US Department of Education
A Close Reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...
GED Testing Service
A Close Look at Close Reading
Take a close look at this 14-page resource that contains everything you want to know about close reading, from what it is and is not, to suggestions for how to choose a text and craft text-dependent questions that encourage readers to...
2012 Teaching Resources
Analyzing Character Traits
Character analysis becomes easy with a 24-page packet packed with mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and activities. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Curated OER
Literature Circle Role Finder
Vocabulary finder, question writer, story mapper and summarizer. Book circle groups spin the role finder wheel to determine their task when the group meets. The template and directions are included on the resource.
Curated OER
Literature Circle Preparation
The secret to a successful literature circle discussion is preparation. Readers prepare for such a discussion by completing a two-page worksheet that asks them to summarize the text, record new words, ask and answer questions, and draw a...
Curated OER
Elements of Fiction
The metaphor of a pot of soup and a series of colorful templates remind young writers of the elements that make for a rich story. Pepper the plot with carrot/character, potato/point of view, corn/conflict, tomato/theme, and season with...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Research Project Embedded with Media Literacy
Here is a phenomenal language arts lesson on media literacy for your middle and high schoolers. In it, learners produce a research product in the form of a public service announcement (PSA). First, they view examples of these PSA's to...
Certificate Street
Certificate of Reading Achievement
Want to recognize the achievement of your readers? Reward individuals for great work with a certificate that acknowledges their efforts. The beauty of this template is that you get to name the individuals, as well as their type of...
Curated OER
Create a Community that Promotes Academic Language
Set your elementary, middle, and high schoolers up for success by implementing a variety of strategies to build academic language.
Curated OER
10 Tips for Keeping All Readers Accountable
Keep middle and high school readers accountable and push all students toward success by showing interest in their reading and testing the strategies below.
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
"It is my lady, O, It is my Love!" Provide class members an opportunity to develop their skills reading difficult text with an exercise that focuses on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene ii). Using the provided...
Curated OER
Daily Lesson Plan for a Struggling Reader
Strategy-based programs that are executed with consistency are the best for achieving growth in any learner with a learning disability. Here is a seven-step lesson plan that is highly structured and is intended to help learners with...
Curated OER
Jigsaw Reading Keeps Readers Accountable
Utilize the jigsaw reading strategy to keep pupils accountable and encourage cooperative learning.
Park City Historical Society & Museum
Oral History Interview Questions Worksheet
What is an oral history interview? What goes into the planning and what should be said? Why is it important that we know and learn from oral history? This is an excellent worksheet to support your young historians as they conduct...
Curated OER
Making Grading Manageable, Efficient, and Purposeful
Maintain your workload through focused assignments, expressed objectives, and clear rubrics
Curated OER
Beyond The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is still a classic after more than 60 years because the novel answers the questions of human psychological needs.
Curated OER
Bring Read-to-Learn Activities into Your Classroom
Shift your instruction from teacher-centered to student-centered, which requires learners to do the heavy lifting.
Curated OER
The Meaning of Christmas Told through a Mexican Folktale
Using a Tomie dePaola story, The Legend of the Poinsettia, your class can explore the meaning of Christmas.
Curated OER
Build Automaticity with Weekly Vocabulary Exercises
Require a deeper understanding and application of your weekly vocabulary words by presenting in-class exercises that build automaticity.
Curated OER
Create College-Ready Readers with Text-Dependent Questions
Build content literacy and cater to the Common Core State Standards by creating text-dependent questions to accompany reading passages.
Curated OER
Comparative Mythology and the Common Core
Use comparative mythology to make myths relevant for readers and help prepare them for rigorous Common Core texts.
Curated OER
Cultivate Active Discussion of Assigned Texts
A flexible and adaptable method for opening learners up and engaging every individual in on-topic conversation.
Curated OER
Celebrate Library Card Sign-Up Month
Motivate your class to acquire and utilize a library card all year long.
The New York Times
Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core's Emphasis on Informational Text
Nothing aids in comprehension more than an explanation and understanding of why things are done. Address why the Common Core requires the reading percentages that it established and analyze how this affects your readers. Learners read...