Curated OER
Break Down
Fourth graders apply their understanding of the elements of plot structure and conflict to cooperatively create storyboards and speak effectively as they present their products. They create storyboards for some of the classic Disney...
Curated OER
Writing Drama-Trying Your Hand at being a Playwright
Fifth graders chart the elements of drama. In this performing arts lesson, 5th graders discuss the role of a playwrite, practice doing some Reader's Theatre scripts, write a paragraph about a problem between two people, and perform...
Curated OER
What's the Problem? Exploring Conflict in "On the Sidewalk Bleeding"
Students use the story 'On the Sidewalk Bleeding' to analyze the various conflict types found in literature. In this conflict activity, students view a PowerPoint about the story and identify the four types of conflict. Students identify...
K20 LEARN
Let's Mail Away!: Writing Letters
Scholars watch a video or listen to a story about writing letters, then discuss their importance. A scavenger hunt challenges them to identify common elements of friendly letters and create an anchor chart. Pupils write letters to a...
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Summarizing Key Information
Imagine the surprise when small groups present their Evidence Charts to the class and discover that each group has studied a different version of the Cinderella story. Irish, Ojibwa, Egyptian, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Mexican, and...
Curated OER
Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this lesson, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...
Curated OER
Mini Museum
Students brainstorm about the different types of museums and complete a worksheet by looking at artifacts and what they think that object did. They work together in groups to complete a KWL chart throughout the instructional activity.
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Some Houses Are Made of Straw, Wood, or Brick: But... This House is Made of Mud...
First graders read and discuss several stories. They share information about different types of shelter around the world. They explain that lifestyles and shelter depend very much on where people live and how they use the resources...
Curated OER
Sally's Super Day
Second graders engage in a lesson plan that is about having a super day with an example of a fictitious child. They read "Sally's Super Day" and reflect upon the events and how they affected the character and the outcome of the story....
Curated OER
Relationship Between the Protagonist and Antagonist
Students read Hansel and Gretel, and discuss the conflict in the story, while determining who the protagonist and the antagonist are. In this fiction lesson, students chart the conflict in the story they have just read.
Curated OER
Plot with More Than One Problem
Every good story has a plot, and every good plot contains a conflict or problem. Third graders familiarize themselves and identify how problems in a story are connected. First as a class and then in small groups or individually, learners...
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Ingredients of a Mystery
Students explore the concept of mysteries. In this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book. Students also...
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Cinderella Is A Fella
Second graders identify the universal theme in the Cinderella story. In this fairy tale lesson, 2nd graders develop their vocabularies as they read a variation of Cinderella.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Two Settings in One Text
Look for the signal words! Scholars get both instruction and practice comparing and contrasting. Although it is completely scripted, it can also serve as a detailed outline. Demonstrate this as you read a passage (included) and search...
Curated OER
A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Use photographs to trigger memories. Writers use a personal photograph as a starting point for an autobiographical writing exercise. They complete brainstorming activities that have them study their photograph before actually putting pen...
EngageNY
Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 4
Class members have an opportunity to compare how a film and a play handle the same source material by viewing the opening chapters of George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope and acts I and II of Ian Doescher's play, William...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss
Young scholars read books by the same author and compare what they find. In this Dr. Seuss instructional activity, students learn about Dr. Seuss' writing style, listen for the rhyme scheme in his stories, and create a KWL chart on...
Curated OER
Identifying Structured Patterns in Folk Tales
Learners are introduced to the structure of folk tales. After working through an example, they identify as many folk tales as possible that follow the same pattern. In groups, they compare a folk tale and a fairy tale to identify the...
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Science Fiction Literature
Students identify the elements of science fiction literature. They write and illustrate a science fiction story using real and exaggerated science. In addition, they read their stories aloud in small groups.
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Outside...North of the 49th Parallel
Students explore and discuss images of Canadian landscape focusing on the work of the Group of Seven. The discuss different Canadian environments in a group of art works and complete a chart categorizing the depictions. They complete a...
Curated OER
Little Pig, Little Pig
First graders compare versions of the Three Little Pigs. In this comparison instructional activity, 1st graders read several version of the Three Little Pigs and compare the situations, characters, settings, solutions, emotions and...
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Breezy Energy
Third graders view photos of machines that measure wind energy and chart what they observe in the pictures and the questions they have about the pictures. In this wind energy lesson, 3rd graders make a pinwheel. Students show...
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The Circle of Life: Food Chain
Young scholars develop a flow chart using computer software to show a food chain combination. In this food chain lesson, students are first read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, then they create a story map of the story. ...