Curated OER
Compare and Contrast
Fourth graders read two books In this compare and contrast instructional activity, 4th graders read a science fiction or fantasy story and compare it to the story, "Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library." Students also have the...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance Births a Black Culture
Students examine the men and women who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance. Individually, they recreate their favorite pieces of art from the time period and create their own original works after reading poem from the movement. In...
Scholastic
Identifying Types of Irony Using "The Gift of the Magi"
O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...
Premier Literacy
Point of View
Incorporate technology into a literature lesson with an innovative language arts lesson. Middle schoolers read an electronic version of original stories or fairy tales, and after determining the point of view, rewrite the tale from...
School Specialty
The Tortoise and the Hare - Drawing Conclusions/Predictions Outcomes
Does the fastest one always win the race? Look deeper into The Tortoise and the Hare with a set of discussion questions for before, during, and after reading the story.
Music Publishers Association of the United States
I Made It. I Own It. Please Don't Steal It.
Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...
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...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...
Scholastic
Abe Lincoln Remembers Lesson Plan
Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...
Curated OER
Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Narrative Shorts
Students research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their hero...
Curated OER
Latino Folklore and Culture: Stories of Family, Traditions of Pride
Students define the terms fable and folktale. They write a fable to illustrate a Latino proverb. Students are explained that a folktale is a story passed down through the oral tradition of a particular culture. A fable is a type of...
Curated OER
A Picture's Worth 500-700 Words: Neoclassical Painting Analysis and Creative Write
Students survey Neoclassical art and create a narrative based on their analyses. Focused questions and relevant background information provided by the Getty Museum provides a great foundation for students to understand art techniques as...
Curated OER
Add Awesome Alliteration to your Writing
Students practice writing with alliteration, repeating the same letter sound at the beginning of two or more words in a sentence; students also review of adjectives, verbs, and adverbs while creating an alphabet book.
Curated OER
Add Awesome Alliteration to Your Writing
Students explore alliteration. In this writing lesson, students read the book Thank You for the Thistle and create sentences with alliteration. Students create an alphabet booklet with alliteration.
Curated OER
Pam Munoz Ryan Shares Writing Secrets
Students conduct interviews. For this interviewing lesson, students read an interview of Pam Munoz Ryan to see where she got her ideas from in her story. They interview someone and create a scrapbook to show details of the...
Teachers.net
Point of View
Work with your class on point of view by reading "The Three Little Pigs." Learners demonstrate an understanding that the point of view is determined by the author and that different points of view exist. They then read a different short...
Curated OER
The 5 W's
Examine how to answer who, what, when, where, and why when reading text. Young writers listen to the story Skeleton Hiccups, and as a class answer and discuss the five W's. Independently they read the story silently, and write the...
Curated OER
"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson
Middle schoolers who are about to read the chilling tale, The Lottery, do some writing beforehand. They are asked to write how their lives would change if they won a huge lottery jackpot. Then, they read the short story, and will be...
Curated OER
Sato and the Elephants
Students write a persuasive letter to the government of an African country that has elephants as a resource. Students research and debate the pros and cons of ivory use. Students identify the value of ivory products versus the lives of...
Learning to Give
Start Cleaning the Air
Advocate for the environment! With the short story included, learners are prompted to think about radon (the odorless and colorless gas) and possible ways to get donations or raise money to purchase detection equipment. The plan spans...
Curated OER
We're All Passenger
Students examine Passenger Pigeons and why they are now extinct. Through a class discussion, students discover the need to help endangered animals. They consider activities to become involved in assisting animals. Students write a poem...
Curated OER
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram
Compare and contrast the characters in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Using a Venn diagram, kids write in different traits to describe each person, and note their shared characteristics in the middle section.
Novelinks
Lord of the Flies: Themes and Notetaking
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a treasure trove of symbolism and literary themes. Help your kids note the richest passages in the book with a instructional activity and graphic organizer. The instructional activity prepares...
Curated OER
Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time
Designed to support a visit to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery exhibition “Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time,” which ran from June 18, 1999 through January 2, 2000, the approach detailed and the activities included in...