Curated OER
Unit 3: Scientific Writing
Write-on! Demonstrate a writing model and support learners as they write an informational essay on a water resource issue of your (or their) choosing. The lesson plan provides a well-scaffolded summative writing experience that wraps up...
Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Story Impressions
Story chains connect literary concepts, reinforce context clues, and even help learners predict what's coming next! Using words from the next chapter of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, middle schoolers craft story chains to determine...
Curated OER
Using Best Newspaper Writing in a Journalism Class
Students explore the genre of journalism. For this journalism lesson, students examine newspaper articles and identify reporting techniques. Students collaborate to identify excellent pieces of newspaper writing.
Curated OER
Elaborating the Main Idea, Using Supporting Details
A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...
Curated OER
Primary and Secondary Sources - 7th
A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities is the core text for five lessons in a Curriculum Guide for Charles Dickens' famous novel. To begin, scholars examine Dickens' use of anaphora in the first line of the novel. Next, they compare the point of view in a...
Media Smarts
How to Analyze the News
Teach kids how to watch television, specifically the news, with this creative idea for learners of all ages from the Media Awareness Network. The elementary school plan focuses on presenting news as a story and uses Jon Scieszka's story...
Curated OER
Non-Fiction Texts
Third graders examine different types of non-fiction texts. In this non fiction lesson, 3rd graders use different types of texts to gather information. Students work in groups to analyze the texts for author's purpose, common themes, and...
Curated OER
Grozny on Guard
Young scholars react to copies of leaflets dropped into Chechnya by Russian forces. After reading an article, they examine the historical and present conflicts in the area and answer discussion questions. In small groups, they trace...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing Lessons
Descriptive writing lessons can lead students on an exploration of how adjectives enhance any written work.
Online Publications
Become a Journalist
Explore the newspaper as a unique entity with a detailed and extended unit. The unit requires learners to consider the newspaper's role in democracy, think about ethics, practice writing and interviewing, and examine advertising and news...
Curated OER
Creating Scrolls Based on the Illustrated Tale of Genji
Now these are learning activities full of fun, art, and cultural exploration. Kids consider the art of storytelling through comic book images. They then look at the Tale of Genji as it was written in the 11th century. They discuss...
Curated OER
Newspaper Stories
Students examine the structure of the newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students look at the different types of articles about giving, sharing, and acts for the common good. They realize the types of voice that are used in the...
Curated OER
Newspaper Scavenger Hunts
Students examine newspapers to find information. In this newspaper lesson, students collect newspapers from their homes to use for the lesson. They work in groups to complete scavenger hunts by locating specified information in different...
Curated OER
It's in the Paper! (Newspaper In Education Unit)
Fourth graders brainstorm a list of the kinds of information found in newspapers, present examples, and state how reading a newspaper is useful to them and people they know.
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet Newspaper
Students design a newspaper after reading the play "Romeo and Juliet." They include an appropriate title, wedding announcement, an advice column, an obituary and classified advertisements.
Curated OER
Building on the Past
Students consider how the scientific advances of the past have contributed to the science topics reported on today in the Science Times section. After reading a current science article, they compare and contrast the way science was...
Curated OER
Breaking News
Students organize a newspaper article using a worksheet that helps them study the vocabulary of news articles. They write newspaper articles about mythical creatures invading contemporary Los Angeles.
Curated OER
The Brooklyn Museum of Art Newspaper
By working cooperatively, writers will create a newspaper about the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Each member will take on a different role representing various types of newspaper writers. They will discover the history, exhibits, special...
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Getting Real: Using Real Life Materials
Students examine many different types of real-life materials such as menus or newspaper articles. They practice filling out job applications or ordering at a sitdown restaurant.
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Drawing on Terror
Students assess the ways in which editorial cartoons offer insight into events that shape our world, specifically focusing on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 4 - What Went Wrong?
Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...
Curated OER
What's the Scoop on Slang?
Students examine examples of sports jargon by reading sports articles from a newspaper. They write a news article about a fictional sports event using examples of sports jargon.
Curated OER
Making a Memoir Lesson Memorable
Memoir lessons can give students a format for writing about their experiences, and a way to tap into their inner author.