Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: Election Choices: 2008

For Students 5th - 6th Standards
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: Excerpt Southern Horrors: Lynch Laws in All Its Phases by Ida b.wells

For Students 10th - 12th
This is an excerpt comes from "Southern Horrors: Lynch Laws in All Its Phases" by Ida B.Wells. In it she talks about lynching, or the murder by mob for an alleged crime without a legal trial. The targets of such violence and hatred were...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Road to American Independence" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 9th - 10th
This informational text recounts America's road to independence, starting from the beginning of English colonization in North America and ending with the final battle of the American Revolution. A specific purpose for reading and...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "When Good People Do Bad Things" by Ann Trafton

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
In this informational text, Rebecca Saxe, associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, and her colleagues conducted an experiment to study the way people behave in groups. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: Putting Good Deeds in Headlines May Not Be So Good

For Students 6th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Putting Good Deeds in Headlines May Not Be So Good" by Tovia Smith, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Changing America" by Barbara Radner

For Students 4th - 6th
This is an informational article about how Martin Luther King Jr. worked toward changing America in the 1950s and 1960s. It includes a short bio of Dr. King and a reading purpose: As you read, take notes on the problems that African...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "A Thief Dines Out, Hoping Later to Eat In" by Rick Bragg

For Students 9th - 10th
In this "New York Times" article, Rick Bragg discusses why Gangaram Mahes prefers jail time to freedom. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This site offers links to paired texts, questions and answers, an...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 5th - 7th
In 1835, a Native American woman was left on San Nicolas Island for 18 years by herself. Scott O'Dell's award-winning novel "Island of the Blue Dolphins" is based on her life. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Anger as Inspiration" by Sami Awad

For Students 5th - 7th
This is a transcript of an interview with Sami Awad as part of the Global Oneness Project, which aims to "inspire students to rethink their relationship to the world" A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "What Are Clouds?" by Nasa

For Students 4th - 6th
This informational text explains the formation of different clouds and how they contribute to different types of weather on Earth. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This site offers links to paired texts,...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "The Rush of Immigrants" by Us history.org

For Students 9th - 10th
This informational text discusses the new immigration, from the beginning of the Gilded Age of economic growth in the 1870s to the anti-immigration policies put in place during the 1920s. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "It's for You to Know That You Forgive", Says Holocaust Survivor

For Students 7th - 9th
This is the story of Eva Mozes Kor, a Jewish American survivor of the Holocaust. Eva and her family were forcibly transported to Auschwitz, where she and her twin sister Miriam were subjected to the conditions of the concentration camps...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Soccer Speaks Many Languages" by Dianna Geers

For Students 4th - 6th
This informational text, discusses Innocent Ndayizeye's love for playing soccer while living in a refugee camp and after he relocates to America. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This site offers links to...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Introduction to World War Ii" by Us history.org

For Students 9th - 10th
This informational text gives a comprehensive summary of the causes, events, and conclusion of the World War II. A specific purpose for reading and vocabulary notes are provided. This site offers links to paired texts, questions and...
Article
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Teen Brain Takes Biggest Sports Hits" by Katherine Harmon

For Students 6th - 8th
In this informational text, Katherine Harmon discusses the effects that head injuries can have on the teenage brain. As you read, take notes on what happens to an athlete as a result of a head injury and the additional effect it can have...