Prestwick House
Vocabulary in Context: Inside the World of Wizards
Enter the world of Harry Potter and learn new vocabulary at the same time. A high-interest reading passage provides insight into the history of Harry Potter. Follow-up activities incorporate key vocabulary strategies, such as using...
Curated OER
The Gospel of Wealth by Andrew Carnegie: A Close Reading
Andrew Carnegie's "The Gospel of Wealth" provides high schoolers an opportunity to engage more complex text. After a close reading of the essay and an analysis of Carnegie's argument that the rich are superior because they earn money,...
EngageNY
Close Reading: The Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
As part of a group of lessons, your class will return to the primary text for this unit, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Key vocabulary as well as close reading strategies continue to be the focus skills; however, this lesson...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Close Reading Part 2 of “Shrouded in Myth”
That was a good talk. Scholars learn about how to conduct a good discussion. They use chart paper and markers to record and discuss expectations for members when working in a group. They then take a look at vocabulary in Shrouded in...
Curated OER
Greek, Latin and Anglo-Saxon Roots to Better Vocabulary
Practice vocabulary skills with this word analysis lesson. Middle schoolers examine the roots of unfamiliar words and use their knowledge of roots to discern meaning through word analysis.
Digital Writing and Research Lab's – Lesson Plans
Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision
This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...
EngageNY
Getting Ready to Learn About Human Rights: Close Reading of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Introduce young readers to informational texts with a well-designed, ready-to-use, and Common Core-aligned unit. Young readers learn a variety of skills while studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As the first...
Curated OER
Unwind: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
To generate interest in reading Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel Unwind, class members engage in a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) that asks them to examine the front and back covers, the blurbs, and "The...
Curated OER
Running Out of Time: Vocabulary Strategies
Review concepts and terms after reading Running Out of Time. Learners each come up with a few terms that they think are important and then participate in a list-group-label exercise, paying close attention to the two main years featured...
Student Achievement Partners
"The Glorious Whitewasher" from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with Mini-Assessment
It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text as...
EngageNY
Reading Closely to Expand Understanding of Adaptations
Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Nasreen's Secret School: Discussions of Questions and Evidence
Third graders answer text-dependent questions of the story Nasreen's Secret School both independently and then collaboratively through using the carousel of questions strategy. This plan is the seventh instructional activity in a larger...
Curated OER
Finders Keepers: Vocabulary Instructional Routine Guide for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Like Oskar, the curious boy in Jonathan Safran Foer’s story, class members journey through other “stories that the mouth can’t tell” to find another sentence that uses a word found in novel. Individuals create their own vocabulary list,...
Cornell University
Electric Vocabulary
Practice electric vocabulary using multiple methods. Learners begin by watching a video that explains vocabulary related to electric currents. They match vocabulary cards to practice and then create an electric circuit. Using the...
EngageNY
Close Read, Part 1: “Taggot, the Blacksmith’s Daughter”
There would be no luck if it were not for bad luck. Scholars take a close look at the theme of adversity through multiple reads of Taggot, the Blacksmith’s Daughter. They place sticky notes on important details of the story and complete...
Curated OER
Heroic Vocabulary: Using Decoding Strategies and Thesaurus
Develop the decoding skills of your middle and high schoolers. Scholars participate in a classroom activity that requires them to decode a word with a prefix and suffix. They apply the skill of breaking the word into parts of meaning as...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Becoming Experts on Specific Articles of the UDHR
A continuation of the previous lesson, which is part of a larger group of lessons on human rights (see additional materials). Here, in Lesson 7, your class will explore more articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After...
EngageNY
End of Unit 1 Assessment: Close Reading and Powerful Note-Taking on My Own
As the final lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit to establish routines and teach close reading skills, this plan is designed as an assessment piece. Using the story, The Librarian of Basra, learners independently complete...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Human Rights Vocabulary and Common Prefixes
Here is a mid-unit assessment for a group of lessons studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The first half of this instructional activity calls for several forms of review. Your class will review the content of the...
Little, Brown and Company
The Catcher in the Rye: Vocabulary Bingo
After finishing The Catcher in the Rye, review new vocabulary with an individualized bingo game. Class members develop a list of new vocabulary drawn from the novel or literary devices studied during the unit. Individuals then place...
Curated OER
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Written by Himself
Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions, Main Ideas, and Key Vocabulary about the Bullfrog
As your 3rd grade class finishes reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the eighth lesson plan of this unit helps readers from an understanding of the very specific information on the final page of the book. As with the entire unit,...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions and Vivid Words and Phrases
In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young scholars are...
EngageNY
Learning to Observe Closely and Record Accurately: How to Create a Field Journal
Look carefully. Scholars practice observing and recording the natural world around them by looking out a window or viewing an image. Learners discuss how their experience compares to that of Meg Lowman in The Most
Beautiful Roof in the...