then learn more about the mythological scene in the...
Curated OER
Hinduism--Diwali
In this Hinduism worksheet, students, after reading "The Story of Rama and Sita," match six main characters with their descriptions. Students choose two characters from the story and fill in the two boxes with words and phrases that...
Curated OER
Be a Vishnu Avatar
Students write a story about a problem on earth. They imagine themselves as one of Vishnu's avatars or create another avatar for Vishnu who can solve the problem.