Odell Education
Reading Closely For Textual Details: Grade 8
Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...
Curated OER
Unwind: Vocabulary Strategy, Creating an Unwind Glossary
Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are drawn into...
Curated OER
3R Activity (Reading-Relating-Responding)
Students read for detail. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read a passage and share their thoughts with a small group. Students reflect upon the passage and develop an oral summary of the text.
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...
Curated OER
Reading About the Journey: The Odyssey
Students practice their reading skills. In this reading fluency and comprehension lesson, students read instructor-selected passages from The Odyssey following the provided steps for the reading class activity that requires them to...
Curated OER
Brog-Cube-the Spam
A Middle school special ed class uses the acronym SPAM to learn the 4 parts of writing. They employ 4 different colors to help them visually distinguish each part of writing in a given prompt. This lesson is vague and uses a strong...
Reed Novel Studies
Jake and Lily: Novel Study
Just how strong is a twins' bond? Jake and Lily, in a novel by the same name, have a powerful bond until they turn 11. Then, everything changes. As scholars read about twin trouble, they learn eight new vocabulary words, create...
Curated OER
Proofreading Lesson 6
Explore proofreading strategies with this instructional activity. Eighth graders practice finding errors in punctuation, capitalization, and formatting. Then, they write about a given topic and then proofread their compositions, looking...
Curated OER
Word Roots 5: NAT, TRACT, SEQU Intermediate Puzzle 1, 2, & 3
Build vocabulary with this resource. This online activity breaks up a list of words into words that have common roots. Learners are given the definition of each word as well as the word root and are asked to fill in the rest of the...
Curated OER
Job Seeking Strategies
Students analyze how successful job seekers got their jobs and consider which strategies they might use. They access stories about young adults who have successfully mainstreamed into the world of work.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Reading Non-Fiction
Students read and view information sent from seven high school students who travel to China. The daily reports that they send back to the weblog section of the site should be of high interest to students in Minnesota.
Virginia Department of Education
Identifying Audience and Purpose
Use a fun and creative activity to introduce junior high learners to how writing changes for different audiences and purposes. The activity begins with a reading by the instructor where teens visualize a food fight in the cafeteria. In...
Virginia Department of Education
Creating Thesis Sentences
Growing writers explore what it takes to develop and support a thesis statement with pre-fabricated ideas provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Learners take notes on what makes a thesis statement and a topic sentence, and...
Curated OER
Water: From Neglect to Respect
The goal of this collection of lessons is to make middle schoolers more aware of the ways in which they are dependent upon water to maintain their standard of living. Learners compare water use in Lesotho to water use in the United...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
ReadWriteThink
Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation
I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...
Virginia Department of Education
Writing Effective Dialogue
Spend a productive hour in the classroom with this tutorial where junior high writers discover how to create snappy dialogue. The learning begins with an analysis of sample writing and discussion on the effectiveness of each piece. The...
Curated OER
A New Point of View
Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Fractions of a Set
Students explore number sense by completing a number set worksheet. In this fractions lesson, students utilize pattern blocks as a visual reference to the fractions they practice identifying. Students read the book Clean-Sweep Campers...
Curated OER
Editing
Explore the writing process by reviewing previously written work. First, middle schoolers analyze a handout in which they must read the text and correct the mistakes with an editing checklist. They proofread their editing and share their...
Curated OER
Poverty and Natural Disasters: Exploring the Connections
Students explore the connections between natural disasters and poverty. In this economic activity students examine worksheets and activities for each level.
Curated OER
Running Out of Time: Problematic Situation
What would you take with you if you were traveling on your own to a different place? A different time? Pupils decide individually and then in groups what the main character of Running Out of Time should take on her trip. Coming to a...
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Compare & Contrast Essay
Comparing two texts can build a greater understanding of the texts and themes of the works. Take some time to follow the steps here to guide your pupils through the process of composing compare-and-contrast essays.
Curated OER
Effective Writing is More Than a Five Paragraph Essay
Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...