Curated OER
Anne Frank and Louisiana - There is a Connection!
How is Louisiana connected to the Holocaust? After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders complete a research report about a survivor of the Holocaust who currently resides in Louisiana. Though the idea is a good way to...
Curated OER
Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
Curated OER
Poetry Coffeehouse
This resource contains a vague plan for a poetry unit conducted at an elementary school during the month of February. Although this plan does not included detailed instructional strategies, this does outline a basic unit, some creative...
Curated OER
Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this instructional activity to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose: Research Process/Narrative Writing Techniques
Determine the author's purpose in writing a memoir. Eighth graders work in groups to elicit author's purpose in memoirs, taking care to note how subtle the message can be hidden throughout the work. This instructional activity is a...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Relationships…Quality Control
Quality relationships don't just happen. They require nurturing, patience, thoughtful communication, and honesty. Help tweens develop these relationship skills with an activity that asks them to themselves and then outline a...
Curated OER
Progressing Towards Graduation
Eleventh graders write a paragraph about what they are going to do after graduating from high school. As a class, they share how they are going to meet their goals and discuss other options other than going to college. To end the lesson,...
Curated OER
Researching Equality and Justice
Choosing from a list, researchers investigate topics that range from the women in the American Civil Rights movement to the quest for equal rights in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the plan is not detailed, a link to a PBS site that...
Curated OER
Cornell Notes with I Tunes
Note taking is an invaluable skill and requires practice. This instructional activity incorporates the Cornell Notes format, however the plan itself could be implemented to teach any style. The basic idea here is to use university...
Curated OER
You Call That Art? - Activity 1
Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory lesson for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Learners compose an essay describing various art...
Curated OER
Using Creative Dramatics With the Teaching of Poetry
Launch your poetry unit in a very dramatic way. Divide your class into groups, and give each group a different poem. After discussing the poem, each group member selects a stanza to study. The group then develops a skit that represents...
Curated OER
Lesson Two: Writing Letters in Code
Combine your friendly letter lesson, grammar lesson, and technology lesson with this fun activity! Young writers compose letters to friends, and then convert the text to Webdings font. Their friends then decode the letter based on a key....
Curated OER
Sea Slides
Fifth graders work in groups of three to produce a slide show (at least 5 slides, no more than 8) in Kid Pix. They work in groups, and plan a slide show of at least 5 slides for presentation on the different sea life they studied during...
Curated OER
Migrating to Texas
Fourth graders explore the migration to Texas from other parts of the United States. Through journal entries they write about the trip as if they were the settlers coming to a new and foreign country. Working in small groups, 4th graders...
Curated OER
Discovering Descriptions
Delve into the journey of Lewis and Clark using this instructional activity on Missouri. After sharing books on Lewis and Clark's journey across the United States, pupils discuss the descriptive language used in their writing, and come...
Curated OER
How to DO Just About Anything
Learners discover how to use a digital camera and how to make a PowerPoint presentation. They practice good listening skills and hear how to make a "Supa Dupa Egg." They take notes and use them to create an effective, step-by-step...
Curated OER
Caught in a Net
Learners read and discuss the bycatch of the sea and the economic impact of taking bycatch away. For this bycatch lesson plan, students discuss the rights of fisherman and observe pictures of sea animals.
Curated OER
Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Understanding Theme
The ninth in a fourteen-instructional activity series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking...
Curated OER
1900 America: Primary Sources and Epic Poetry
Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and...
Curated OER
Creating a Science Fiction Story
As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...
Curated OER
ReReading America Lesson Three: Hands-on Practice
Students research, using a variety of sources, a topic that has been previously chosen. They evaluate their information for the value, relevance, and accuracy. Students identify problems in their research and writing to get assistance as...
Curated OER
Dead Word Wall Lesson
Help your writers eliminate "dead words" (words that are overused) from their writing. This lesson includes a SMART board presentation that will guide them through identifying, eliminating, and substituting "dead words" from sample...
Curated OER
Easter Egg Surprise
Young readers describe objects by using describing words. After reviewing the five senses, they use their senses to gain information about an object. Then as homework, they write three descriptive words about a mystery object and place...