Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - My Last Dutchess
Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be instructional activityed by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic...
Curated OER
Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Learners use text and photos to visualize the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. They analyze Dr. King's speech for examples of imagery and allusion and create original poetry and illustrations...
EngageNY
Developing Reading Fluency: Criteria for Reading Aloud
Third graders develop their reading superpowers in a lesson plan on fluency. After first listening to an audio recording or teacher read aloud, the class works together identifying criteria for fluent reading, focusing on phrasing, rate,...
EngageNY
Launching Frightful’s Mountain: Building Background Knowledge and Establishing Reading Routines
Welcome to Frightful's Mountain. The teacher introduces scholars to the text Frightful’s Mountain by reading the first chapter aloud. Learners then talk with a partner about the text. The instructor models answering focus questions as...
It's About Time
A Moving Frame of Reference
We often remind pupils to cite their references, but this lesson helps them understand there are many frames of reference. Scholars experiment with throwing a ball straight up in the air and catching it. Then they must do it again while...
Curated OER
Post Reading Activity: Chapter Seven
In this comprehension of text worksheet, students read a short excerpt from chapter seven entitled, She made me go. and answer three comprehension questions. Students then split into two groups to debate one side or the other on an...
EngageNY
Researching and Note-Taking: Building Expertise about a Colonial Trade
Building on the previous activity in this unit on colonial trade, the ninth activity has young experts continuing their research and writing summaries of the information they find. To begin, children participate in guided practice where...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Hamlet Soliloquy Artwork
Though this assignment may be thought madness, there is an actual method. Scholars perform a close reading of the original text of the soliloquies in Hamlet and modern translations to ensure they understand the speeches. They then select...
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Lesson Plan: Omelet Cooking Principles
Although designed for a foods lab, the information in this resource might be just the thing for your own recipe notebook. Illustrated, step-by-step directions for making the perfect omelet, egg-citing puzzles, games, and even...
Curated OER
Foreshadowing and Prediction: W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw"
W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
From Ben’s Pen to Our Lives
What would Ben do? Jumping off from the pseudonymous letters Ben Franklin fooled his older brother into publishing when he was still a teenager, young literary lovers dive into acting, writing, and addressing a local issue with wit and...
Curated OER
Claims in "The Crisis, No. 1"
"The Crisis, No. 1" is the focus of a series of exercises that ask learners to read closely and annotate Thomas Paine's text. Groups identify claims and evidence in the essay and present their arguments to the class. Teacher background...
Curated OER
Plagiarism
Don't get caught plagiarizing! Before starting your research unit, use this lesson to help your young writers identify plagiarism. The truth is, many kids don't even realize when they're doing it! They practice citing sources when...
Curated OER
Checking Sources For Accuracy
Middle schoolers will paraphrase a resource without plagiarizing. Then rewrite after reading text. They then evaluate the site or reference they are using for accuracy. In the end, they complete a note-taking organizer.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 5
Building on the previous activity in this series of lesson seeds, this plan focuses on the use of dialect in Theodore Taylor's novel, The Cay. Class members examine specific lines of text, use their reading journals to respond to the...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 3
If you're looking to set your class up for writing effective arguments, try out this idea. While originally created with freedom as a guiding idea, the activity could easily be adapted for other themes. As a class, create a chart of...
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
A Search for Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...
ELA Common Core Lesson Plans
American Romanticism
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1
Does your ELA class need some practice with the specific skills outlined in the Common Core standards? Then this is the perfect resource for you! One in a series of connected lessons that cover the standards for reading literature,...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 13: Character Development 2
Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...
Curated OER
Mirrors & Windows: Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”
“Mirrors” or aspects from a story that reflect a personal text-to-self connection, and “windows,” an aspect that gives insight into a different way of being, are the focus of an activity designed for Alice Walker’s story. Readers select...
Curated OER
Answering and Scoring Open-Ended Questions
Help learners respond in the best way possible to open-ended questions. Go through the ACE method with a text and question of your choice. Scholars work in groups to post their responses on the board. An attached rubric is used for...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Expression
Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...
Curated OER
Kumeyaay Indians
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...