Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Autumntime by Anthony Lentini

For Students 7th - 8th
The story "Autumntime" by Anthony Lentiniis set in a future where technology meets almost all human needs. It also provides a guided reading mode, assessment, discussion questions, and teacher's guide. [Free account registration required...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Assassination of the President:attempted Murder of Secretary Seward

For Students 7th - 8th
This excerpt from an 1865 newspaper, Evening Star, contains multiple accounts of the night President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward were attacked. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E....
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Close Calls in u.s. Election History (2016)

For Students 7th - 8th
Democracy and power to the people are celebrated as key American values, but sometimes democracy is more complicated than one might think. This informational text investigates some close calls in U.S. elections and what caused their...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Going to School as a Refugee" by Caroline Garrison

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Going to School As a Refugee" by Caroline Garrison accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Harlem Renaissance" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "The Harlem Renaissance" by Jessica McBirney, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Founding of American Democracy" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "The Founding of American Democracy" by Jessica McBirney, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Seven Decades On, Anne Frank's Words Still Comfort" by Scott Simon

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Seven Decades On, Anne Frank's Words Still Comfort" by Scott Simon, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "At the Head of Her Class, and Homeless" by Npr Staff

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
In June 2014, NPR published this story about Rashema Melson. At the time, Melson was a homeless high school senior at Anacostia High School in Washington, D.C. She is now a student at Georgetown University. As you read, identify what...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "First They Came" by Martin Niemoller

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "First They Came" by Martin Niemoller, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Can Television Be Considered Literature in English Classes?"

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Movie days in the classroom are infrequent and far between, but what if teachers used television as a means of teaching? Shelby Ostergaard discusses whether or not television can be considered a form of literature and the benefits and...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: In Danang, Where u.s. Troops First Landed, Memories of War

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "In Danang, Where U.S. Troops First Landed, Memories of War Have Faded" by Michael Sullivan, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "A Defiant Muhammad Ali Was Cherished by Black Men" by Karen G. Bates

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "A Defiant Muhammad Ali Was Cherished by Black Men" by Karen Grigsby Bates, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Introduction to the Holocaust by the United States Holocaust Memorial

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Introduction to the Holocaust" by The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Excerpt From the Tragedy of Julius Caesar: Act Iii, Scenes I, Ii

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Excerpt from the Tragedy of Julius Caesar: Act III, Scenes I, II" by William Shakespeare, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Would You Marry a Stranger? Arranged Marriage" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Would You Marry a Stranger" by Jessica McBirney, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Ancient Greece: Birthplace of Western Individualism by Us history.org

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Ancient Greece: The Birthplace of Western Individualism," accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Holocaust Survivor, Spared Gas Chamber by Twist of Fate by S. Nelson

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "A Holocaust Survivor, Spared from Gas Chamber by Twist of Fate" by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation" by Karen Grigsby Bates

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "A Child of Slavery Who Taught a Generation" by Karen Grigsby, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Puritan Laws and Character" by Henry William Elson

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Puritan Laws and Character" by Henry William Elson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Drones Put Spying Eyes in the Sky" by Stephen Ornes

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "Drones Put Spying Eyes in the Sky" by Stephen Ornes, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Jack and the Beanstalk" by Joseph Jacobs

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with "Jack and the Beanstalk" by Joseph Jacobs, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "You Have the Right to Remain Silent": History of Miranda Rights

For Students 5th - 6th
Can your rights protect you if you don't even know what they are? Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona answered that question by requiring police officers to read the "Miranda Rights" when making an arrest. This text will explain the...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Anger as Inspiration by Sami Awad

For Students 5th - 6th
Sami Awad is the Founder and Director of The Holy Land Trust, a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to improving the lives of children, families and communities in the Middle East. The group identifies the cycle of violence as...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Hello, My Name Is " by Jason Kim

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Hello, My Name Is ___" by Jason Kim accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...