Curated OER
Communication: Asking Honestly for What You Want
Students discover psychology by participating in a relationship activity. In this honesty lesson, students read text which discusses the importance of being upfront with your feelings. Students complete teenage communication worksheets...
Curated OER
War Consumes Europe
How did the world react to Austria's declaration of war? This activity, guided by the McDougall Littell text, World History, has historians examining the beginnings of WWI through cause and effect analysis. Groups reference the text as...
Curated OER
Classroom demographics
Students use strategies to read and comprehend words and material. The use of technology is the backbone of this lesson and is essential for implementation.
Curated OER
Julius Caesar: Fate Versus Free Will
Tenth graders engage in a study that is about Julius Caesar while reading a play. The role of the main character is examined while looking for motive and tension presented by Shakespeare. They write a summary and critique of the play.
Curated OER
Please No Posers
How do you reference information correctly? Avoid plagiarism by accurately summarizing a New York Times article with your middle or high schoolers. Young researchers then insert properly attributed quotations and paraphrases into their...
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
A Research Project: A Discussion of the Recreating and Populating of a Colonial Village
Primary source research, secondary source readings, and discussion provide the understanding necessary for students to create a colonial persona, and simulate a situation appropriate for this person, time, and place. While the lesson...
Curated OER
What's in a Name? Considering the Shakespeare Authorship Question
Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff? After viewing a trailer for the film, Anonymous and reading Stephen Marche’s article “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t Shakespeare?” class groups read articles about the Shakespeare...
Curated OER
Big Dog and String-bean
Match and read, what could be more fun? Learners read a story and identify pronouns in the text. They read the text again and correctly match pronouns to nouns on a worksheet. Great introductory activity.
Curated OER
Summarizing with James and the Giant Peach
Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Clap Your Hands
Read Clap Your Hands to explore new vocabulary with your class. In this three-tiered vocabulary lesson plan, youngsters read the book and identify the plot, setting, and characters. They also define vocabulary terms from the book...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: A Taste of Honey (Wallace)
A Taste of Honey offers learners a chance to practice with unknown words and context clues. Choose several vocabulary words to focus on as you read the picture book, or use the ones provided here. Pre-teach the words and have...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Peter's Chair (Keats)
A new baby means a lot of changes for Peter! Ezra Jack Keats presents this common childhood experience in his story Peter's Chair, the context of a detailed vocabulary study. Before you read, introduce the three new words scholars...
Curated OER
Writing Example Paragraphs
Sixth graders write example paragraphs. The term "example paragraph" refers to a paragraph where the supporting sentences provide examples of the subject/idea described in the topic sentence. Students write a basic example paragraph...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing-The Hobbit
Young readers write a descriptive paper on the fantasy characters in The Hobbit. They take notes as they read the novel in order to provide descriptions of the character traits of hobbits, dwarfs, trolls, wizards, and goblins. They...
Curated OER
Getting Hooked, Introduction for a Narrative
How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...
Curated OER
What's The Story?
Teams of learners integrate reading, writing, math, social studies, and science in this simple, yet effective instructional activity. They work in groups in order to solve a ten-step problem which requires internet research, the use of a...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Bingo: Fever 1793
Prior to reading Fever 1793, class members are introduced to vocabulary drawn from the text of Laurie Halse Anderson's novel with a bingo-style activity. The vocabulary list, a teacher copy with definitions, and the bingo template are...
Curated OER
Rocketry
Students design and construct a paper rocket that can be launched with a drinking straw. They participate in a lecture and read an article about rocketry and how Newton's Third Law applies to rocket launches. Each student constructs...
Curated OER
Grandpa' Fight and the U.S. Government
Students are given the United States Constitution, students generate a list on the board of Grandpa's constitutional rights that might help him keep his home and property. Students become "experts," by reading and group discussion, on...
Curated OER
Tyrone, the Horrible
Read a Hans Wilhelm story and complete creative writing activities. Start by reading Tyrone, the Horrible and discuss the behavior in the book. Then split your class into groups to create a "bully" situation and discuss possible...
Curated OER
Map Skills
Do you need to practice map skills? Children with a range of abilities will complete a KWL chart about maps, practice important map vocabulary and then read a few pages from their textbook. They will use their vocabulary words and...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Strategy: Call of the Wild
Here is a strategy for groups to contribute to whole class vocabulary development. Teams (based on seating rows) work together to look up dictionary definitions of words from upcoming sections of the book (though previous sections seem...
Curated OER
The Middle East - Regional Research
In this geography worksheet, student read a short blurb about The Middle East as a region of the world before conducting further research. They complete 10 short answer questions, and complete a 15 question activity in which they match...
Curated OER
Cause-and-Effect Scavenger Hunt
Examine and discuss examples of cause-and-effect relationships. They locate and identify cause-and-effect relationships in their current reading selection.