Curated OER
The Call of the Wild
Young scholars read The Call of the Wild, noting its theme of survival. They investigate the book's concepts with word webs, spider maps, or graphic organizers. They conduct a panel discussion on dogs and wolves. They write a letter to...
Curated OER
Heading West
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...
Curated OER
Nursery Rhymes
Students recall details of nursery rhyme read by teacher, identify main characters, and demonstrate knowledge of poem by creating concept map about story that includes title, clip art, and changes in font and color.
Curated OER
Stacy Bodin's "Digesting a Story" Unit
Second graders create a story and role-play the story using edible items to create a final story-video project. In this edible story instructional activity, 2nd graders write their own stories using literary format and elements. Students...
Curated OER
Book of the Month - A Technology-Integrated Literacy Project
Students write a paragraph predicting what the book is about after viewing the front cover. They are given a copy of the Story Parts Maps, students are explained each story part. Students are explained that they most take notes on the...
Curated OER
Peter and the Wolf - Sequencing
Students listen to the story of Peter and the Wolf and answer comprehension questions. They then will name the beginning, middle, and end of the story using a graphic organizer. Students then individually illustrate each part of the...
Curated OER
Our Dinopals with WordArt
Elementary schoolers use the writing process steps to write a descriptive paragraph about a fictional dinosaur. Using a tech tool lesson, they create a graphic title for the paragraph. A nice blending of technology with "old-fashioned"...
Curated OER
You Gotta Have A Hat
First graders compare versions of the folktale, 'Caps for Sale.' After listening to both stories, 1st graders utilize a Venn Diagram imbedded in this instructional activity to produce a graphic organizer detailing the similarities and...
Curated OER
Discovering the Oregon Trail
Students explore U.S. history by researching the Oregon Trail. In this American exploration instructional activity, students read the story On the Shore of the River and define the exact path early settlers took to find the state of...
Curated OER
Friends in the Community
Second graders build a classroom community by getting to know each other better. They ask classmates various questions and use graphic organizer software and Microsoft PowerPoint. Students practice their oral language skills while asking...
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The activity includes several options to...
Penguin Books
Folklore and Fairytales: A Guide to Using Traditional Tales and Reimagined Classics
Every culture has its own stories to tell. An interesting educator's guide shares a large collection of fairytales and folktales, some from different cultures and some re-creations of classics. A summary and brief teaching ideas...
Reed Novel Studies
The Mouse and The Motorcycle: Novel Study
A mouse on a motorcycle—what could possibly go wrong? Using the novel study that accompanies Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, pupils complete a brief vocabulary activity and then answer questions about the text. Next, they...
Curated OER
Literary Element : Setting
In this language arts worksheet, students focus on story setting. Using the graphic organizer provided, students fill in the time, place, and backdrop of the given story.
NY Learns
Culture Clash: Exploring Characters within El Bronx Remembered by ECSDM
Using a character map, learners assign traits to characters from Nicholasa Mohr’s El Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories. In addition, groups record evidence from the stories to justify the labels and use these sheets to prepare for...
Curated OER
Night of the Twister
Students use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Students complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the...
Curated OER
Russian Literature: Leo Tolstoy
Tenth graders research the life and literature of Leo Tolstoy. Through reading and research, 10th graders identify key events in the author's life. They explore the major themes of his writing and complete a research project. Reading...
Curated OER
Water Uses and Children's Lives in East Africa
Young scholars identify how water use is part of life and culture. Students record their daily water usage and compare results with classmates. Young scholars complete the graphic organizer on water and children. Students compose an...
Curated OER
Zero The Hero, Trout The Lout
Students use a graphic organizer create a character sketch of Trout Walker from the novel Holes. Using the provided worksheet, students fill in the important character traits of Trout. Worksheet and answer key are provided with the lesson.
Curated OER
Get Out of the Box
Third graders think outside the box with this instructional activity in organization through webbing. After a lecture/demo, 3rd graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which guides them through creating a writing web.
Curated OER
Narrative Writing for Publication
Seventh graders create an original narrative story in a diary or journal format involving a fictional character with conflict, plot, resolution and falling action within the story line. They follow the steps of the writing process with...
Curated OER
Writing an Autobiography
Students use their Life Map to write a strong introduction for an autobiography. They apply the Life Map to a written sequence, use guided imagery to visualize the writing process and experience peer editing.
Curated OER
Prince Ibrahima
Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...
Curated OER
Shared and Guided Reading with Ice Cream Money
Here is a lesson which has students locate an exclamation point and a comma from the text. They locate previously learned words on the page, and create a word map from the word "Money." Students write about and illustrate their favorite...