Scholars read, analyze, and evaluate argumentative writing. Discussion about arguments of mass incarceration evolves from The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Learners participate in group discussions and...

Focus on research skills, specifically identifying key words and concepts on a specific topic and evaluating information for relevance and authority. This is part of a multi-step instructional activity on Ancient Rome; however, it is...

Using the online catalog, researchers locate and record on a citation template specific sources for their research paper. A library specialist models searching strategies while the teacher introduces the research paper process. Daily...

Can scholars predict the future? They try as they first watch the video The Future of Water to capture details and trace the argument. Next, individuals complete the Tracing an Argument note catcher to guide their thoughts. To...

Give water the attention it deserves. Scholars watch Corporations Need to Pay More Attention to Water and respond to questions as part of their end of the unit assessment. They then complete the assessment by reading and responding to...

How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...

Looking for a resource that helps learners practice identifying fact and opinion? A four-page activity includes two informational text reading passages. Pupils read each passage and respond to four multiple choice and one...

With a fly swatter in hand, learners swat the rime-flys with their onset swatter to make, read, and write words by blending the onset with the rime-fly. Scholars blend words, make and write words, and also work to determine if the words...

Kids use their phonological know-how to identify and segment onset and rime blends. Double rime picture cards (cat and hat) are chosen, then matched to onset cards that make each word, such as the k sound for a cat and the h sound for a...

Explore how gaming might make the world a better place. To dissect the statement, scholars watch video clips about the benefits of video games. While listening, pupils make notes in their researcher's notebooks, attempting to discern the...

Let's go for a walk. Learners complete the mid-unit assessment by completing a gallery walk to analyze different primary sources discussed while reading A Mighty Long Way. After viewing the sources, class members complete organizers and...

Readers learn to ask questions about text with an activity based on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. As they read, class members craft questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy and then find the answers themselves.

Reading the news is fun, and that's a fact! With the lesson plan, scholars differentiate between fact and opinion as they read editorial articles. They complete a worksheet to analyze the information before writing their own editorials...

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" is a bit of a puzzle. Critics have long debated Montresor's motives for killing Fortunato. Young scholars examine examples of the three types of irony (verbal, dramatic, and...

Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy lesson focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then discusses how...

Discover onset and rime blends using this interactive activity which will appeal to your kinesthetic learners. Using the sliding templates provided, budding readers try different onsets with each rime. They practice reading skills by...

Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...

Learners roll two die; die one contains various onsets, and die two contains different rimes. They write down the onset and rime pair they get, then blend and read their word.

Change, growth, and a sense of belonging are the focus of a unit that uses poetry to explore these themes and the distinguishing features of poetry as well. 

It's test time! As part one of the mid-unit assessment, scholars complete a Tracing an Argument note-catcher for both a text and a video about the Internet's effect on the brain. Pupils demonstrate learning by evaluating the argument and...

Agriculture and water—it's a fine balance. So how exactly do industry and agriculture currently manage water? Pupils consider the question as they continue reading excerpts from Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst and adding notes to their...

Teach young researchers how best to choose sources. This PowerPoint presentation underscores the need for accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

Don't argue with me! Scholars first evaluate the argument in The Big Thirst. Learners work with partners to determine if the text supplies enough evidence to support the claim. They then complete a Tracing an Argument Note catcher for...

How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...