Curated OER
Solar System
Explore the solar system in detail, from it's origins to its components. Visual data gathered by actual space missions has been used to create the images and animations on each page of this stellar electronic book about the solar...
Curated OER
Creating a Character Chart for the Secret Garden
The Secret Garden, is a wonderful book to read with your class. After reading, why not employ the lesson plan presented here as a follow up activity? In it, pupils create character charts that portray the tremendous changes that...
Curated OER
Preparing for Poetry: A Reader's First Steps
Learners examine denotation and connotation in language, and paraphrase a poem. They read and analyze a sonnet by iam Shakespeare, analyze the attitude and tone, paraphrase a poem, and create a thesis about a poem based on textual evidence.
Curated OER
QAR: Question Answer Relationships with an example from Canyons by Gary Paulsen
As you're reading Gary Paulsen's tale of self discovery and adventure, Canyons, bring this questioning strategy into your classroom. The QAR questioning strategy is meant to encourage a deeper analysis of the text, as some questions are...
Mythology Teacher
Eros and Psyche: Part 1
With Eros and Psyche, your learners will have the opportunity to combine the art of reader's theater with a study of the ancient Greek gods! This engaging reader's theater script will also serve as a fantastic way for your...
Curated OER
Intelligence in the Internet Age
Does technology affect our intelligence? Stefanie Olsen's article, "Intelligence in the Internet Age," and the thought provoking reading comprehension questions that follow, are sure to generate a lively discussion.
Curated OER
School Uniforms: Debating the Issue and Creating an Advertisement
Fifth graders debate the issue of school uniforms. They research, finding supporting evidence supporting their stance. Using the Lincoln-Douglas form of debate, 5th graders discuss the positive and negative issues of the topic. They...
EngageNY
Connecting Informational Text with Litearature: Building Background Knowledge About Mexican Immigration, California, and the Great Depression
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...
Curated OER
To Question Or Not To Question?
Fourth graders practice questioning to aid in creating meaning when reading. Through guided practice, they read a passage from a chapter book and answer in-text and inference questions. Independently, they read another chapter from the...
Penguin Books
Teacher's Guide: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
An 11-page teacher's guide that focuses on Delia Owens' bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing is packed with discussion questions and activities. Text-dependent questions, activities, and writing prompts are also included....
Library of Congress
A Selection of Stories from The Æsop for Children
Read and incorporate a variety of Aesop's Fables into a fable genre study with an eBook produced by the Library of Congress. The interactive eBook contains 146 fables written by Aesop and includes colorful interactive illustrations...
Odell Education
Making Evidence-Based Claims: Grade 8
American women have been working toward equal rights since the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence. Focused on the words and actions of Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, and Venus Williams, a language arts lesson takes eighth...
Curated OER
Homeric Questions
Review all things Homeric with this quiz! It covers the plot of The Odyssey, along with technical questions about poetic meter and stressed syllables. The Greek language is on display with Homer's writings and with this quiz.
Curated OER
Cyrano de Bergerac: QAR Strategy
Designed as a postreading activity for Act II of Cyrano de Bergerac, this resource uses the QAR strategy to get readers thinking deeper about the texts they're reading. Explicit directions for the teacher are included, so don't fret if...
Curated OER
Why?
Students discuss the concept of asking questions while reading. They discuss the types of questions to ask that will improve their comprehension. Students read from a textbook and practice creating questions to ask themselves while...
Curated OER
Get in the Newspaper Habit
Dive into journalism with your high schoolers! The resources provided here will help your learners write unbiased, clear, and succinct newspaper articles. First they spend time sifting through stacks of articles, filling out a graphic...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Matched by Ally Condie
Even supposed Utopian societies have their flaws. Using an educator's guide, individuals explore the society Ally Condie creates in Matched. Reflective writing prompts double as discussion questions and cover key themes in the novel, as...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Paragraphs 1–5 of “Water Is Life”
Be more specific. Scholars take a look at domain-specific vocabulary by discussing an anchor chart. They then look at vocabulary words recorded from paragraphs one through five in Water of Life. After analyzing the vocabulary used in the...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Ronald Reagan, Excerpt from Reagan's First Inaugural Address
A key challenge in teaching kids how to read informational text, particularly primary source documents, is finding suitable resources and then developing questions that guide readers. Never fear, help is here in the form of a series...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: The K-W-H-L Strategy
Make note of what readers know, what to know, and have learned during a unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. As class members read the book, they jot down their ideas on a KWHL chart, and consider what they have...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Chraisma by Jeanne Ryan
Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest...
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird - Foil Characters
Not to be confused with aluminium foil, this quiz focuses on character foils in To Kill a Mockingbird. The prompts encourage readers to recognize the qualities of each character.
Novelinks
Touching Spirit Bear: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...
Great Books Foundation
Discussion Guide for Jane Eyre
The ambiguity in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre makes the novel a perfect choice for a shared inquiry discussion. Readers respond to open-ended questions with evidence drawn directly from the text.