Writing
Breaking News English

The World Is 0.28% More Peaceful Than a Year Ago

For Students 6th - 12th
Some days, the world seems like it is becoming darker, but research suggests that the world might actually be becoming a more peaceful place. An informational reading passage accompanied by a series of activities builds English language...
Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Evaluating Sources in a ‘Post-Truth’ World: Ideas for Teaching and Learning about Fake News

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The framers of the United States Constitution felt a free press was so essential to a democracy that they granted the press the protection it needed to hold the powerful to account in the First Amendment. Today, digital natives need to...
Unit Plan
University of  Wisconsin

Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin: A Resource Guide for Educators

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
“There is no story that is not true, . . .” And uncovering the truths in Things Fall Apart is the focus of a 68-page resource packet designed to provide instructors with a wealth of materials that enhance understanding of Chinua Achebe’s...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Teaching The Great Gatsby with the New York Times

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
East Egg, West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and the green light. Bring Gatsby, the Jazz Age, and the American Dream to your classroom with a resource designed for teachers. Included in the treasury are six great teaching ideas for F. Scott...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Literature: “The Wounded” By Lu Xinhua

For Teachers 10th
“The Wounded,” the title story from a collection of stories about the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1977-78), is the central text in a World Literature unit examining choices. An anticipation guide, discussion topics, vocabulary list,...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Monster Plants Storia Teaching Guide

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Who wouldn't want to read a book about monster plants? Get those kids into informational texts with an engaging topic, like meat eating plants! You'll use the teaching guide to provide structured practice as your class reads to...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

The Class Election from the Black Lagoon Storia Teaching Guide

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
One of my favorite things about this resource is that they use a standardized lexile to help you determine who should be reading what book. I also love this great teacher's guide for the book, The Class Election from the Black...
Worksheet
Scholastic

Making Judgments Practice

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Encourage young learners to identify persuasive writing techniques in a text with this resource, which includes two multiple-choice worksheets with advertisements for students to analyze.
Lesson Plan
Public Media for Northern California

An Educator’s Guide to Teaching Gun Control Issues | The Lowdown

For Teachers 6th - 10th
The topic of gun control is vast, controversial, and difficult to introduce to students. This gem of a resource covers both sides of the issue and provides topic background, various multimedia and print resources, analysis questions, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
Handout
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Random House

Focus On: Censorship & Banned Books

For Students 6th - 12th
Billy Collins' "Rain" introduces the Random House 104-page magazine for educators that focuses on censorship and banned books. The resource is packed with teaching guides, articles by noted authors, and links to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduce the concept of myths to your class. Using the link to "Myths Around the World," read a story aloud and have learners list characteristics of a myth. Readers then choose their own myths from the site and work in groups to answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Twenty-Five Great Ideas for Teaching Current Events

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Teaching current events can be an amazingly-rewarding part of your teaching week. This resource presents twenty-five ways to incorporate current events into your curriculum. It offers some outstanding ideas, such as providing your...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Reading Comprehension through Social Studies Readings

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Examine how immigrants have changed the environment of the United States. Individually, middle schoolers will take a pre- and post-test to assess their reading comprehension. In groups, they compare and contrast the religions of...
Activity
PBS

Dear Pen Pal

For Teachers 1st - 6th Standards
Explore cultures from around the world with an engaging pen pal resource. Through a series of classroom activities and written correspondence, children learn about the favoritec pastimes, schooling, geography, and weather that is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching the Holocaust through Literature

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...
Lesson Plan
Avi Writer

City of Orphans: Teaching Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
"Amazing things happen" in Avi's City of Orphans, and the suggestions in this teacher's resource will guide readers through through the many stories of the different characters living in the tenements of 1893 New York.
Activity
Ingram

Teaching Guide Charlotte's Web

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Enrich your study of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White with this useful resource. Included here are 22 discussion questions, 15 extension ideas, and 10 curriculum questions that cover characters, plot, farming, and much, much more.
Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Sixth Grade Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Study some of the most prominent poets and works of poetry in history with a language arts poetry unit. From Virgil to Shakespeare to Dickinson to Angelou, the resources present biographies and examples of poetic elements to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The First "Colored" World Series

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers utilize reading and listening skills in order to discover the key issues in American history and Black baseball history. Students investigate the beginning of the Negro Baseball Leagues and its signature historical...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Educator's Guide: Holes

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...
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Curated OER

Basil Heatter, "The Long Night of the Little Boats"

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

A Test of Faith

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Secondary schoolers investigate the debate surrounding the current sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church with this New York Times lesson. Through discussions and written reflection, they explore their own thoughts and opinions on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Noble Eightfold Path

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students gain an introduction to Buddhist teachings about moral behavior by exploring a depiction of the Buddha and by writing a speech inspired by their interpretation of the Noble Eightfold Path.