Poetry Out Loud
The Tabloid Ballad
What do the theme song from Gilligan's Island, the nursery rhyme "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat," and the poem "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" all have in common? Why, they're ballads of course! Challenge your young balladeers to compose their...
ReadWriteThink
Compare and Contrast
Read about the ways that different cultures set up homes with a set of reading activities. Learners read short paragraphs that cover one or more different ideas, and answer four questions about what they have read, including whether or...
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Discussion Web Strategy
Guide learners through a discussion about Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a helpful graphic organizer. As they read through the novel, individuals note their reactions to statements about the book's themes, and fill out...
Santillana USA
Celebra Kwanzaa
¡Celebramos Kwanzaa! Celebrate Kwanzaa through the fictional story Celebra Kwanzaa con Botitas y sus gatitos to delightfully explain the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Dual language learners participate in reading and vocabulary...
Polk Bros Foundation
American Presidents
Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Understanding the Food Web
Building on prior knowledge of the pervious lesson in the series, pupils explain the previous lesson to each other. Then they write a simple guide for a young child to read on the same topic.
ReadWriteThink
Defining Literacy in a Digital World
What skills are necessary to interact with different types of text? Twenty-first century learners live in a digital world and must develop a whole new set of skills to develop media literacy. Class members engage in a series of...
Curated OER
Discovering Me
Read selections from recommended autobiographies, poetry and short stories. Interview family members to collect material useful for constructing a family tree or other types of family history.
Curated OER
Novel Ideas: History of the American Novel
Explore the history of the American novel in the contexts of literature and US history. How does a novel or piece of writing from a particular time showcase the mood during that historical period? After conducting research and discussing...
Curated OER
English/Language Arts Methods Project
Students design a webquest requiring higher order thinking and providing students with opportunities to reflect on their learning. They include an assessment tool to evaluate the process and product.
Curated OER
Edgar Allen Poe And The Art Of Composition
High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...
National First Ladies' Library
The Many Voices of Literature
Young scholars discover the wealth of literature written by individuals not born in the United States. They discover the literature of individuals of multiple ethnicities born in the United States. Students compile a list of books they...
National First Ladies' Library
The Gilded Age
Students investigate the economic events that caused such a separation between social classes in the United States during this time period. Then they design financial and social models with the goal of closing the gap between the super...
National First Ladies' Library
Searching for China: A Full WebQuest
Young scholars research the six key aspects of Chinese culture. They examine problems and issues from different perspectives and look in to the nature of international relations in an interdependent world. All of this is accomplished by...
National First Ladies' Library
Missionaries, Expansionism, and The Philippines
Students examine the quality of sources in research in the process of gaining an understanding of the Spanish American War, American expansionism, and the role of missionaries in history. They meet in groups to provide an audio/visual...
National First Ladies' Library
Hey, Hey, It's the Beatles!
Young scholars study the Beatles and the contributions their music made to much of the pop music that came afterward. They synthesize complex information and the skills of "compare and contrast" in writing. They research some aspect of...
National First Ladies' Library
We're off to see the Wizard!
Students explore the process of play and movie making from books. They study the basic elements of drama and write and produce a play based on a chosen theme. Students explain the basic elements of a play by looking at "The Wonderful...
National First Ladies' Library
The Play's the Thing...or Two
Students explore melodram as a form of theatre. They write about lucid and factual news accounts and about sensationalism. Students gain experience in relating one time period with another and with doing historical research.
Curated OER
The Voice of Dreams
Students explore, analyze and study novel reflections on the American dream that the United States has held the promise of unlimited possibilities. They describe the concept of the American dream, listen to and record real stories of...
Curated OER
Community Treasures (Rivers and Trees): An Integrated Curriculum Unit
Third graders demonstrate an understanding of geography and its effects on lifestyles and culture. Then they apply basic economic terms and principles
and identify the United States government and history. Students also identify and...
National First Ladies' Library
Secretary of Commerce
Middle schoolers gain understanding of economic history of United States in twentieth century by examining role of Department of Commerce. Student groups each analyze one quarter of twentieth century by researching role of Department of...
National First Ladies' Library
A Crippling Cough: Tuberculosis on a Rampage
Students use problem solving skills to examine symptoms, causes, and treatment of tuberculosis in modern times and in early 1900s. Students read patient case, work in teams to diagnose illness, and conduct Internet research to confirm...
National First Ladies' Library
Finding Treasure Island; An Exciting Escape
Students read Treasure Island. They have a choice of a number of activities associated with the novel, including writing a review of the book. Students also participate in a National Geographic High Seas Adventure, going on an Internet...
National First Ladies' Library
There's Only How Much? Rationing in World War II
Students discuss the idea of rationing as a restriction on the amount of something or the frequency with which something may be purchased or used in order to contribute to the greater good of the group which was what happened during...