Annenberg Foundation
Exploring Borderlands
What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...
ReadWriteThink
Decoding the Dystopian Characteristics of Macintosh’s “1984” Commercial
Known as one of the most iconic advertisements of the 20th century, Macintosh's "1984" commercial has become more of a social statement. Present the ad to a new audience of viewers with a instructional activity focused on...
Curated OER
Mother's Secret
In this reading comprehension worksheet, 3rd graders read a page long story about a mother's pregnancy and answer 5 multiple choice questions.
Curated OER
The Better to Hear You With
First graders use portable media players to improve their reading fluency. In this reading fluency lesson, 1st graders use a media player to read and record passages throughout the year to improve their reading fluency.
Curated OER
Passages of Dialogue
Help your learners use dialogue in their stories. This presentation explores the use of dialogue in narratives. It is a comprehensive and thoughtful look at this topic.
Curated OER
How Do Adjectives Improve Writing?
Using adjectives to create vivid descriptions is the focus of exercises in this resource. A cloze reading activity asks class members to add missing adjectives to passages from Mark Teague's The Lost and Found. They then read...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: What Is Happiness?
Jack London's heart for adventure has come to define the spirit of America and its frontier. Selected passages from the foreword The Cruise of the Snark take eighth graders through London's construction and voyage of his ship before...
Curated OER
The Log Book of a Connecticut Slave Trade Ship
Seventh graders investigate the slave trade. In this Middle Passage lesson plan, 7th graders read excerpts of ship logs from Connecticut Slave Trade ships. Students respond to the provided analysis questions based on the logs.
Curated OER
The Language of Our World
High schoolers make inferences about characters in poetry. In this literature instructional activity, students read poetry and prose to determine how characters handle conflict in each of the genres.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension Jobs
Students practice different strategies to help them draw meaning from their reading. Students, divided into groups, read an assigned text selection. Each group member provided a summary of what they have been read based on a particular...
Curated OER
Reading Power through Visualizations
Students practice visualizing images as they read in this lesson. Students create an oral collage with their visualizations. Students are then given three separate scenarios to visualize, and are assessed on their description of their...
Curated OER
Seeing What You Read
Students practice visualizing what they read and hear in a text. They listen to selected passages from a text read by the instructor. Students discuss the visual pictures they see when listening to the text. After listening to a...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose Lesson Plans
Why do we practice identifying the author's purpose? Read this article to gain a better understanding of this reading strategy, and then peruse the attached lesson plans!
K12 Reader
The Grand Canyon
After reading s short description of the Grand Canyon, readers demonstrate their ability to use context to determine the meaning of words in the passage.
Curated OER
Imagery
Students write using imagery. In this descriptive writing lesson students write a descriptive paragraph about their favorite season. They use a chart to compile words related to their senses and emotions.
Clint Bagwell Consulting
Constitution
US history classes will enjoy this handy tool for reading the Constitution. Broken down by article and amendment, it also includes brief biographies of each signer and a detailed description of one painting.
Curated OER
Hit The Trail
Young historians research one of the most colorful periods in US History: the cattle drives of the 1800's. They research the three most popular trails, and complete mapping and writing assignments about each one. The lesson has many...
Curated OER
Sarah, Plain and Tall - Intro to Literature Circle jobs
Young scholars read a book with each student having a specific job for the class. In this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...
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
The Beautiful Moon: Story and Comprehension
In this beautiful moon: story and comprehension learning exercise, 3rd graders read a one passage about moon facts, then answer 5 multiple choice questions, with answer key provided.
Curated OER
When I Was Puerto Rican
Students are read passages from When I Was Puerto Rican and asked to respond to the passages in their journals. They decide on a topic for researching and they use this topic to develop their own memoirs.
Curated OER
Evaluate the Main Characters? Problem-Solving Processes
High schoolers read passages from several sources and evaluate the text for various criteria. In this problem solving instructional activity, students evaluate character problem solving processes after reading passages. They will use a...
Curated OER
Keywords: A Memorization Strategy
Here is a fabulous, five-page lesson plan on how keywords can help a reader with his/her reading comprehension. After a teacher-led discussion, pupils pair off with each other and work together to identify the main idea in a passage of...
Curated OER
Character Impressions
Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this instructional activity could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing...