Achievement Strategies
CCSS Unpacked Learning Targets for Reading and Writing History/Social Studies
How do all the lessons and activities you have planned for your class align to Common Core State Standards? This can feel like a very daunting question. Help ease the process by referencing a template that not only lists and...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Competing Views Regarding Mining on Inuit Lands
Scholars build background knowledge about mining on Inuit lands. Working in small groups, they sort information about the Inuit onto a point of view chart to determine if mining is beneficial to Inuit communities.
Curated OER
Reading and Writing Arguments
Should schools continue to teach cursive writing? After reading and considering the merits of a series of arguments on both sides of this proposition, class members choose a side of the issue and craft their own argument, drawing support...
EngageNY
Researching about the Red Cross, Continued: Who Is the Red Cross and What Does This Multinational Organization Do?
Code red! Learners read an informational article about the Red Cross, discussing the gist of the text in small groups. On a three-column note catcher, pupils take notes to show how the Red Cross functions as a multinational aid...
EngageNY
Inferring About Characters Based on How They Respond to Challenges (Chapter 3: "Las Papayas/Papayas")
Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...
Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...
Curated OER
Identifying Main Events
Help kindergartners learn to identify the main events in fiction. They will review elements of fiction, retell information found in the text, and discuss their real-life daily experiences. All the while, they will be asking themselves...
Curated OER
Poetry As Oral Performance
Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...
K12 Reader
Making Predictions
Read efficiently and effectively with a passage about making predictions and using headlines and visual aids as clues. After kids read a few paragraphs in the passage, they answer five comprehension questions on the side of the page.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Great Britain
Read to understand! Sounds great and your third graders will read to understand several interesting facts about Great Britain. They read, identify key details in the text, and write to answer five comprehension questions. Learning to...
EngageNY
Analyzing the Purpose of a Newspaper Article
Shh! No talking during the discussion! Using the resource, scholars engage in a silent discussion called a Chalk Talk activity to analyze the purpose of a newspaper article. Additionally, they read a model newspaper article and try to...
One Stop English
A Lesson on Register
The classroom might not be the best place for informal language, but it's a great place to teach middle and high schoolers how to identify the correct language register for their audience. A short lesson on formal and informal language...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Analyzing the Author’s Point of View: Relief Camps
We're halfway there ... what a relief! Scholars read an excerpt from a primary source about the relief camps associated with the1906 San Francisco earthquake. Next, they complete a mid-unit assessment, answering short-answer and...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Jigsaw to Build and Share Expertise about the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, Part 1
Using the Jigsaw protocol, scholars study chunks of text from a speech given by former US presidents following a devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. As they read the speech in small groups, they build background knowledge and share...
Curated OER
Find The Hidden Message: Media Literacy in Primary Grades
Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...
Curated OER
Chapter Tableaux: Visualizing The Call of the Wild
Do your young readers have difficulty visualizing what they read? Although the activity described here is for The Call of the Wild, the strategy could be used with any narrative. At the conclusion of each chapter of Jack London’s novel,...
Prestwick House
Author’s Purpose in Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” Speech
President Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered on June 12, 1987 before the Berlin Wall, provides class members with an opportunity to examine three key aspects of informational text: author bias, the use of facts and...
K12 Reader
The Inner Planets
Here's a reading exercise that uses an article about the inner planets to assess comprehension. After reading the article, kids respond to a series of questions using information from the text.
K12 Reader
Converting Fractions to Decimals
After examining a short article on fractions and decimals, readers draw information for the text to respond to a series of reading comprehension questions.
K12 Reader
Extreme Weather
Thunderstorms, tornados, blizzards, hurricanes. These extreme forms of weather are the focus of an article on a two-part reading comprehension worksheet. After reading the passage, kids use information in the text to respond to a series...
Curated OER
Talking Heads
After processing notes from research or an interview, middle schoolers turn the information into a script or dialogue for narrative, persuasive, or expository text. Use this lesson in any writing unit to reinforce proper writing skills.
EngageNY
Gathering Evidence and Drafting a Two-Voice Poem (Chapter 13: "Los Duraznos/Peaches")
Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...
EngageNY
Researching about the Red Cross, Continued: How Did the Red Cross Aid Haiti After the 2010 Earthquake?
What a puzzle! Scholars participate in a Jigsaw discussion within their expert groups, determining the gist of an article about the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As they read and discuss the article, they record thoughts on their note...
K12 Reader
Making Predictions
Prediction as a reading comprehension strategy is the focus of an article attached to a two-part worksheet. Kids read the article and then use the provided information to respond to the comprehension questions.