Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce’s short story, is used to model how structural moves, the decisions an author makes about setting, point of view, time order, etc., can be examined to reveal an author’s purpose. Groups...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - My Last Dutchess
Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be instructional activityed by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - Romeo and Juliet
“What is the theme of this story?” Now there’s a question all pupils dread. Rather than encountering a sea of faces that look like they were painted by Edward Munch, face a classroom filled with smiles and confidence. Show your readers...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Close Reading of the "Spadefoot Toad"
A mid-unit assessment challenges scholars to use their close reading skills to identify the main idea and key details. After reading a brief excerpt, learners answer a series of questions—multiple-choice, short answer—complete a graphic...
Curated OER
Mini-Lesson: Planning for Inferences
The five lessons in this resource are designed to teach class members how to read between the lines, how to use personal experience/background knowledge/schema, along with the information in the text, to make assumptions about what is...
Curated OER
Questioning
Practice making predictions by looking at the cover of a book. You can use The Hungry Thing, as suggested here, or any other book you may be reading in class. Use the predictions to talk about good reading strategies. A chart is included...
Curated OER
Secrets of the Mummies
How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing...
Crafting Freedom
Harriet Jabocs and Elizabeth Keckly: The Material and Emotional Realities of Childhood in Slavery
Learning how to make accurate inferences by putting together facts found in multiple sources is one of those skills all learners must develop, but one that can be a challenge to teach. This resource is a must-have for your curriculum...
Curated OER
Matthew Henson
Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...
Curated OER
Weaving a Story of Cooperation: The Goat in the Rug
Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...
Hampton-Brown
From "First Crossing"
Young scholars look closely at four tales taken from the collection of short stories, First Crossing edited by Donald R. Galloby. While examining the life of four teenagers and the lives they lead as U.S. immigrants, your enthusiastic...
Novelinks
Touching Spirit Bear: The Literary Mandala
Even someone with a dark side can make a good decision—and vice versa. Readers explore Cole's traits and decisions in Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear and analyze his sunside and shadowside. They identify a symbol that best...
Hampton-Brown
Esperanza Rising
Accompany a reading of the novel, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, with a series of lessons that dive deep into the literary world of a young girl and the journey she takes to start a new life. Lessons and their...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Evidence and Inference in Pygmalion
Scholars complete the Pygmalion mid-unit assessment to show their progress toward the unit's stated goals. The assessment requires learners to read text and successfully answer multiple choice and extended response questions.
Curated OER
Making Inferences about Problem and Solution
Students use unfamiliar objects to make inferences. In this making inferences instructional activity, students make guesses about what an item does. Students brainstorm together and make lists of ideas and write them on index cards. The...
Curated OER
Call It a Hunch
Give young scholars a chance to practice making inferences after reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. They confirm whether or not their conclusions are true, have a class discussion, and then independently complete an...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Was Bias A Factor? Make an Argument
The ability to analyze an argument is a skill emphasized by the Common Core standards. Offer your class an opportunity to develop and hone their skills by providing them the testimonies in an Oregon court case. After reading the facts of...
Curated OER
Lessons in Looking: Contraband in Paintings
Using the paintings On to Liberty and A Ride for Liberty, 10th graders analyze historical perspectives on life after the Civil War. They attempt to determine what the Civil War meant for free slaves, then read a paragraph highlighting...
Curated OER
Bread in a Bag
Could the history of bread really be interesting? Yes, it could! An informational text gives scholars wheat production background from 8,000 years ago, discussing different types of bread and the current industry in Oklahoma. Learners...
Curated OER
Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
Before your high schoolers read Julius Caesar, have them complete this thought-provoking activity! To familiarize them with some of the play's most important lines, break the class into pairs and have them create a skit around two lines...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: “This I Believe” Venn Diagrams After Reading Strategy
Difficulties with brain injuries still continue today. After reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, class members read a series of modern personal essays about brain injuries and choose an essay to compare...
Ohio Department of Education
Observe Then Infer
To develop their skill at drawing inferences from observations, sixth graders rotate through six stations, conduct a series of experiments, make observations, and draw inference from what they observe.
Curated OER
During Reading Strategies
"How important is freedom to you and your family?" The guiding question becomes much more powerful after your class reads and responds to a passage from a historical novel. While reading the passage, they complete a graphic organizer...
Curated OER
Mixed Up Chameleon
Students discover facts about chameleons. In this adaptations lesson plan, students read a book about chameleons and discuss the adaptations they have to survive. Students also discuss predator and prey of the chameleon. Students make...