Curated OER
Pronouns
Fifth graders study pronouns. In this grammar instructional activity, 5th graders discuss what a pronoun is and write what they did last night using pronouns.
Poetry Out Loud
Poems Put to Use
Why do we have to study poetry? Here is a lesson that demonstrates some of poetry's more practical and real-world applications for reluctant learners. Start by leading a brainstorming session about where poems or pieces of poems might be...
Curated OER
Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
Brigham Young University
Out of the Dust: Cubing Strategy
Imagine using a six-sided cube to encourage readers to analyze a topic in greater depth. Create a cube, label each of the six sides with one of Bloom's comprehension levels, and you're ready to launch a discussion of a text....
Curated OER
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...
Curated OER
"Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" by David Sedaris
David Sedaris is quite the story-teller. Read "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" and follow it up with this two-page learning exercise. Readers will revisit the text to answer higher level thinking questions. Designed...
Tompson Solutions
Be a Reporter (The 5 W's and an H)
Teach your class how to investigate research sources. You can start out with this presentation, which lays out a easy strategy for asking questions and taking down answers that cover the important information.
University of North Carolina
Conditionals: Verb Tense in “If” Clauses
"If you give a mouse a cookie, then he's going to ask for a glass of milk." These iconic words from Laura Numeroff's classic tale offer a great example of conditionals, a topic covered in the handout as part of a larger writing series...
Curated OER
Fun With Imogene: Let's Use Our Imagination!
Students research animal characteristics and use their imaginations to tell about what it would be like to wake up one morning and find that they have some animal characteristic. They read Imogene's Antlers by David Small.
Curated OER
The "Write" Stuff: Third Grade Strategies and Conventions
Students analyze the writing process through the ten lessons of this unit. The expository lessons address topic and detail sentences, paragraph organization and development, note taking, reports and letter writing.
Curated OER
Using Walt Whitman¿¿¿s Poem ¿¿¿Leaves of Grass¿¿¿ And Takamri¿¿¿s Girl And Boy As Inspiration for Writing a Celebration of Self
Learners read and analyze Walt Whitman's poem, "Leaves of Grass." They compare/contrast Whitman's style to artist Takamori's style, and write an original poem about their childhood and fond memories.
Curated OER
Short Story Writing
Middle schoolers develop skills needed to write short stories. They pick out an object in the room and describe it without saying what it is. They describe their hand and the lines on their hand without using words "Line, finger,skin or...
Curated OER
What Really Happened?
Students read about the settlers in one of the first American colonies. They brainstorm ideas about what they think happened to the settlers. They write their version of what happened at Roanoke Island Colony.
Curated OER
Critical Reading, Imaginative Writing and the Montage
Learners discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources and consider how an exhibit is researched. They design and create a montage that reflects themselves in a social and historical context.
Curated OER
What Does This Song Really Say?
Students investigate communication by analyzing lyrics from a song. In this music arts lesson, students discuss slavery, the Underground Railroad and African American traditions while listening to a song called "This Train." Students...
Curated OER
Close Your Eyes and Imagine...
Students practice the techniques and strategies to become more fluent readers through visualization. They read and construct mental images from the reading of a text. The book, "Charlotte's Web," by E.B. White is read in class and then...
Curated OER
Imagine This
Students write descriptive words about colorful pictures and then write about a character. In this writing lesson plan, students have a character worksheet to fill out.
Curated OER
Constructing Narrative from the Migrant Experience in Literature
Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Songwriting Skill - Choosing a Tone: Jordan Pruitt - “One Love”
"Tone means attitude." Or so says this resource that uses Jordan Pruitt's "One Love" to model for songwriters how to develop an attitude in their lyrics. Class members engage in a number of exercises designed to give them direct and...
NPR
Chinese American Women Lesson Plan
The National Women's History Museum provides a plan designed to accompany their online CyberExhibit, Chinese American Women; a History of Resilience and Resistance. After examining a series of primary and secondary source documents,...
Curated OER
Picture This - Stars Over Hoke
The classroom becomes a safe and inclusive place for your ELLs as they create documents about their lives. Learners create, read, and present story books based on their own personal experiences. They use digital cameras to take...
Curated OER
Imaginary Wealth and a Magazine Article
Students explore economics by writing a fictitious news article. In this personal wealth lesson, students participate in a role-playing activity in which the year is 2025 and they must write an article about their extremely wealthy...
Curated OER
Freedom and You
Students research the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students research facts about the American Revolution, write an expository essay, and peer edit for good content. The paper is suggested to be written after...
Curated OER
The Samovar
In this reading comprehension learning exercise, learners read a short passage about using a samovar and write a diary entry about a samovar based upon the reading. Students include how to use a samovar and what it is used for.