Curated OER
Witchcraft
Tenth graders develop response to witchcraft from a historical and cultural perspective. They evaluate the use of ceremonies and rituals in witchcraft. They develop a character and develop use of genres and styles of drama. They role...
Curated OER
What Were They Thinking Then, What Are We Thinking Now?
Choosing an issue from a play or novel, researchers find two primary sources from different time periods to compare how people's views have changed. Many questions are listed to guide young writers. In the end, learners produce a...
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet: KWHL Strategy
Introduce Romeo and Juliet with a KWHL strategy that asks learners to record what they know, what they want to learn, and how they will find this information on a large chart posted in the classroom. During the reading of Shakespeare’s...
Curated OER
Holiday Poetry and Music
Students discuss Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and family traditions. After brainstorming how holidays are celebrated, students write a poem about a chosen holiday and create their own hand-made instrument. They share their poems...
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Goldie Girl and There, Their, and They're: Homophones and Homographs
Instruct your class on homonyms and homophones. Learners take a pre-test and examine a list of homophones. They also play online word games to practice spelling and usage and write a fairy tale in which they use at least 10 homophones....
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Focus: Spelling Common Words
If you’re going to get a tattoo, make sure your artist writes it right because it’s hard to correct their inkings. That’s the big idea in this short instructional activity on commonly misspelled words like their/there/they’re and...
Curated OER
"Leap, plashless": Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination
Students examine different poems from Emily Dickinson. They practice listening for meter in the poems and make connections between the texts. They also practice their own creative writing skills.
Curated OER
Beauty Queen Heads to Iraq
Students study about Jessica Gaulke, a beauty queen from Minnesota. She is then deployed to Iraq with the National Guard unit she is in. They have to role play her and react to what they think they would feel if they were in her shoes.
Curated OER
Silly Story Starters
Fifth graders brainstorm some ideas for each of the columns. As they call them out, write some on the sticky notes until each sticky note is used for each column They stay in the same groups; have each group draw one sticky note from...
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Start the flow of writing with music! Help learners free-write and brainstorm by playing various selections of music. After each selection, scholars talk about the theme and mood and then practice free-writing on their own. Lighten up on...
Curated OER
Watch What You Say!
Explore how to use appropriate language for a variety of real-world settings. Here, middle schoolers determine the audience for various types of magazines, and identify words that are appropriate for various friends and family members....
Curated OER
Making Words
Young writers identify and generate words using the strategies of phonics on the Making Words computer program. Words are typed instead of having to use tiles or paper. Extension activities such as playing the memory game, drawing...
Curated OER
Tolerance: Words that Hurt/Words that Heal
Students "role-play" the part of a person who says unkind things and are photographed while doing so. They then act out a story about making friends. They practice saying kind things and are photographed. Word bubbles are added...
Curated OER
The Middle East Peace Process: Israeli and Palestinian Negotiations
Students demonstrate the complexity of the Middle East peace processand develop their negotiation skills. They role-play as negotiators for Israel and the PLO attempting to resolve four major issues.
Curated OER
Mythical Monsters
Students design mythical creatures and write poems about them. They take digital pictures of their artwork and create a digital picture book. They record their readings of the poetry to be added a class recording.
Curated OER
Lily and Miss Liberty
Pupils discuss ways to earn money and why they might need it. Students create crowns to wear all day like in the story. Pupils create a play using characters in the story. Students interview "eyewitnesses" at the unveiling of the statue....
Curated OER
The Tell-Tale Heart
Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...
Curated OER
Grammar Casino
Learners correct, explain, and recognize grammatical mistakes. They complete worksheets, and play a Grammar Casino game. Students check sentences for correctness and discuss what is right or wrong about each sentence. Learners justify...
Curated OER
Brazilian Animals
Students research the animals of Brazil. In this animal science activity, students locate Brazil on a map and discuss the types of animals that can live in its tropical climate. They research a Brazilian Carnaval and see the roll the...
Curated OER
Comparing Themes Across Texts
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
Curated OER
Introduce Soft-C
Do your emerging readers know that letters sometimes borrow the sounds of other letters? Explore the soft /c/ sound, explaining that c has borrowed the sound from s. After giving scholars some examples of words that begin...
Curated OER
Ordinary People: Guided Imagery
After reading chapter six of Ordinary People with your class, conduct this activity with your class. Turn the lights down, put on your softest voice, and have them try to imagine that they lost a close friend. Then, encourage them to...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: Guided Imagery
Inspire thought around some of the themes of Pudd'nhead Wilson with a visualization activity. As you read a passage, learners close their eyes and picture the scene. A writing exercise and discussion follow.
Curated OER
Guided Reading: Three Little Pigs (Plus Wolf: Javalinas)
Guide your class through reading various versions of The Three Little Pigs. Talk about the traditional story line and then discuss a different point of view: Maybe the wolf was just an innocent bystander! This lesson plan, which has...