Curated OER
Maniac Magee: A 5th Grade Literature Guide
There's no need to run around trying to plan a unit for the book Maniac Magee, the work has already been done for you. Through a series of whole class, small group, and independent lessons and activities, students practice synthesizing...
Curated OER
Understanding Protagonists and Antagonists
How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts activity. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a character map about a...
Curated OER
Introducing Jane Eyre
"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...
Curated OER
Grapes of Wrath: Setting up Historical Context
Discuss life in the 1930s in relation to the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, then do a cross-media analysis. Here you'll find background information on film maker John Ford, writer John Steinbeck, and 1930s America. You can compare the...
Curated OER
A Little Advice
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a passage on how to write a fiction story. They then write their story using the ideas in the passage. There is a discussion point provided on this page. The students also complete...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Incredible Stories: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 3)
The materials in this 40-page packet are designed for learners who need extra support in order to understand the concepts in a thematic unit on fantasy and realism.
Curriculum Corner
Academic Reading Vocabulary
From A to Z, learners define, draw, and find examples of specific reading focus skills in an alphabetized reading vocabulary packet. Words include dialogue, theme, text structure, genre, paraphrase, and many more.
Curated OER
Literature: Isabel Allende
Young scholars watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.
Curated OER
First Day of School
Primary learners complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book First Day of School. They will complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have discussions, and much more.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Voyagers: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Young voyagers face the challenge of the wide dark sea, travel with Yunmi and Halmoni, and even get trapped by the ice as they explore the reading selections offered in these enrichment activities designed for the Houghton Mifflin...
Curated OER
Figurative Language
What is figurative language, and why do we use it? Introduce your high schoolers to some examples and discuss the importance of including this element in your writing. After studying a text and searching for examples, writers will...
Curated OER
Immigration
Second graders read about immigration from their text. They select one culture and identify characteristics of the group. Students complete a graphic organizer (included with the lesson). They recall and list various aspects of their...
Curated OER
Violence on TV and Our Response
Students examine violence on television. In this media awareness lesson, students discuss the types of fictional and realistic violence shown on American television. Students participate in a Congressional simulation activity on the...
Curated OER
Shared and Guided Reading with Ice Cream Money
Here is a lesson which has students locate an exclamation point and a comma from the text. They locate previously learned words on the page, and create a word map from the word "Money." Students write about and illustrate their favorite...
Curated OER
Introduction To Literary Analysis
Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...
Curated OER
Amelia Earhart: A Biography
Second graders investigate the accomplishments of Amelia Earhart. They read and discuss a biography of Amelia Earhart, complete a Venn diagram, and conduct an interview with a classmate and write and publish a biography of their classmate.
Curated OER
Big or Little
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Big or Little, . In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...
Curated OER
Big Snowball Fight
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Big Snowball Fight. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have discussions,...
Curated OER
Comprehension Skills: Picture, Question and Summarize Using Fiction Stories
Students build a variety of comprehension skills through the nine lessons of this unit. Picturing events, monitoring understanding during reading, forming questions, and summarizing stories form the core of the lessons being taught in...
Curated OER
Capital Letters and Small Letters
Students identify capital and lowercase letters. For this writing lesson, students work independently to write lowercase letters and capital letters and practice writing the alphabet in order.
Curated OER
Genre Study
Third graders develop an understanding of genre by participating in small- and whole-group activities. In addition, they practice presentation and specific listening skills. This activity assumes students have been regularly exposed to...
Curated OER
Identifying Genre and Subgenre #2
For this identifying genre and subgenre #2 worksheet, 9th graders read 17 short summaries, then select the genre and subgenre from the choices given and explain their choice in writing.
Curated OER
Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
Curated OER
Loose Tooth
Students read the book Loose Tooth by Magaret Yatsevitch Phinney. They discuss the activities that the character does on each day, connect the girl's experience with their own, and practice writing the days of the week with capital letters.