Curated OER
Revision Race
Students participate in a board game that revises key vocabulary, grammar and topics that gives students the chance to practice extended turns. They interact with a game board, dice and four colored counters as they are divided into groups.
Curated OER
Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation
Elementary schoolers explore writing conventions. First they play a ball toss game to practice spelling high frequency words. (A link to a 2nd grade list is attached.) The class works together to correct spelling, punctuation, and...
Novelinks
The Tempest: QAR
Asking questions about a text is an effective way to improve reading comprehension. Apply the Question Answer Response strategy to your unit on William Shakespeare's The Tempest. As kids read each passage, they decide if the answer...
Tune Into English
America – West Side Story
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a instructional activity on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with...
Oklahoma Bar Association
Into Which Caste Have You Been Cast?: India's Caste System
What was it like to fit into a certain class with no choice in the matter? Learners experience the caste system in a role-play activity, work individually on handouts to enhance their learning, and participate in an evaluation activity...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 2, Lesson 2
What is the best way to determine the theme of a text? Pupils analyze how central ideas emerge in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. They work in small groups and engage in a whole-class discussion to discuss the play's plot. Finally,...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 2, Lesson 1
What do readers discover about a character within the first few sections of a text? Pupils begin reading Shakespeare's Macbeth and analyze the language in the first few scenes of the play. They also demonstrate understanding with a Quick...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 25
How do film adaptations differ from their literary counterparts? Scholars watch and analyze the 2011 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Pupils complete a Quick Write analyzing how the RSC production...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake
After reading the 11th chapter in Matilda, class members take on the role of Bruce Bogtrotter and re-enact the cake eating scene. Here's the catch: they must come-up with an impromptu re-enactment of the scene from the story, and...
Curated OER
Hatchet: Before Strategy- Problematic Situation
If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Problematic Situation
How could you decide which of your late mother's possessions are important enough to take to college with you? Decide which items would be the most valuable to you with an activity based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. After...
K20 LEARN
Diggin' Deeper - Poetry Made Relevant: Poetry And Poetic Devices
What do Beethoven, Bob Dylan, and Pharrell all have in common? Works by these three musicians are used to launch a study of poetry. Class members listen to passages from the music and craft a quick write about how the music makes them...
Curated OER
Reading Fiction: Analyzing Sentences
Students investigate sentence construction in fiction. In this sentence construction instructional activity, students examine examples of fiction work and discover why sentences are a certain length. Students create their own...
Curated OER
Jack of All Tails
After reading the book Jack of All Tails, learners complete vocabulary activities, play charades, consider a list of questions, and complete a list of verbs. There are also several suggestions for how to connect this language...
Curated OER
The First Amendment, What it Means and When Libel Comes in to Play
Students research three topics: The First Amendment, John Peter Zenger and his trial, and libel. In this journalism and libel lesson, students discuss things authority figures have done they disagree with and the anit-sedition law....
Curated OER
Teaching Telephone English for Business ESP English Classes
Learners practice the practical skill of telephone communication. They perform a series of role plays to give them practical experience in the proper way to speak and respond while on the telephone.
Curated OER
Valentine’s Day Unit: Writing & Literacy Center Activities
Students participate in Valentine's Day writing and literacy center activities. In this writing and literacy lesson, students develop Valentine's Day journals using recycled cards and small blank sheets of paper. They write sentences...
Curated OER
Play House
Learners explore U.S. government by participating in a role playing activity. In this House of Representatives instructional activity, students discuss the first day of congress and the role the House plays in running the United States....
Curated OER
Playing it Safe
Students explore the importance of an election and act as political advisers for an upcoming election. Students create platforms for various candidates, by writing a letter to their candidate with suggestions for winning the election.
Curated OER
Writing: The Reporter Game
Students participate in a game in which they create stories for an imaginary newspaper. In this journalism and writing lesson, students are encouraged to write more than one story.
Curated OER
Halloween Creative Writing Project
Students write a creative essay from a pumpkin's point of view. They role play that they are pumpkin in a patch and need to convince a visitor to the patch that they are the best choice for a Halloween pumpkin. They focus on using...
Curated OER
Learning Types of Editorials - and Writing Some
Students recognize and differentiate between the three types of editorials in order to write editorials for the school newspaper. In this editorials instructional activity, students read example persuasive and interpretative editorials....
Curated OER
Show, Don't Tell: Details to Make Writing Come Alive
After each of three viewings of a 45-second video, aspiring writers employ vivid adjectives and precise, strong verbs to "show, don't tell." First they compose a single sentence, then three, and finally a five-sentence paragraph. Repeat...
Curated OER
English Literature Circles
Students examine how to develop self-expression, inter-personal skills, and an Student have an appreciation of literature. This is accomplished through small groups, ideally located in a library setting where the teacher and the...