Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Best Main Idea

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
What is the main idea? Interest your young readers with this fun introductory lesson! After selecting several items from a paper bag, the teacher leads learners to determine the big idea for those items. This concept is then applied to...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Determining Main Idea Using Text and Illustrations: Accessing Books Around the World

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using a Title to Determine Main Idea (Nonfiction)

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Young readers explore a nonfiction text for its main idea. They will listen to the book Animal Sight by Kirsten Hall, and then observe as the teacher models a main idea think-aloud. Later, for independent practice, they listen to the...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th
To gain a better understanding of Hispanic heritage and culture, as well as to build informational comprehension skill, learners explore facets of Hispanic American History. They engage in a class discussion, research three facts, and...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing Close Reading: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes About Rain School

For Teachers 3rd Standards
This second lesson in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and defining important...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Get it Together! Reading to Learn

For Teachers K - 4th
Let’s learn about frogs! Young readers are led through “Freaky Frogs,” a non-fiction article. Teach learners how to edit an article so there are fewer details to sift through. After talking through the article, they learn the six steps...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Understanding Themes in Esperanza Rising

For Teachers 5th Standards
Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

AWARD CERTIFICATE FOR A CHARACTER

For Teachers K - 1st
Connect to real-world experiences by having your primary learners create an award certificate based upon literal and inferential information from a story. They present the award to a character from a story and explain the criteria used....
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Answering Text-Dependent Questions About Librarians and Organizations Around the World

For Teachers 3rd Standards
This is a skills-based assessment that asks test takers to use textual evidence to determine the main idea of an excerpt from an informational text as well as respond to text-dependent questions. The assessment is the middle point...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Revisiting Big Metaphors and Themes: Revising and Beginning to Perform Two-Voice Poems

For Teachers 5th Standards
Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading of That Book Woman: How Did People Access Books in Rural Areas of the United States?

For Teachers 3rd Standards
For this ninth lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit, close reading skills are used independently to find the gist of the story That Book Woman. Rereading for important details is the targeted skill to unlock a deeper...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identify Intended Media Messages

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
How does media convey different messages? Use this instructional activity to explore media by identifying and analyzing selected images. Middle schoolers analyze a poster and discuss the intended meaning of the imagery and how it makes...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading of Nasreen's Secret School: How Do People Access Books in Afghanistan?

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Third graders continue to practice the close reading skills of capturing the gist and reading again for important details in the sixth lesson in a larger unit. This is a great beginning-of-the-year unit for establishing visible thinking...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Messages in Various Media

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore communication through media by analyzing different advertisements and artwork. Budding artists view videos, websites, plays, and other artistic endeavors while discussing the true meaning of the work with their classmates. They...
Lesson Plan
BrainPOP

World History Lesson Plan: Uncovering Essential Questions

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...
Activity
Curated OER

Things Fall Apart: Research, Writing & Presentation Project

For Teachers 9th - 11th
A great resource for your unit on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Small groups conduct research about related topics (list included), write papers, present PowerPoint slide shows, and take a student-created test. Fill in a few...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Retelling Information

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This scripted lesson suggests using the journalist’s five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) to teach readers how to summarize a story and to how to distinguish between significant and supporting details. A template and rubric are...
Activity
Curated OER

Lesson Plan 18: Art Project! Design Your Own Book Cover

For Teachers 3rd - 9th
Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Taking Notes Using a Graphic Organizer: Inferring About the Importance of Religion in Colonial America

For Teachers 4th Standards
Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Connecting Informational Text with Litearature: Building Background Knowledge About Mexican Immigration, California, and the Great Depression

For Teachers 5th Standards
Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...
Activity
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School

WWII Position Paper

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
There are some historical events that may warrant greater reflection and more in-depth analysis, and the decision to intern Japanese-Americans in the United States during World War II, as well as to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Working with Business Letters

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students practice with business letters. They identify main ideas and supporting details.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Refresh: Plan with the END in Mind

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify literary techniques by participating in a class discussion. In this organization activity, 4th graders practice public speaking while presenting ideas for a story to their classmates as well as critiquing the...

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