British Council
Advertisement Storyboard
Lessons about advertising slogans are GR-R-REAT! Using the resource, pupils engage in an interactive activity to match advertisement blurbs with their corresponding product names. Next, they discuss famous slogans and identify where to...
Newspaper Association of America
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Examine the lives of four women—Blanche Stuart Scott, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Evans Price, and Sybil Ludington—in a 23-page activity packet. Each profile comes with a set of vocabulary and reading comprehension questions. Further...
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...
Look! We're Learning!
Ella Fitzgerald Biography Mini-Unit
Before there was Beyonce, before there was Madonna, before there was Cher, there was Ella. Introduce Ella Fitzgerald, The First Lady of Jazz, with a reading comprehension exercise that presents a brief biography of her life and then asks...
Read Write Think
Book Report Alternative: Rewind the Plot!
Have you ever looked for a new way to teach an old concept? Scholars thinking about the rising action of a story in a whole new perspective. However, Book Report Alternative: Rewind the Plot! challenges readers and allows for much...
Reading Through History
Reading with a Purpose: Haunted Houses
Boo! Whether you're easily scared or enjoy a good fright, a reading passage on haunted house attractions is a great addition to a Halloween-themed unit. Learners read a short informational passage before answering multiple choice,...
PBS
Using Video to Create Setting and Mood
Writers have long used words, the sound of words, and the images created by their words to describe the setting and establish the mood of their stories. To gain a more in depth understanding of how settings can be used to develop a...
Ziptales
The Pied Piper of Hamelin: The Mystery of the Children of Hamelin
Which is more likely: 130 children followed a magical piper out of Hamelin and disappeared forever, or that they died of the plague? Or could they have escaped from Hamelin via a secret tunnel to Transylvania? Learners investigate...
Common Sense Media
Legit-O-Meter
Pop-ups, banner ads, grammar mistakes ... these are all signs of an untrustworthy website. With the handy Legit-O-Meter poster, scholars can now double-check their sources to ensure accurate, reliable information. The color-coded poster...
Common Sense Media
Fake News: Historical Timeline
In 1874, The New York Herald falsely claimed that several animals escaped from the Central Park Zoo, and panic ensued. Using the helpful infographic, pupils discover more instances of fake news throughout history, from as far back as 63...
Jersey Heritage
A Victorian Christmas
In many ways, Victorian Christmas is alive and well today! Class members read an informative passage to learn more about traditional Christmas gifts, decorations, crackers, and visits from Santa Claus in nineteenth-century England—as...
Reading Through History
Tulsa Race Riots
How did the 1921 riots in Tulsa start? Pupils read information about the riots that occurred in Tulsa. Following the reading, they answer multiple-choice questions and guided reading questions to help them along the way.
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 47
The path to a more perfect union was rockier than most history books would lead you to believe. Young historians read “Antifederalist No. 47,” written by James Madison (under the pen name “Centinel”), which sharply criticizes the...
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 3
Who were the Anti-Federalists and what do primary sources tell young historians about their beliefs? Learners read Paper No. 3 to understand their values in relation to government, such as their discussion on foreign policy and the pros...
Spreading Gratitude Rocks
Live and Learn and Pass It On
What are some of life's most tried-and-true lessons? Pupils listen to examples from the book Live and Learn and Pass It On by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. They write down their own life lessons to later compile in a class booklet. As...
NPR
Lesson Plan: Trolls—Just Like You and Me?
Not all trolls hide under bridges; some of them hide behind computer screens! Learners explore the causes and effects of people leaving mean comments online. After learning vocabulary, watching and discussing a video, and responding to...
Newseum
Putting the Consumer's Questions to Work
Who, what, when, where, why, and how are good questions to ask when evaluating a source. First, scholars find two sources of information relating to a chosen topic. Next, pupils complete a worksheet to gauge the source's credibility....
Newseum
Can I Trust the Creators?
It's easy to find information at the click of a mouse, but is it trustworthy? Pupils learn about the E.S.C.A.P.E. acronym for evaluating sources. Next, learners read a news story and evaluate its sources to determine credibility. Last,...
Newseum
E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News
Fair, balanced, and reputable information? There's an acronym for that! Scholars learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources. Then, pupils work in small groups to read and analyze a news story and discuss the activity to...
Reading Through History
The Cold War: The Space Race
What do the Cold War and the Space Race have in common? Learners search for that answer and many more, helping them to build their knowledge of historical global politics and tensions between nations. Following the reading, they answer...
Reading Through History
Ain't I a Woman?
Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech has reverberated through American history, giving voice to women of color who had not previously been heard. Learners analyze the tone, audience, purpose, occasion, and speaker of the speech’s...
Newseum
Evidence: Do the Facts Hold Up?
Sometimes it's hard to escape bad information! Pupils learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources and complete a worksheet to assess a news article using their new skills.
California Department of Education
Safe at Work
From minimum wage to minimizing injuries, young workers need to know their rights! The sixth and final lesson in a series of college and career readiness activities gets eighth graders thinking about safety and labor laws.
Judicial Branch of California
Understanding the Declaration of Independence
Help pupils actively read the Declaration of Independence with a variety of activities in the resource. They storyboard and participate in a skit, an activity where they translate the Declaration of Independence, and respond to...