Curated OER
Asking the Questions and Questioning the Answers
What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....
Novelinks
Words by Heart: Question Answer Relationship
Even though readers investigate matters of the heart, this activity promotes the inner workings of learners' brains. The fifth lesson of six has the teacher first model the strategy to the class before having small groups practice. To...
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Questioning Strategy – Cubing
Your class won't be a bunch of squares from using this well-rounded activity! Instead, they'll be expressing thoughtful questions using the cubing strategy. The class brainstorms questions of increasing rigor about Zach's Lie in the...
Nosapo
Introduction Questions
What country are you from? What is your favorite food to cook? What is your favorite sport to watch? Pupils practice English and learn more about their classmates with a set of conversational questions.
EngageNY
Asking Probing Questions and Choosing a Research Topic
Begin the writing journey of an evidence-based essay detailing a rule to live by with various activities to familiarize learners with the topic and jump-start brainstorming. First, pupils take part in an in-depth review and discussion of...
Curated OER
Asking Questions About a Picture 6
Learners of any age will be able to use this questioning activity, if creative enough! Really encourage your learners to brainstorm thoughtful questions about the picture they see. As a bonus, you could encourage learners to create as...
College Board
2000 AP® English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions
Everyone enjoys a good mystery. Learners create essays explaining how a mystery gives meaning to a novel or play of their choice. They also examine the use of literary elements of diary entries in The Spectator. A third essay question...
College Board
2008 AP® English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions
Scholars are challenged to create essays comparing two poems in which the authors discuss fears and concerns about dying and life passing by too quickly. Two other essay questions ask writers to analyze literary elements and characters...
Curated OER
Discussion Web: Ender's Game
Designed to encourage readers to consider both sides of of the question of whether Ender is responsible for the death of all the buggers, individuals search for examples from Orson Scott Card's popular science fiction novel, Ender's Game...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 2, Lesson 2
Focusing on a specific inquiry and area of investigation, ninth graders continue their research projects and portfolios based on Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation and their questions. The activity guides readers through the...
Curated OER
Brainstorming Time
Young scholars brainstorm a list of possible topics for their essay. As a class, they review the characteristics of anecdotal writing and the form they take in newspapers or autobiographies. To end the lesson, they decide on their...
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Middle Years (Part 2)
Abraham Lincoln's face may only be worth one cent, but the online reading passage and questions about his life are an invaluable resource. Pupils read a passage about Lincoln's experience with the Illinois Legislature, earning his law...
Curated OER
Invention (Prewriting)
Direct your class as they begin writing. Most slides contain questions that scholars can record and reference while they start the process of research and writing. Help learners get through writers' block, freewrite, and brainstorm to...
Fairfax Public Schools
Walter Dean Myers
If you are reading works by Walter Dean Myers in your class, this resource might be worth a look. Included here are activities and discussion questions for Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary, Somewhere in the Darkness, Scorpions, Fallen...
College Board
1999 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
A released Advanced Placed exam provides scholars with an opportunity to practice their English language and composition skills. After reading two passages about Florida's Okefenokee Swamp, they write essays analyzing how the distinctive...
K5 Learning
Susie and Rover
Reinforce reading comprehension skills with a two-page worksheet offering a story about a young girl, her dog, and an important life lesson. Scholars read the text then show what they know through four short-answer questions.
Curated OER
Brainstorming Research Questions
Students examine and participate in an inquiry process. They brainstorm recall, comprehension, and synthesis questions for a research topic, and write the questions on sentence strips.
Curated OER
Poetry Brainstorm
Looks like? Sounds like? Smells like? Feels like? Tastes like? Sometimes a white, blank, soulless piece of paper can intimidate writers. Provide potential poets with this template that can serve as a parking lot for words and phrases to...
Curated OER
Pablita Velarde Interview
Have your kiddos work together to discuss different types of interviews. As learners brainstorm different kinds of interviews, record them in a web! This is a great introduction to conducting interviews.
Novelinks
The House on Mango Street: Discussion Web
As part of a final discussion of The House on Mango Street, groups examine a concept question about the text, record arguments for and opposed to the question, and then a draw their own conclusions.
Scholastic
Lesson Two: The Earth, Introductory Activities
Determine what young pupils already know about earth science with a brainstorming activity. After class members work together to complete a KWL chart about the Earth, they craft an acrostic poem to demonstrate their understanding.
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: Discussion Web
Both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have proud moments, but who is more prideful? Explore Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a discussion web that compares both characters in a brainstorming graphic organizer. Each side provides enough...
Curated OER
Today's Brainstorming Problems
In this mind puzzle learning exercise, students collaborate in a group to solve 4 problems involving math and vocabulary. The questions should be answered without much difficulty by group consensus.
Curated OER
Guest Speaker Preparation: A Cooperative Lesson
Are you planning to have a guest speaker talk to your class? Prepare in advance and help your class transform into an engaged and thoughtful audience. Before the visit, young writers work cooperatively to brainstorm what they want to...