Curated OER
The Red Convertible
Students read and discuss the short story "The Red Convertible". They participate in extension activities related to each of the three parts of the story, planning a road trip, researching the Vietnam War, and writing a paper on their...
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Using Science Fiction To Understand Biological Concepts
Students read and discuss," The Andromeda Strain" by Michael Crichton and complete a short writing exercise as a warm-up for a longer piece of science fiction writing. They choose a topic and create a science fiction short story such...
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The Birds
Twelfth graders read and discuss the short story, "The Birds." They watch the movie and compare its ending to the ending written in the story they read. They an essay from a list of essay topics.
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"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
High schoolers read and analyze the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. They take notes while reading the story, select an element to analyze, and write an essay about the characters, theme, or the setting.
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Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Students use video and the Internet to make predictions, draw conclusions, determine conflict and point of view while reading a short story. For this short story analysis lesson, students watch a related video and complete a prediction...
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Understanding Cause and Effect using A Sound of Thunder
Students listen to a short story, A Sound of Thunder, and retell parts of the story which is about time travel. They respond to the story by writing cause/effect outcomes about the ecosystem using a handout.
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Timmy's Christmas Presents
Students build their reading comprehension skills. In this short story lesson, students read "Timmy's Christmas Presents" and respond to short answer questions regarding the story.
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Lion, Witch, Wardrobe
Pupils read the story of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Based upon the story, students perform reinforcement and discovery activities, according to their ability level. Pupils may write an essay, perform computer research,...
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Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas
You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider." Learners will act, write, move, count,...
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The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
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The Joke is on You
Learners discuss catacombs, casks, and Amontillado. The class reads the first two pages of the short story, The Cask of Amontillado, and discuss the situation of the story and the mental state of the narrator. Then they predict what...
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Matter and Energy
Students participate in a small group read aloud of the short story, "Cerium" by Primo Levi. They answer several questions about the story and then relate the reading to a lecture on Kinetic theory. After the lecture they apply the...
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Back to the Future
Students imagine what it would be like to travel back in time. In this creative writing activity, students watch parts of the film Back to the Future and examine artifacts from the past. Students write a short story in which they travel...
Orange County Department of Education
Integrity and "Thank You, M'am"
Ninth graders explore the definition of integrity through a class discussion. They provide positive/negative examples from the story and their own experiences. Students determine character traits by analyzing the dialogue in a short...
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Round-Robin Reading Quiz
Small groups of learners read text round-robin style, and then work individually to answer three questions based on the text. Next, they share their questions and responses and add ideas from the group. The reading strategies detailed...
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Japanese-American Relocation
Consider the causes and effects that led to the internment and relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII. Learners read the story "Baseball Saved Us" and selected chapters from Farewell to Manzanar. Then, they view a slide-show, and...
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A Water Droplet's Experience in the Hydrologic Cycle
Students write a story from the perspective of a water droplet on a journey through the water cycle. They use the 6+1 Traits writing method to focus on voice in the writing as they create characters that their water droplet has...
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Exploring Descriptive Language With Different Parts of Speech
Students practice experiencing writing with appropriate language and incorporating the eight parts of speech. They assess that many words have multiple functions when used in different contexts. Each student free writes in response to a...
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Discovering Language Arts-Intermediate Fiction
Explore the elements of science fiction. Students investigate the literary elements present in science fiction and write their own science fiction stories.
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Probably Passage
Students apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency. They use their imagination and create their own short stories. They identify words as various parts of the story - including setting, character, problem, solution...
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Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Students explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...
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Language Arts: Word Recognition and Mental Images
Students read short stories containing Dolch sight words and describe the scenes and answer comprehension questions. After relating the stories to their own experiences or observations, they draw pictures illustrating a scene from the...
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Regents High School Examination Comprehensive Examination in English Session Two (2004)
In this Regents High School Examination Comprehensive Examination in English worksheet, students read a short story excerpt and an autobiographical excerpt and answer reading comprehension questions. Students then write...
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Baseball Cards
Learners read a short story on baseball cards and reflect on Honus Wagner's decision to withdraw his card. In this baseball cards lesson plan, students study how children used cards in the 1930's and express their understanding of Honus...