EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Comparing Fictional and Historical Texts
Class members pair up to discuss how the author of A Long Walk to Water altered history. They then work independently on Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Comparing Water for Sudan and A Long Walk to Water. Readers close the lesson plan...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Getting to Know a Character: What Details in the Text Help Us Understand Ha?
Take a walk with me. Scholars participate in a gallery walk of the anchor charts their groups created about Inside Out & Back Again in the previous lesson plan. Pupils take notes about Ha's character on sticky notes as they take the...
EngageNY
Establishing Routines for Discussing A Long Walk to Water (Chapter 6)
Middle schoolers use a reader's dictionary to locate words they do not know in chapter 6 of A Long Walk to Water. They then turn attention to gist and work on a Salva/Nya anchor chart to record what happens to the characters....
EngageNY
Introducing Essay Prompt: Factors for Survival in A Long Walk to Water
An important part of any essay writing is to fully understand the prompt. Readers spend time stating the prompt for A Long Walk to Water essay in their own words, making a list of points to put in their essays, and...
ReadWriteThink
"Three Stones Back": Using Informational Text to Enhance Understanding of Ball Don't Lie
"Three Stones Back," a passage from Matt de la Pena's best-seller, Ball Don't Lie, allows readers to practice their close reading skills as they compare the passage to an information text about wealth inequality.
EngageNY
Independent Reading: Final Product
Cheater! Scholars create independent reading cheat sheets to help others learn about a book. They rate the book, list quotes, and describe how they connected to the text. Readers share their cheat sheets with others and conduct a gallery...
Curated OER
Walk Two Moons: DR-TA, Chapter 17: “In the Course of a Lifetime”
Use this question and answer worksheet as an assignment for Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons. The questions listed support better comprehension and critical thinking of chapter seventeen.
EngageNY
Clarifying Thinking on Water Management: Revisiting the Gallery Walk
One, two, three, go! Scholars gather in triads and number themselves one to three. Each number is responsible for sharing a section of the map homework completed the night before as learners discuss domain-specific vocabulary terms using...
Curated OER
The Last Lecture: Gallery Walk
As part of a discussion of The Last Lecture, class members engage in a gallery walk silent discussion by recording their responses to a series of questions and images posted about the classroom.
Newsela
Understanding "A Long Walk to Water"
What is the secret to success? Scholars use close reading of a variety of articles to determine characteristics of people that overcame hardships to become successful. While reading, pupils annotate their copies, make claims, and...
EngageNY
Launching the Text: Building Background Knowledge on Louie Zamperini and World War II (Preface, Pages 3–6)
Scholars participate in a gallery walk to examine photographs related to WWII and record thoughts about the pictures in note catchers. At the end of the gallery walk, pupils share their observations before participating in a discussion...
EngageNY
Using Routines for Discussing A Long Walk to Water and Introducing Juxtaposition (Chapters 9 and 10)
Take a stand. Scholars consider what it means to take a stand in A Long Walk to Water. They complete an activity by taking a stand and moving to a labeled section of the room that matches their opinion. Readers then examine text...
EngageNY
Launching the Text: Building Background Knowledge of the Jim Crow South
Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: What IS the Omnivore’s Dilemma Anyway?
What's the best thing on the menu? Scholars enter the room, complete a gallery walk of menus to choose a food to pretend to order, and then discuss how they made the decision. Next, they read The Omnivore's Dilemma and relate their...
EngageNY
Launching the Module: The Universal Appeal of Shakespeare, Part 1
Class members participate in a gallery walk, viewing images of Shakespeare and his plays. Additionally, pupils complete a T-chart to consider the advantages and disadvantages of learning about Shakespeare with images and text.
Curated OER
Man's Search for Meaning: Vocabulary Strategy
Readers of Man's Search for Meaning use context clues, create stories using words from the text, and retype these stories as part of their vocabulary study of Viktor Frankl's book.
EngageNY
World Cafe: Analyzing Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”
May I take your order? Scholars read "Ain't I a Woman" and participate in a World Cafe. They work in small groups to discuss text-related questions and then complete a Note-Catcher sheet to organize their thoughts. For homework, learners...
PBS
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech as Visual Text
Young historians watch a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and answer questions that test their knowledge of the event. After discussing the fact sheet, they reread the speech, select a phrase or...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
One Land, Many Trails: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 5)
English is not the only subject that requires its own set of vocabulary words—geography does too! A series of language development lessons designed to be used with Theme 5: One Land, Many Trails helps introduce readers to key vocabulary...
Santa Ana Unified School District
The Giver
Wouldn't it be great to live an a community without pain, without danger? Such a society is the goal of the community in The Giver. Using Lois Lowry's dystopian novel as the core text, class members read primary source materials...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Persuasive Writing
Should students be paid for doing well in school? That is the question at the heart of an argumentative writing unit that walks writers through the steps of crafting a persuasive essay. The carefully scaffolded scripted plans provide...
EngageNY
Citing Evidence and Building Vocabulary: “The Exterminator”
It is an out-of-body experience. Scholars take a look at the sidebars outside the body of the text in The Exterminator. They discuss the purpose of this type of text feature and work to determine the gist. Learners write unfamiliar...
EngageNY
Introducing Module 4B: “Water Is Life”
Learners take a gallery walk around the classroom to view various images and quotes. As they walk, they write down what they notice and wonder about what they see. After discussing their notice and wonder notes, they read the...
Novelinks
Where the Red Fern Grows: Question Answer Response Strategy
What makes a good question? Middle schoolers explore the use of questioning through QAR, the question answer response strategy, while reading Where the Red Fern Grows. They learn about the four types of questions: right there, think...