Scholars carry out a close read of the poem "Those Winter Sundays" to determine its point. They look at the words used and the structure of the stanzas and then compare the poem's narrative structure to chapter 6 of To Kill a...

We have an appointment! Scholars meet with another discussion appointment to discuss the text structure of the poem "Incident" by Countee Cullen. They use a Note Catcher to guide their thinking and compare the structure to chapter 8 of...

Scholars closely read Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, seeking to understand why he disagreed with the court's decision that racial segregation laws for public spaces were constitutional....

Ravenous or hungry, happy or ecstatic—why does word choice matter? Scholars continue to analyze working conditions in the mill and how the conditions affect the protagonist of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. They engage in a close...

Scholars grapple with whether the title character of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie, should sign a petition about working conditions at the factory. They engage in close reading and discussion before adding their thinking about the...

Scholars use an Analyzing Images: Slavery in America handout to make predictions from pictures featuring slavery. They then discuss the pictures with partners. Learners further their thinking by close reading The Slave Trade and...

Readers take another look at  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to determine the purpose of the text. They use Frederick Douglass’s Purpose: Text and Questions handout and a close reading guide to direct their thinking. To...

Bubble, bubble, boil and trouble! What causes common substances like baking soda and vinegar to react the way they do? Welcome your junior chemists to the wonders of acid-base chemistry using a comprehensive and fun...

Students draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...

O, that these too, too obscure words would resolve themselves into modern English! High school scholars are asked to do a close reading of Hamlet’s first soliloquy (I, ii) and recast these famous lines into contemporary speech, identify...

Students practice reading sonnets line by line to find the message of the sonnet.  In this sonnet activity, students read a sonnet one line at a time as the teacher projects it for the entire class.  As each line is shown,...

Readers need to understand how their personal view point may differ or change how they see the view point found in a written text. Third graders read two informational pieces and fill out a graphic organizer to help them differentiate...

In this critical reading exercise, students evaluate the credibility of a piece of writing. Students read descriptions of various interest groups and lobbies and identify the group that made a quotation.

In this critical thinking worksheet, students fill out a graphic organizer about a story they read including predicting, main idea, values, and more. Students complete 5 sections in the graphic organizer.

In this critical reading worksheet, students read a short passage about the Columbian Exchange and then answer questions based on the reading. Students answer questions by making inferences, determining author's point of view and use...

In this critical reading worksheet, students read a passage about the Hubble Telescope and then answer seven questions based on the reading.

In this critical reading worksheet, students read a passage about cycles of American generations then answer three questions based on the reading.

In this critical reading worksheet, learners read a passage about The Great Debates between Kennedy and Nixon and answer questions based on the reading.

In this critical reading worksheet, students read a passage regarding salt then answer three questions based on the reading.

In this critical reading learning exercise, students read a passage about the collapse of bee colonies and then answer questions based on the reading.

In this cause and effect worksheet, students read the passages and questions and use the reading strategy of cause and effect to answer the 10 online questions.

In this context clues worksheet, students read the sentences and passages and use context clues to find the correct answer for the 10 online questions.

Students identify the basic symbols of the English language and identify written languages as sets of symbols. In this symbols lesson, students study a hieroglyphic message and pictures of other languages. Students try to interpret the...

Good books are accessible through a variety of literary lenses. To consider how the same story can be seen in different lights, groups develop a storyboard for a movie teaser that would focus on one of six concepts found in Suzanne...