Curated OER
Here's an Instant Activity for September 19, 2005
Young writers study similes and then complete a writing activity for similes. They complete a teacher-led activity for similes and then work independently to write sentences using the given similes. A solid lesson!
Novelinks
Count of Monte Cristo: Questioning Strategy – Tossed Terms
Do you know the setting of The Count of Monte Cristo? What about the main characters? Explore the elements of Alexandre Dumas' novel with a reading comprehension activity. Kids toss boxes with literary elements written on each side,...
Novelinks
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Magic Square Vocabulary
After reading chapter one of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, take part in a magic square vocabulary activity in which scholars match the term with its definition and insert its corresponding number in to...
Curated OER
Maus: After Reading Strategy Instructional Routine
Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...
Curated OER
The Lightning Thief: Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
Before diving into the engaging tale of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, conduct this directed reading and thinking activity. Assess your pupils' knowledge of Greek gods and mythology through a knowledge web,...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Biopoem Strategy
Learn about character traits with a biopoem activity. Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, the activity prompts learners to fill in the blanks of a poem form to describe themselves.
Louisiana Department of Education
Essential Elements Cards
Use essential elements cards to help lesson plan! Each card contains an informational text common core standard for grade levels six through eight and suggestions for activities and supports. Cards address skills such as citing textual...
Curated OER
Hatchet: Vocabulary Strategy
Want your class to use critical thinking when discussing vocabulary? Go beyond the dictionary with a vocabulary activity based on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Kids write the word in the center of a graphic organizer that also provides...
Curated OER
Mississippi Trial, 1955: Vocabulary Strategy (Acquisition)
Readers of Mississippi Trial, 1955 engage in a desktop teaching activity and teach other class members the meaning of a word from Christopher Crowe's novel using an embellished illustration of their word.
EngageNY
Author’s Read: Final Performance Task
Scholars submit their final performance task, a letter to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. As a culminating activity, they share their work with classmates in small groups.
Scholastic
Step-by-Step Strategies for Teaching Expository Writing
A carefully crafted, logically organized, 128-page packet is an excellent addition to your unit on expository writing.
Curated OER
Responding Syllables: Reading and Music
Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...
Heritage Foundation
Congress's Territorial Powers, Implied Powers, Citizenship, and the Bureaucracy
An informative resource gives scholars a look into why the US Constitution placed certain federal powers over that of the state. A variety of activities about constitutional clauses helps to create meaningful learning.
Curated OER
Night of the Twister
Pupils use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Pupils complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the story...
Curated OER
Home at Last
Students read about an immigrant family and participate in reading activities related to the book. In this immigration book lesson, students answer question related to immigration and the book.
Curated OER
When This World Was New
Second graders participate in a guided reading activity and read about and immigrant family. In this guided reading lesson, 2nd graders answer questions that focus on their new homeland. Students write a response to literature.
Curated OER
Journey to Topaz: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
Have you used the directed reading thinking activity in your classroom? Doubling as either a prereading strategy, or a during reading strategy, it helps readers connect the historical background of the text to the text itself. As the...
Curated OER
KWL Comprehension Strategy: Maus I and II
How much does your class know about World War II? Before reading Art Spiegelman's Maus I, lead your class in creating a KWL chart. Knowing the background and setting of the novel are extremely important in understanding this survivor's...
Curated OER
The Catcher in the Rye: Anticipation Guide
"Mistakes are necessary; therefore, we shouldn't shelter children from the world." Class members agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or disagree with a series of statements related to concepts explored in The Catcher in the Rye....
Curated OER
Prereading
Fourth graders participate in think-pair-share reading strategy in this activity. They identify their purpose for reading as well as purposes for reading fiction/nonfiction. They list and discuss several prereading activities, and then...
Curated OER
We Can Eat Smarter
Students practice their reading skills. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read an article titled "We Can Eat Smarter," and then use the reading strategy described to note confusing passages and revisit them.
Curated OER
What Begins With Bb?
Students demonstrate beginning reading strategies. In this letter recognition lesson plan, students match letter sounds to a variety of pictures using the program "Kidspiration".
Scholastic
Test-Taking Strategies for Three Subject Areas
Sometimes a test page loaded with text can make a student's face go blank. Help them decipher what a text question is asking with a series of tips focused on reading comprehension, vocabulary, and language arts mechanics.
Curated OER
Twelfth Night: The K-W-H-L Strategy
Readers of Twelfth Night use a KWHL chart to record information about what they know about Shakespeare's play, what they want to find out, how they plan on finding this information, and what they have learned or still want to learn about...