EngageNY
Identifying How Text Features Support Arguments: “The Exterminator"
Half and half. Split the class in half to gain a full understanding of sidebars. Pupils work in groups to discuss sidebars in text. Half of the groups read Seriously Sick, and the other half reads Killer Genes. They read using...
Curated OER
Identify Text Features in Nonfiction
What does a non-fiction text look like? Examine the text features of non-fiction. Middle and high schoolers read non-fiction passages provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization.
Ontario
Reading Informational Text
Learning to recognize the importance of the features of information text (i.e., titles, subtitles, endnotes, sidebars, etc.) is the focus of a reading activity designed for middle schoolers. Learners examine how these text features help...
Curated OER
Simple Internet Searching Lesson 2
Learn how to use search engines and keywords! Learners evaluate the information process using given criteria and determine ways in which the process may be improved.
EngageNY
Citing Evidence and Building Vocabulary: “The Exterminator”
It is an out-of-body experience. Scholars take a look at the sidebars outside the body of the text in The Exterminator. They discuss the purpose of this type of text feature and work to determine the gist. Learners write unfamiliar...
Curated OER
Persuasive Arguments
Examine persuasive writing using this informational excerpt about natural habitat conservation. Readers examine the headings of three paragraphs to determine their effect, then copy the first sentences of each. They use these topic...
Curated OER
Peer and Self-evaluation in Spoken Tests: Tools and Methods
Students, in groups, each take a different role and are to either ask or answer questions. They explore how to effectively evaluate themselves and others.
National Constitution Center
Explore Rights Around the World
How has the American Bill of Rights influenced the rest of the world? An interactive web activity helps individuals see the similarities between countries' bills of rights. A text-to-text tool compares the American Bill of Rights to...
Media Education Lab
Propaganda in Context
"Board Game Helps Fight Real World Ebola," a video produced by Voice of America, provides the text for a guided instructional activity that asks viewers to analyze the propaganda techniques used in the video. Groups then select a example...
Scholastic
Consider the Source
Who is more trustworthy when it comes to marijuana: a high school student, or The National Institute on Drug Abuse? Sources matter when reading informational text. Help teenagers discern which facts are true with an activity that focuses...
Curated OER
Persuasion in Print
Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...
Curated OER
The Internet of Things: IoT
How has the Internet of Things affected our lives? Scholars examine the massive influence of mobile devices in this analysis activity, which begins with a seven-minute documentary clip. They also read a New York Times article (linked)...
National Constitution Center
American Treasures
Just how long did it take the framers to write the Constitution? What role did the drafting process play? Scholars examine various drafts from the Constitutional Convention to gain a better understanding of its formation. Interactive...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Exploring Text with the iMovie Application
Get your class going on one of the final assessments for a unit on short stories by introducing iMovie and its main features. In this tenth lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils take some time to explore iMovie before conducting an...
Sullivan County BOCES
Reading Closely Teacher Manual
Wolves are the subject of a series of images, informational texts, videos, websites, and narratives. The activities prompt learners to use close reading skills, including reading closely for textual details, making evidence-based claims,...
Global Publishing Solutions
Exploring New York City
Your class members will get up close and personal with the Big Apple in this fantastic lesson plan, which introduces learners to not only the concept of a city, but also provides a thorough overview of New York City itself and its unique...
Curated OER
Analyzing Features of Consumer Text
Students evaluate consumer information. In this written communication lesson, students read nutrition facts from different foods and determine the foods that have the most healthful benefits.
EngageNY
Narratives as Theater, Part I: What is Readers Theater?
Discover the exciting world of readers theater! Scholars learn all about the reading strategy, reading a script about American heroes and completing an I Notice/I Wonder chart. Next, pupils participate in readers theater using the script.
Curated OER
Brochure Writing
Have your budding authors evaluate various writing styles found in informational brochures. They look for effective writing, compare and contrast styles, and create an assessment.
Louisiana Department of Education
How to Write a Memoir
Who are we and what shapes our identities? Seventh graders work to answer this question as they learn how to write a memoir. Full of non-print resources and supplemental texts that range from fiction to non-fiction, scholars write their...
PBS
Broadcast News
Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Dramatic Structure of the Short Story
The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...
Google
Beginner & Intermediate 5: Evaluating Credibility of Sources
Convey how to determine appropriate and credible online sources with a series of three lessons. After completing the lessons, class members will know what kinds of sources to use, how to identify credible sources, and how tone and style...
Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc.
Roman World vs. Feudal World
Young historians compare the major features of the Roman and feudal worlds, such as religion, social hierarchy, and political tenets, using online resources and group discussion.