Curated OER
Main Idea in Informational Text
Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...
Massachusetts Department of Education
Nostalgia
To prepare for crafting their own memoir, class members examine poetry by Margaret Atwood, Billy Collins, Robert Hayden, and Claude McKay, stories by Richard Rodriquez and Willa Cather, and Barry Levinson's film Avalon. They examine...
Curated OER
Weather Proverbs
Define and write proverbs! Learners define proverbs, use the Internet to find weather-related proverbs, and talk with their parents to learn other proverbs. There's a well-structured worksheet included here.
Curated OER
Self-Monitoring Strategies and Vocabulary Games
Middle and high schoolers identify how to discover a word's meaning by exploring context clues and any pictures, diagrams, photographs, and charts that might be included. They continue this process with other examples and locate one on...
ReadWriteThink
Webcams in the Classroom: Animal Inquiry and Observation
Boost observational skills with an inquiry-based instructional activity that takes scholars on a virtual field trip. With help from webcams, learners observe animals in a zoo or aquarium. Observations go into a journal and a discussion...
Curated OER
"Spelldown" by Becky Mushko
Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...
Curated OER
Sequencing
Students consider how cause and effect translate into sequencing in literary works. In this sequencing lesson, students read non-fiction passages about Eleanor Roosevelt and Clara Barton. Students complete graphic organizers based on...
Curated OER
Listen to the Voices of the Holocaust
Connect fiction and nonfiction narratives about the Holocaust to show universal themes of human strength and endurance.
Curated OER
Civil Disobedience from Antigone to Hunger Games
Study the concepts and practice of civil disobedience through fiction and nonfiction texts.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Creating a Psychology News Wiki
If you're searching for a way to keep your class informed of current psychology news, this ongoing assignment is both educational and engaging. Class members locate and read a psychology article of interest, write a psychological...
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
Curated OER
Practice Makes Perfect: Citing Textual Evidence
Strategies, lesson plans, and ideas to help pupils locate and cite textual evidence.
Curated OER
Making a Non-Fiction Big Book
Writing a non-fiction big book can help students learn about research techniques, note taking, and other skills.
Curated OER
Tell a Ton of Tall Tales
Elementary schoolers read many tall tales. They create their own tall tale about a specific event of their choosing. They must act the part of the author. This well-designed instructional activity takes three class sessions to complete,...
Curated OER
Finding Your Story: Helping Students Begin Their Memoir
Young scholars write their memoir. In this memoir lesson, students study the differences between an autobiography and a memoir. Young scholars construct an outline as the basis for their memoir.
EngageNY
Adding to Cascading Consequences and Stakeholders: Hunter-Gatherer Food Chain
Could the hunter-gatherer food chain feed everyone in the United States? To consider the question, pupils use their research and add to the Cascading Consequences chart based on Michael Pollan's hunter-gatherer food chain from The...
Curated OER
Crazy Critters are Figuratively Fantastic
Eighth graders use creatures created from their imaginations to practice hyperbole, simile, metaphor, and alliteration in association with creative writing. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide their writing.
Curated OER
How Logical is Garfield?
Third graders analyze comics found in the newspaper for samples of logical, emotional, and ethical appeal. They write a paragraph for each selected comic strip explaining how the comic strip represents the use of logic, emotions, or ethics.
Pearson
Performance-Based Assessment Practice Test (Grade 7 ELA/Literacy)
Give your class a taste of the Common Core with a practice test that includes both literary and informational reading passages. Pupils respond to related multiple choice questions and longer written response questions. See the...
Curated OER
Desert Drama
Young scholars read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting...
Curated OER
Performance-Based Assessment Practice Test (Grade 10 ELA/Literacy)
Get an idea of how your class members might perform on the Common Core tests with a comprehensive practice test. The assessment includes literary and informational passages for learners to read an analyze. Pupils respond to a series of...
Curated OER
Fluency Passages, 3rd Grade
What would it be like to travel in a covered wagon? Learn about the life of a pioneer with a short informational reading passage. Kids read four paragraphs about traveling in a covered wagon and how it is different than traveling today,...
Curated OER
Elaborating the Main Idea, Using Supporting Details
A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...
Curated OER
Main Idea in Informational Text
Readers identify main ideas and supporting details using informational texts. In this literacy instructional activity, they make predictions and read the text to find the main ideas. They use a table diagram to define the main idea and...