Curated OER
Imagine That! Analyzing Imagery
Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...
Curated OER
Lesson: Michael Blum: National Identity at a Distance
Immigration, refugees, and cultural change due to the movement of people around the globe is discussed. Learners examine the work of Michael Blum to gain an understanding of how national and cultural identities shift due to immigration....
Poetry Out Loud
Poems Put to Use
Why do we have to study poetry? Here is a lesson that demonstrates some of poetry's more practical and real-world applications for reluctant learners. Start by leading a brainstorming session about where poems or pieces of poems might be...
Curated OER
Photographic Memories
Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....
Curated OER
Colonial New York Slave Codes: Law and Order
Build a historical perspective from four different points of view. Young historians take on the role of a slave-owning white person, non-slave owning white person, slave, or free African-American person and imagine what life would be...
Scholastic
The Class Election from the Black Lagoon Storia Teaching Guide
One of my favorite things about this resource is that they use a standardized lexile to help you determine who should be reading what book. I also love this great teacher's guide for the book, The Class Election from the Black...
Curated OER
Under the Sea
Students imagine and describe fictitious sea animals that might live in the ocean. After reading an article, they reflect on new discoveries found in the ocean recently. Using the internet, they research the interdependence of animals...
Curated OER
Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Telling a Painting's Story
Use art museum paintings as inspiration for your class's creative writing works. Observing the paintings closely, middle and high schoolers list details and write descriptions. Their completed stories are displayed on bulletin boards...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: The Cycle of Addiction
Drug addiction, including prescription drug addiction, begins with a reason that's different for every user. High schoolers learn more about the reasons people begin abusing drugs with a set of videos and worksheets that discuss four...
Curated OER
Allowing Students to Explore Simple Physics and Marketing in English Class
Scientific method, linear measurements, friction, inertia. Imagine learning scientific vocabulary in an ELA class. Before researching and developing a presentation about simple machines, class members build a common, but decidedly...
Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...
Brigham Young University
Out of the Dust: Cubing Strategy
Imagine using a six-sided cube to encourage readers to analyze a topic in greater depth. Create a cube, label each of the six sides with one of Bloom's comprehension levels, and you're ready to launch a discussion of a text....
Curated OER
Analyzing Folklore: Redwall
Brian Jacques’ novel Redwall provides the focus for a series of lessons involving the analysis of folklore. Adopting the persona of a character, groups write letters in the voice of their character, assemble a collage using Microsoft...
Curated OER
It's Getting Hot in Here
Discover the environmental and economic impact of global warming. After reading an article, emerging environmentalists identify how different countries are responding to the Kyoto Protocol. They research emission laws and write a news...
Shakespeare in American Life
Patriarchy in King Lear and As I Lay Dying
King Lear, “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and Anse Bundren? Imagine a unit that examines the tragic hero and patriarchy in King Lear, As I Lay Dying and Apocalypse Now. To liven the brew, learners are asked to include in...
Perkins School for the Blind
Tactile quilts that tell a story
Learners with multiple disabilities need to engage in projects that push them to know their full potential. They need to be able to express themselves in a variety of ways, and this very thoughtful lesson does just that. They make a...
Curated OER
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...
Curated OER
Jack of All Tails
After reading the book Jack of All Tails, learners complete vocabulary activities, play charades, consider a list of questions, and complete a list of verbs. There are also several suggestions for how to connect this language...
Shakespeare Uncovered
Women’s Roles in As You Like It
“There is nothing that becommeth a maid better than soberness, silence, shamefastness, and chastity, both of body & mind.” This line, from Thomas Bentley ‘s The Monument of Matrons published in 1582, typifies the way women were...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Made Up Math
Is there a way to connect creative thinking, logical reasoning, mathematical understanding, and humor? You bet there is! Kids begin by creating creative math quizzes, which require creative thinking to solve. For example, 1+1=24, one...
Curated OER
An Imaginary Trip
Students use their imaginations to write about an imaginary trip. In this creative writing lesson plan, students write about an imaginary trip. Students brainstorm writing ideas as a class and use past tense words in...
Curated OER
The Whiningdingdilly
Learners read the book The Whiningdingdilly and complete a Venn Diagram, write a friendly letter, find misplaced animals, and morph animals and humans. In this The Whiningdingdilly lesson plan, students practice reading, writing, map...
NPR
Chinese American Women Lesson Plan
The National Women's History Museum provides a plan designed to accompany their online CyberExhibit, Chinese American Women; a History of Resilience and Resistance. After examining a series of primary and secondary source documents,...