Curated OER
Race & White Privilege
Students read and analyze the Tomas Rivera novel "...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him." In small groups they select three paragraphs from the text that are relevant to the issues of racism or white privelege, conduct Internet research,...
Curated OER
Morning Girl
Fifth graders read the novel "Morning Girl" by Michael Dorris. Using the text, they compare and contrast the two cultures, Arawak and Taino in the novel and research the landing of Columbus in San Salvador. They create a family tree...
Curated OER
Collaborative Book Club Groups
Students participate in book club forums where they write descriptive, evaluation, analysis, synthesis, or inference essays. They take on the role of a character in their bok and publish a web page.
Curated OER
Have You Heard About the Clinton, New Jersey Story?
Learners role play one of the three given situations. They discover how to deal with a conflict in a positive way. They discuss the role of radon in their community and complete another role-play scenerio.
Curated OER
Super-sized Accordion Pleat Spider
Middle schoolers create a super-sized creature in the round. They use the novel Charlotte's Web as a bounce off board to their creations. Students read the novel and brainstorm ideas with each other.
Curated OER
Calibrated Peer Review: Introduction-Why Study Geology?
Students read an article written by Sarah Andrews, a geologist who has written mystery novels featuring a geologist who solves crimes. After reading the article, students write an essay based on a Writing Prompt and begin peer review...
Curated OER
Skellig
In this Skellig worksheet, students read to understand the works of David Almond and learn about his life. Students read eleven passages and then answer ten questions related to reading for meaning and understanding the author's craft.
Curated OER
Why Burn Books?
Students identify the role of free speech in the selection of library books. They choose one banned book to read and evaluate the reason for its censorship. They create an argument for or against the selection of the book.
Curated OER
Selavi
Students read the novel "Selavi". They relate the story to their own experiences. They also make predictions as they read the story. They research a specific aspect of Haiti once they have finished reading.
Curated OER
Dealing with Growth and Change
Students discuss the right and wrong actions of a young Navajo boy. Using that information, they compare and contrast his culture to their own. In groups, they create a newspaper or poster showing the cultural contributions of the...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Request Strategy
Can your learners stump you with questions? Find out with this question-centered activity! After reading a portion of My Antonia by Willa Cather, pupils question the teacher. Once the first round is complete, the class reads more and...
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet & Shakespearean Theater
The Bard? Folly? Tragedy? How familiar are your pupils with terms associated with Romeo and Juliet? Class members rate their knowledge of a list of words and then share what they know with the class. The worksheet, discussion questions,...
Curated OER
Bridge to Terabithia
Students read Katherine Paterson's book, A Bridge to Terabithia, and select small groups to complete a project based on a chapter of the book. They create a story web for the chapter, summarize it, design a brochure or advertisement,...
Curated OER
Using Words as a Way into Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief
Use the Visual Thesaurus to predict the subject matter of Rick Riordan's book The Lightning Thief. A pre-reading activity encourages middle schoolers to use context clues and word meaning to discover what the book is about. After...
Curated OER
Plan Your Unexpected Journey
Leave your hobbit hole and start an adventure with J. R. R. Tolkien's timeless tale of dwarves, dragons, and hobbits.
Curated OER
Stay Gold, Ponyboy: A Guide to The Outsiders
How to use thematic focus, social context, and creative visuals to teach S. E. Hinton's timeless classic.
Curated OER
Comparing Christmas Around the World
Christmas inspired lesson and project ideas that help students sharpen critical thinking skills.
Pasco Middle School
AVID Socratic Seminar
Developed specifically for AVID students, this packet of materials that includes an explanation of the Socratic seminar, the preparation materials, and tips and protocols, is a must-have resource for any class.
Curated OER
Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
Curated OER
Sula/Song of Solomon/Tar Baby
Students answer assigned questions as a group, write individual essays, complete a research project, and complete a writing project.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms...
Curated OER
The Gift of Gatsby
A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...
Carnegie Library
Creative Writing: Middle School Lesson Plan
Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 6 Close Reading
Look back at the third chapter of The Cay with your class. Pupils will conduct a close reading, taking a second look at a chunk of text and responding to a series of text-dependent questions. Wrap up with an analytical writing prompt...