Curated OER
Short But Sweet
After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...
Newspaper Association of America
A Good Read
Teach your readers strategies for breaking down informational texts. Pupils develop and implement the tools they'll need to decode texts for the rest of their lives with an informational resource that focuses on the structure and...
Curated OER
The Fabric of History
African-American history is an integral part of what America is. Learners examine important events, read informational texts, and create quilts depicting specific eras in African-American history. Each image created for the quilt will be...
Curated OER
Medical Explorer: The Big Idea
Read informational text which relays how medical care differs around the globe and throughout history. There are three separate lessons, each focused on a particular case study, regional medical availability, and cultural norms. Learners...
Curated OER
Map It Out
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...
Curated OER
Using Details from Text to Identify Author's Purpose
Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Reading and Writing
Here is a great way to get pupils to express a scientific concept in a fun way. After hearing the story of Walter the Water drop and learning facts about the water cycle, the class will write a creative expository piece describing what...
Curated OER
Who Could Have Been Who
Can word choice affect a candidate's likeability? Use a New York Times lesson to explore how a presidential candidate's likeability factor can fluctuate in public opinion polls. Young readers choose a presidential election from...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: French Football
Intermediate or early advanced English speakers practice their reading comprehension skills with this short passage and its accompanying activities. After reading the text, learners talk about racism, discrimination, equality, and...
Curated OER
Using the Interactive Model to Explore an Authentic Written Text
Bring literature to your Spanish classroom! Small groups will read one of the selected texts from Cuentos De Eva Luna. After analyzing the text, learners will create mini-quizzes for their classmates and create a presentation discussing...
Curated OER
Geo Jammin' By Design - Day 7, Lesson 38: Kool Cups
Create geometric cups by interpreting directions, informational text, and mathematical concepts. Critical thinkers apply geometric theory (congruent shapes, patterns, symmetry) to actual directions to create a cup that holds Kool Aid....
Curated OER
Caves
Explore caves with your class! Your scholars will participate in scientific observation, research, inference and deduction, reading, vocabulary, and writing activities about caves with this lesson plan. This resource contains five...
Curated OER
My Community Book
Young learners examine different places in their neighborhood using informational texts. First they identify a place that they like to play and predict if it will be in the nonfiction book Community at Play.They will share their favorite...
Curated OER
Bread in a Bag
Could the history of bread really be interesting? Yes, it could! An informational text gives scholars wheat production background from 8,000 years ago, discussing different types of bread and the current industry in Oklahoma. Learners...
Curated OER
Call it "Macaroni"
Who knew there were so many fun educational opportunities featuring pasta? Scholars read a brief informational text about the history of pasta (note that "macaroni" is spelled two different ways, so address this if kids are reading...
Curated OER
A Positive Spin
Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally,...
Curated OER
Get in the Newspaper Habit
Dive into journalism with your high schoolers! The resources provided here will help your learners write unbiased, clear, and succinct newspaper articles. First they spend time sifting through stacks of articles, filling out a graphic...
Curated OER
Cloze Instruction
Bring Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Mad Libs, and cloze activities to your college class with this lesson. They complete a cloze instruction activity in which the students choose words that would fill in the blanks and create their own...
Curated OER
Art Around the World
The non-fiction book Art Around the World by Heather Leonard serves as inspiration for learning how art reflects cultures and values. New vocabulary and background knowledge are fleshed out before reading the story. Afterward, the class...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: Apple Suing Samsung
Why is Apple suing Samsung? Give your English language learners a bit of reading comprehension practice. First, they read the short passage provided, and then they complete 10 activities. There are true or false questions, matching...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Informational Writing
Emerging writers identify an informational piece of writing. They are provided with examples of informational writing and view a PowerPoint on narrative writing. Then, they design their own informational writing with a brochure,...
Curated OER
Campaign Trailblazers
Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...
Curated OER
Left-to-Right Reading
Left-to-right, left-to-right, that's the way we read and write! Watch this short video clip and teach your young learners this chant before they start writing!
Curated OER
The Purpose and Power of Persuasion
Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...