Reading for Meaning
Sample Lessons and Worksheets
If you need to bulk up your reading comprehension worksheet collection, take a look at a resource that includes graphic organizers and reading comprehension questions. The series of 50 worksheets addresses novels such as Julie of...
Scholastic
Abraham Lincoln: A Time Line Research Project
Though Abraham Lincoln's life was tragically cut short, it was filled with accomplishments and inspiring moments that continue to influence American democracy. Explore the ways the 16th president of the United States made his way from a...
Teacher.org
Christmas Around the World Part 1
A creative lesson shines a spotlight on Christmas celebrations throughout six different countries. Scholars read an informative text and share their new-found knowledge with their peers. After hearing about each country, pupils choose...
Rainforest Alliance
Protecting the Critical Habitat of the Manatee and Loggerhead Turtle
Explore ocean habitats with a lesson that showcases the home of manatees and loggerhead turtles in Belize. Here, pupils compare and contrast the homes of ocean animals to those of humans, listen to an original short story about...
Curated OER
Organizing Research
Before sending your third graders to the library, help them build a solid foundation for their research with this plan. Following the "I do, we do, you do" method, the teacher starts by modeling how to create a research question and...
Curated OER
Flying High in Arkansas: A Study of the State Flag
An outstanding lesson on the Arkansas State Flag is here for you. In it, elementary schoolers learn about the symbolism of the flag, and create a replica of the flag as a final activity. They also memorize the Arkansas State Pledge, and...
Curated OER
Introducing Jane Eyre
"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...
ReadWriteThink
Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter
Everyone deserves to read a great book! Here, pupils write a persuasive letter to the school's librarian detailing their favorite story and why it should be found on the shelves. Class members' persuasive reading passages are shared with...
EngageNY
Planning Writing: Making Notes for the Accessing Books Around the World Informative Paragraph
Encourage your young writers to thoughtfully plan and organize their work. First, model how this is done and vocalize your thought process as you work. Next, create a class list of strategies that they can use during independent writing...
Teacher.org
The History of Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving is the focus of a lesson that boosts reading comprehension and interview skills. Half the class reads about Pilgrims while the other half reads about the Native American, Squanto. After answering questions, pupils...
Curated OER
5 Broken Cameras: How Storytellers Shape the Story
5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...
Staples Foundation For Learning
The President’s Desk
What stories can a desk paperweight and picture frame possibly tell us about the president of the United States? Pupils are transported to the desk of President John F. Kennedy through an engaging interactive site. The guide offers...
McGraw Hill
Reading Strategies and Literary Elements
Introduce your freshmen to reading comprehension strategies and key literary elements with a year's worth of lessons and exercises. Each lesson focuses on a specific literary device and includes a definition of the term, a passage that...
Film Foundation
To Kill a Mockingbird: What Is a Movie?
The challenge film makers face when creating a film based on a novel or nonfiction text is the focus of a interdisciplinary resource that uses To Kill a Mockingbird to teach viewers how to read the visual images of film. A...
Curated OER
Crazy Chemistry Lesson Plan
Students study water molecules, cohesion and surface tension. For this molecule cohesion lesson students create chemical reactions that cause a balloon to inflate and another one that results in soap suds.
Curated OER
Map Coordinates: Monkey Map
Here's an engaging, meaningful, and clever lesson plan on map skills for elementary schoolers. Pupils combine story writing with mapping skills to create an original piece of work. They utilize a worksheet embedded in the plan to guide...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Chief Executives Compared: The Federalist Papers
Delve into the responsibilities of the president by looking at President Hamilton's opinion of the presidential office in his own words. The second in a three-part series, the resource also offers an interesting compare-and-contrast...
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They...
Library of Congress
Women's Suffrage Movement Across America
An engaging resource provides many primary source materials to inform a study of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Suggestions include building a timeline of the fight, using the documents as the basis of a DBQ, and/or using a Venn...
Curated OER
Lesson: Double Album: The Collection and the Archive
An open discussion starts this lesson off. The class takes a critical look at five works of art that demonstrate the impact and purpose of identity through collections or archives. They then write a list or draw 10-15 items found in...
Learning for Justice
Recognizing Discrimination
Empower scholars to take a peaceful stand against discrimination. The color of their clothes separates learners; then, only some are allowed to go to recess—this sparks a discussion about the concept of discrimination and how they felt...
CK-12 Foundation
Proportions and Scale: Problem Solving Plan, Proportions
Slide into a lesson on proportions. A slider interactive lets users adjust three of the four values in a proportion and automatically updates the fourth value. Scholars use the interactive to help answer a set of challenge questions on...
Have Fun Teaching
Identifying Author's Purpose
The multi-lesson, 47-page packet contains everything you need to ensure kids can recognize the clues provided to identify the type of text, the intended audience, and the author's purpose in writing the passage.
Film Foundation
To Kill a Mockingbird: Historical and Cultural Context
As part of their study of the film adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, class members analyze how Robert Mulligan uses the film lens to depict the historical period and social issues presented in Harper Lee's novel. A superior resource...