Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Give each learner a newspaper for this instructional activity! As a group, read select editorials and discuss them with your class. Are these articles informational or persuasive? Cut out select editorials and have learners identify the...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

Do reporters write about what they see, or what they think? Examine the differences between investigative writing and opinion writing with a lesson from PBS. Learners look over different examples of each kind of reporting, and convince...

Create geometric cups by interpreting directions, informational text, and mathematical concepts. Critical thinkers apply geometric theory (congruent shapes, patterns, symmetry) to actual directions to create a cup that holds Kool Aid....

If you're looking to set your class up for writing effective arguments, try out this idea. While originally created with freedom as a guiding idea, the activity could easily be adapted for other themes. As a class, create a chart of...

Frogs are the theme of a lesson plan that challenges scholars to examine photographs, read informational texts, then ask and answer questions. Scholars work collaboratelively as they rotate through stations, discuss their observations,...

Bring Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Mad Libs, and cloze activities to your college class with this lesson. They complete a cloze instruction activity in which the students choose words that would fill in the blanks and create their own...

Stress the importance of authenticating online resources and understanding the sources of websites' information with this activity. Using a Web-based activity, the instructional activity prompts young learners to think critically about...

Smart Solutions is the theme of a unit created to meet the needs of English language earners. Through a series of lessons, scholars follow a routine—move, speak, and listen— to cover topics including stores, shops, celebrations, pets,...

Freaky frogs are the focus of a lesson plan designed to boost reading comprehension skills using text features and asking and answering questions. Informational text and a poem supply scholars with animal-related vocabulary and facts. A...

Interpreting graphs is an essential skill for young scientists. An interactive online lesson gives individuals an opportunity to review the components of a graph and learn to read and interpret the shape of a graph. The lesson includes...

Insert text box here. Learners use index cards to create their own informational text boxes. The text box includes information about an insect in the rainforest. Scholars also complete the draft of their research science journal entries.

Readers are presented with a list of three questions and asked to actively listen to a story or article to answer them. They verbally answer the questions to learn the strategy. Next, read a story to them or have them silently read a...

Distinguish between fact and opinions in this nonfiction reading lesson. Middle schoolers read 'The Diary of an Early American Boy' and work in groups to analyze the text. They record the facts and opinions for the text.

A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...

A read-aloud anthology focuses on Columbus and the pilgrims. Young scholars listen to several stories covering Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, pilgrims, meeting Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving. Nine...

A read-aloud anthology focuses on colonial towns and townspeople. Over three weeks, young scholars listen to stories, participate in discussions about town life, practice word work, and complete an extension activity with each...

How do we determine how much information to include and what can be left out? By playing a game of 20 questions, the class generates the best strategies for finding a number. They then move on to guessing the next letter in a short...

After viewing an informational video that introduces Bernard Madoff and the concept of a Ponzi scheme, class members begin reading "How Bernard Madoff Did It," Liaquat Ahamed's New York Times book review that explains Madoff's crime, and...

Can you read a map? Scholars use an interactive technology tool to analyze maps of various kinds to gather evidence and data to better understand their meanings and usefulness. Using newly obtained knowledge, they form an interpretation...

Boo! Whether you're easily scared or enjoy a good fright, a reading passage on haunted house attractions is a great addition to a Halloween-themed unit. Learners read a short informational passage before answering multiple choice,...