Curated OER
Animating a Historic Event
Research a historic event using textbooks, primary source documents, the Internet, and other library and media resources. Young historians will take the research they have gathered and write an attention-grabbing, historically accurate...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 3 Day Lesson
Was the Scopes trial more complicated than a simple debate between evolutionists and creationists? As part of a structured academic controversy (SAC) activity, pupils consider multiple perspectives of the Butler Act and engage in close...
Curated OER
Poetry Creations
Students produce iMovies to share their thoughts of friendship along with poetry creations in this technology-based lesson for the upper-elementary classroom. The lesson includes a link to a "create a poem" site and requires computers...
Curated OER
Accepting Responsibility
Second graders identify the responsibilities involved in owning a pet at home. They listen to the story and watch the movie "Arthur's Pet Business," discuss what they are responsible for at home with their pets, and in small groups...
Curated OER
Thank you Ma'm Langston Hughes-Devoloping the concept of Theme
Students complete various activities linked to several stories and movies, to reinforce the concept of theme in a story.
Curated OER
Power to the Little People
Students explore the classic story theme of good versus evil as relayed in folk tales.
Curated OER
The Allegorical Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Students write and discuss the definition of an allegory. They read the story, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and analyze the style and allegorical elements within the story.
Curated OER
Superman: Modern Mythology
Young scholars discuss what characteritics belong to a hero. They examine different mythological stories and identify the theme of each. They compare and contrast the origin of Superman to the mythological stories and report their...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Native Americans and Onomatopoeias
Fifth graders read the Native American tale, "The Frog and the Crane," focusing on the use of onomatopoeia in it. In groups, they brainstorm list of words that are examples of the device. Finally, 5th graders write their own stories...
Curated OER
Mind Libs
Students are told that they are going to do a fun activity similiar to "Mad Libs" in which they "fill in the blanks" to create funny stories. They are given a copy of Mind Libs Reproducible #1. Students follow the word suggestions in...
Curated OER
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Lesson Plan 3
Ninth graders read the story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," and create a characterization chart to define the stock characters in the main story. They predict whether Walter Mitty will be a static character or a dynamic character....
Curated OER
Laurence of Arabia
Students critically examine the life and contributions of Lawrence of Arabia to the modern Middle East. They view a video on Laurence of Arabia. Students discuss the movie. Students create a propaganda posters or stories identifying...
Curated OER
Character Analysis
Young scholars analyze the motivations behind characters. In this character analysis instructional activity, students reflect on conflicts from previous stories and watch a clip from 'East is East.' Young scholars answer questions for...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: In the Small, Small Pond
Students explore language arts by reading a story in class. In this vocabulary word lesson, students read the book In the Small, Small Pond and discuss several vocabulary terms used in the story. Students participate in vocab...
Curated OER
Cause and Effect
Fourth graders use graphic organizers to differentiate between cause and effect. They read a story independently and write the cause and effects in the graphic organizer.
Curated OER
Great North
Students use maps to locate the Arctic Circle, the North Pole and Northern Europe. They draw and label countries within the Arctic Cirlce and identify the groups of people who live there. They also watch and answer questions about the...
Curated OER
Culture Clash
Students watch the movie, Mr. Baseball, and discuss the difference between Japanese and American cultures.
Curated OER
Holes
Students watch the movie Holes. They list 5 key events from Holes and use a pyramid to rank the events in order of importance to the story. They determine cultural differences between the character and themselves.
Curated OER
Pondering the Perfect Pet
Cute, playful, mischievous pets will capture the attention of even your most reluctant learners.
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: In the Small, Small Pond (Fleming)
Explore pond life and action words through Denise Fleming's In the Small, Small Pond, which you can find online if you don't have it on hand. Learners explore the following verbs: doze, hover, plunge, scatter,...
Curriculum Project
Gandhi
Introduce class members to Gandhi's non-violent, non-cooperative ideas with Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-epic. The film traces the experiences that gave shape to Gandhi's ideas and the actions that eventually lead to the end of...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 5 Day Lesson
Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 1 Day Lesson
Why did many Tennesseeans support the 1925 Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of evolution? Using several primary source documents and a brief video clip, your young historians will draw connections between the broader historical...
Curated OER
Can You Figure Language?
Eighth graders study similes and metaphors and how to explain and create them. After a lecture/demo, 8th graders access websites and worksheets imbedded in this plan to create their own writing.