Curated OER
Pablita Indian Legends
Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Nonsense Poetry and Whimsy
Primary learners are introduced to Lewis Carroll's whimsical poetry. They read "The Nursery Alice" Carroll's adaptation for younger readers, view story illustrations, listen to poetry and write whimsical verses of their own about food.
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Enchanting Egypt
After reading the Magic Tree House book Mummies in the Morning, learners talk about Ancient Egypt. They identify the plot, characters, setting, etc., explore vocabulary terms, and construct a pyramid. This will motivate your class...
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Totem Transformations
Students are introduced in the Humanities class, as they explore the origins of Totems in Native American folklore. In the computer lab, students read Totem stories and explore the meaning and symbolism behind the myths using various Web...
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Personal Odysseys and Everyday Heroes
Ninth graders study Greek Mythology, focusing on Gods and Goddesses. They compare the modern day hero with the classical hero and examine how individual characters are based on their own personal odysseys.
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Literature
Third graders study phrases, poetry and myths of Ancient Greece and Rome in these lessons.
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Storytelling with the Opaque Projector
Students create illustrations for a folktale that are shown with an opaque projector during the story reading. They are assigned a picture description and do not know how their picture fits into the story until all of the illustrations...
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Children's Books
Students explore daily dilemmas students face. They write and illustrate a story book dealing with one dilemma. Students write reviews of their books. They read their books to second grade students. Additional cross curriculum activities...
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Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
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What is a Solution?
In this solutions worksheet, students read about how people first learned to use metals and to combine metals to form alloys. Students write an essay telling the story of how ancient people first learned to cause physical changes in metal.
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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.
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Confucianism
Students examine the beliefs and history of the religion by studying mythology and sayings. They compare the beliefs of Confucian culture to American culture and share their information as class by an informal teacher lead discussion.
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Childhood Through the Looking-Glass
Junior high learners discuss Lewis Carroll's classic story, Alice in Wonderland. They observe the image of childhood in his photographs and compare them to present-day images. There is a plethora of ideas and links for discussions...
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A Walk in the Woods: The Legacy of the Haudenosaunee
Fourth graders explore folktales and legends to investigate the life and culture of the Haudenosaunee Indians. The stories and food of the six Nations are experienced as the lesson proceeds.
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Chivalry and Courtly Love
Eleventh graders examine chivalry and courtly love. For this Arthurian legend lesson, 11th graders explore the legend and how chivalry, honor, and courtly love have been internalized into today's culture. Students author and perform...
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Imaginative Interpretations
Students explore how works of art can be inspired by stories by creating their own work of art inspired by a narrative text.
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Bible: Christian Responsibility
Learners read The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark and view A Debt to Honor to identify ways that Christians helped the Jewish people during the Holocaust. For this Holocaust lesson, students discuss...
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Fact and Fiction in Little Women
Students read excerpts from the novel "Little Women." Students work in groups to research, analyze, and answer the questions included in the lesson. After research, students write a paper and include a bibliography. The students also...
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Getting the Best out of Book Buddies
Students explore the best approaches to reading with book buddies (younger students). Students create a student-friendly definition for "mentor" and identify traits of a success that a mentor displays. They examine literature for...
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Creature Creation
Young scholars explore the characteristics of dragons as represented in the myths of cultures around the world. They create their own mythical dragons by hybridizing two creatures with desirable traits and writing stories about their...
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 instructional activity, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Students listen to a read aloud and vote whether the...
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The Good Earth - Essay Questions
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 6 short answer and essay questions about Buck's The Good Earth. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
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Legends of the Fifth
Fifth graders discover the difference between myths, legends, and folk tales. They summarize legends. They work together to dramatize legends and then create their own legend using the writing process. Handouts and worksheets are included.
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Storytelling
Students explore the origins of folktales, fairytales, myths, legends, fables, and folktales in the ten lessons of this unit. A storytelling festival is held to feature the results of the variety of activities presented in the unit.