Curated OER
Happiness is A Warm Puppy
Students investigate dog breeds and write a short story from a dog's perspective. In this dog research and writing lesson, students watch the film, "Dog: The Early Years. They apply critical thinking skills to determine which type of dog...
Curated OER
Character and their Significance
Students read short stories and write a response to the story about the character and their significance. In this character lesson plan, students also create a poster to represent their character.
Curated OER
And Tomorrow's Forecast Is...
Students create original short stories that feature distinctive weather phenomena, such as rainbows, snowstorms, tornadoes, thunder and/or lightning. They use a story map, imbedded in this plane, to help them organize their story.
Curated OER
Logical Sequence
Students examine logical and illogical sequences in writing. They identify illogical sequences of sentences in a letter. Students retell short stories using a logical sequence and students place sentences in logical order.
Curated OER
Events Leading to the Indian Removal 1830-1832
Students consider the effects of Indian Removal on the Cherokee Nation. In this American history activity, students research Internet and print sources regarding the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Students write short stories that detail...
Curated OER
Making a Movie Script Based on a Short Story
Students read William Melvin Kelly's, Brother Carlyle and write a short movie script based on the story. They either write the opening scene or a scene that could appear after the original story is over.
Curated OER
A Photo Essay
Students explain the purpose of a photo essay, sequence a series of events, and explain the format in creating a photo essay, which includes a caption for each picture. They complete a photo essay as a creative activity.
Curated OER
Australia: Scriptwriting
Middle schoolers write a script of a play using Freytag's Pyramid on plot. In this scriptwriting lesson, students read a play and participate in a lecture/discussion about the main components of a play and the basis of drama. ...
Curated OER
The Art of Adaptation
Students examine and discuss animal adaptation. They read an article about snakes, conduct research on ways animals adapt, develop a diagram, and write a short story written from the perspective of the animal they researched.
Curated OER
Print & Go ESL
Improve reading comprehension with a set of ESL worksheets. Kids read through various passages, note which facts are true or false, mark their opinion on two statements, and write a short reply based on a writing prompt.
TED-Ed
Lessons from Auschwitz: The Power of Our Words
Some words are best left unspoken. Words matter, according to Benjamin Zander, conductor, teacher, and lecturer. To illustrate his point, Zander recounts a story told to him by a survivor of Auschwitz. As a result of her experience...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Grapes of Wrath and Pronouns
Many regard John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as the great American novel. The lesson plan combines a variety of strategies, including partner work, independent practice, creative writing, grammar instruction, and small group...
Common Sense Media
The Masque of the Red Death
Poe goes high tech with a lesson that asks high schoolers to use the internet and various apps as they read and analyze "The Masque of the Red Death." In addition to responding to comprehension questions in Quizlet, they use Minecraft to...
Scholastic
Lesson 1: What Are Barriers?
Scholars discuss the concept of a barrier with a short passage on Jackie Robinson. The writing process begins with a paragraph and several other sentences about Robinson's unique traits that made breaking a barrier...
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
Eric Carle Mural
Inspire first grade artists to learn about abstract and realistic art while reading Eric Carle's Where are you Going? To See My Friend. Young artists design and make a mural collage by tearing shapes of paper while comparing English and...
National Gallery of Art
Van Gogh’s Self-Portraits
Scholars get to know famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, as an artist as well as a person. After reading personal letters and analyzing paintings, participants paint two self-portraits that represent their personality. Then, write a...
Scholastic
Marijuana: Breaking Down the Buzz
Teenagers get the real information about marijuana use based on the history of tobacco legislation and research. As they read an educational passage about marijuana laws, science, and changing attitudes, they address their preconceptions...
PBS
Journalism Ethics
As a journalist, would you publish everything you heard or saw? Discuss the ethics of journalism with a lesson from PBS. Young reporters imagine themselves to be the editor of their school's newspaper, and as they read five scenarios,...
Global Oneness Project
Recording a Dying Langauge
Is there value in preserving indigenous languages that are almost extinct? That's the question posed to viewers of a short film about the attempt of one Native American woman who is creating a dictionary for Wakchumni, the language of...
Curated OER
How Bear Lost His Tale: Storytelling
For this storytelling lesson, children practice re-telling the story of "How Bear Lost His Tale", review and write out the story sequence, and learn about homophones like tail/tale, sail/sale, etc. Extension activities for various...
Curated OER
Declarative and Interrogative Sentences
Learners write interrogative and declarative sentences in a short message. After seeing many examples of these types of sentences, students write sentences of their ownl.
Curated OER
Civil Rights: Rosa Parks Centers
Research the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks. Set up different centers and have learners rotate through the activities aimed at researching Rosa Parks. They read The Bus Ride that Changed History: The Story of Rosa Parks, write a...
Curated OER
Digital History
Tenth graders analyze different types of photographs. In this Digital Records lesson, 10th graders create a digital history of a specific topic in World History. Students present their story boards to the class.
Curated OER
Getting Hooked, Introduction for a Narrative
How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...