Core Knowledge Foundation
Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
Young adventurers embark on a journey, setting sail along the blue ocean with Christopher Columbus. Teachers will find that this unit makes their lesson planning smooth sailing!
Curated OER
Fairy Dictionary
Use artwork to illicit responses in a writing journal, and then present your class with the short list of key terms provided. Can your learners add any of their own key terms? Segue for a second, and read tales such as Peter Pan or...
Curated OER
Stories of the American Experience
Students identify a veteran to interview. This could be a family member of one of students or someone contacted through an organization in the community. They use a storyboard to plan their movie about their subject.
Curated OER
Confronting Two Challenges--One Physical, One Intellectual
Learners examine the challenges of a new language and culture. In this cultural lesson plan, student read Running by Peter Hessler and discuss obstacles faced, including the language barrier. Students write an essay about a time they...
Curated OER
Examining What Sharing Really Means
After reading "The Senegalese Miracle" about the degree of sharing the author encounters upon arrival in Africa, class members read Mike Tidwell’s “Sharing in Africa” and compare the two stories. This cultural diversity lesson plan...
Curated OER
Paragraph Building
Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Historical Time Periods
What do images tell us about history? Dress, setting, and actions all convey cultural norms, and in essence, give reference to historical time and place. Learners compare and contrast Kunisada's Actor with Flute in Snow to Hokuei's...
Curated OER
All Aboard!
Learners recognize and identify onomatopoeia. They will read the book All Aboard! A True Train Story, by Susan Kuklin. After reading the book, they list and illustrate examples of onomatopoeia. Then they write a poem or...
Newseum
Journalists Code of Ethics
Journalists are supposed to adhere to a Code of Ethics. To determine the degree to which reporters follow this code, individuals select three recent stories with photographs from newspapers, magazines, online news sites, or television...
Curated OER
Stories of the American Experience
Students interview a veteren of any of the major U.S. wars. They must identify one quote from the veteren that sums up their experience.
Curated OER
Baseball Stories, Cards and Interviews
Everyone can be an MVP! Young learners create their own baseball cards about themselves in this autobiographical activity. They use information about their lives to create a baseball trading card. They make flash cards using baseball...
Curated OER
What Makes the Writer Write
Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...
EngageNY
How Does the Author Convey Themes in Bud, Not Buddy?
After reading up to chapter 12 of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, scholars read chapter 13 and take part in a grand conversation about the author's writing techniques. Pupils discuss how his writing conveyed literary themes...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 5
Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...
Curated OER
We've Gotcha Covered: The Iowa Insurance Story
Analyze the relationship between financial risks and the growth of the insurance industry in Iowa. Learners work in groups to analyze the major catastrophic events that occurred in their community. Several worksheets are included.
PBS
Figurative Language and Foreshadowing in The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is still relatable to teenagers today, even though it was written more than 50 years ago. Explore how the figurative language of the story works to establish characterization, and how foreshadowing lays...
Curated OER
Black Bayou Lake Short Story
Tenth graders use Microsoft Word to create an original short story. The setting must be Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The characters must be animals found at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The story must contain...
Curated OER
Temperature Stories
Students create a story that matches the provided temperature data. They use graphed temperatures as the plot for their creative writing story.
Curated OER
Creative Writing: Halloween Theme
Second graders are read a book about different authors. They identify the parts of a story such as plot and setting. They brainstorm topics for their own paper and begin the writing process. They create a final copy of their story about...
Curated OER
Character Traits
First graders identify the story elements in stories. In this story element lesson, 1st graders read The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter and they identify the characters, character traits, setting, problem, and solution. They...
Curated OER
Writing Fiction lesson plan
Students compose a opening paragraph that sets the scene and foreshadows events. In this writing fiction lesson, students write an opening paragraph about a mugging and describe the scene in a way that foreshadows something bad is...
Curated OER
Retelling Nursery Rhymes
Fourth graders explore language arts by reciting a famous nursery rhyme to their classroom. In this oral storytelling lesson, 4th graders read the story "The Three Little Pigs" and identify the characters, setting and story. Students...
Curated OER
Bits and Pieces!
Learners discuss story elements including characters, setting, problem and solution. They listen to the story, Winter Fun, and identify the story elements. Then they draw pictures and write one sentence for each story element.
Curated OER
Peer Editing
Sudents read and critique three of their fellow classmates' science fiction short stories on three consecutive days for mechanics, short story elements, style, and informational elements.