ReadWriteThink
What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a poem on the same...
Library of Congress
Treasure Island
For 30 years, Long John Silver has sailed the seas. An eBook version of Treasure Island introduces readers to the tales Long John Silver has to tell. This 1883 version of the text includes an introduction to encourage critical...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 10
As you work through a literary analysis unit based on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," use a writing assessment to measure your class's skills. They choose one epigraph from the story to analyze and track...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 6
Wrap up your literary analysis unit with a discussion activity as tenth graders prepare for an end-of-unit assessment. After they have read and annotated Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His Love," Sir Walter Raleigh's...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 14
Karen Russell's short story "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" has a unique structure that adds value to the story. With the fourteenth activity in a unit about literary analysis and textual support, analyze how Russell has...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Berlin
The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British,...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Resistance and SOE
Germany seemed to be unstoppable in the early years of World War II, but the tireless and sacrificial work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) helped to steer the war in another direction. After exploring primary source documents,...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Major Disparities in Adult Cigarette Smoking Exist Among and Within Racial and Ethnic Groups
Data indicates that some racial groups smoke more than others, and that with that racial group, there are smaller groups whose smoking habits vary as well. Secondary learners read a graph that details the differences between the Asian...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 16
Was Oedipus' destiny determined by fate or by his actions? Using details from the text, ninth graders delve into a critical thinking exercise based on Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Now that Oedipus has learned his true identity, readers...
PBS
Analyzing Stop and Frisk Through Personal Stories and Infographics
How much can you learn about an important topic from a single image? High schoolers analyze an infographic that represents the number of stops performed during the Stop and Frisk police procedure. After building background information...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Blooms’ Taxonomy Questions
Question what you read with a lesson based on Bloom's Taxonomy. As kids read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, they formulate questions with cues from a graphic organizer, and answer them to work on critical...
Wordpress
Darwin’s Natural Selection Case Studies
This editable activity is set up so that biology pupils read four case studies and identify points that are present in each, such as overproduction, heritable variation, struggle to survive, and differential reproduction. They also...
Yummy Math
Sweethearts Candy
Sweethearts® candies are a beloved Valentine's Day treat—so much so that eight billion hearts are produced every year around the world! Learners use number sense reasoning and critical thinking to solve nine word problems about the...
Curated OER
Comparing Fractions with a Different Whole
What was Bryce's mistake? Through analysis of a student work example, learners develop their own ability to compare the fractions one fourth and one half. Central to this activity is the concept that, when comparing fractions, the whole...
Odell Education
Reading Closely for Textual Details: Grade 12
Help your class examine humanity's unpredictable nature through "Life Steps Almost Straight." Learners read various works from philosophers such as Viktor Frankl, The Buddha, and Nietzsche to gather textual evidence and explain their...
University of North Carolina
Roles & Powers of the President
Here is a fantastic, comprehensive resource on the roles and powers assigned to the president of the United States. It includes several critical thinking exercises and engaging activities, from cartoon analysis and the opportunity to...
National Constitution Center
Born in the U.S.A: Music as Political Protest
Though often used in shows of patriotism, Bruce Springsteen's 1985 song "Born in the U.S.A." is critical of America's role in the Vietnam war and its treatment of American veterans. High schoolers analyze the song's lyrics in an activity...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 14
The devil—and the truth—is in the details. As ninth graders approach the ending of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, they analyze the words of the Messenger and apply these details to the central ideas of fate and prophecy.
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Invasion
Without the benefit of history, Western Europe in the 1940's had no idea what was about to befall them. Class members use primary sources, including political cartoons, videos, and internal documents, to analyze how much of a threat...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Occupation
Warsaw, Poland, suffered much of the blunt of World War II—but according to Polish letters from the early days of Nazi occupation, other parts of the country were much worse off. High schoolers use the letters and contemporaneous...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 4
Vivid quotes and strong sensory language compose Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, bringing the women to life as they navigate through issues surrounding identity and maternal relationships. Examine Waverly's relationship with her mother...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 6
Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club brings together the central ideas of identity, ambition, expectations, and relationships. As high schoolers read an excerpt from the chapter "Two Kinds," they note how Jing-Mei's connection to music relates to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 11
Close readers and forensic detectives alike deal with collecting strong evidence. Ninth graders become involved in an instructional activity about Sophocles' Oedipus the King, in which they find connections between Oedipus' stated words...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Iwo Jima
Of the images that have permeated history to define American courage, perseverance, and patriotism, the 1945 photograph of United States Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima is one of the most well known. After researching the pivotal...