Smithsonian Institution
A New America: The Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965
Many dream of coming to America, but few may enter. The instructional activity explores the Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965 and how it changed immigration policies in the United States. Academics learn how immigration quotas impacted...
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Titles for Chapters
High schoolers synthesize the information they've learned from each chapter of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a creative summarizing activity. With a graphic organizer for all of the book's chapters, readers title...
EngageNY
Reading Shakespeare: Understanding Shakespeare’s Language
Pupils participate in a drama circle to read Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream aloud. They work with partners to discuss Shakespeare's use of language and analyze how specific lines of dialogue within the play help propel the...
Curated OER
Extra, Extra Read All About It
Looking for an interactive roll playing lesson? Young actors practice reading and rereading decodable texts with expression. They interact with the play, "The Boy Who Wanted the Willies," by Aaron Shepherd within this lesson. An...
Berkshire Museum
Where’s the Water?: Acting Out Science Cycles
Young scientists transform themselves into rivers, oceans, clouds, and drops of water in order to explore the water cycle. After assigning and explaining to students their different roles in the activity, the teacher reads aloud a...
Folger Shakespeare Library
Pre-Reading Hamlet with "Hamlet: An Insider’s Guide"
Prove that Gertrude did kill Ophelia from practicing the word inflections activities with these pre-reading strategies for Hamlet. Thespians practice the line, “Is that your sandwich?” as they stress and accent different words, and...
Curated OER
ACT Science Reasoning Test
The types of scientific information that need to be analyzed in the ACT test are presented here. Tips and techniques for completing the research, data, viewpoints, and multiple choice questions will help your class and their expectations.
Curated OER
Random Acts of Kindness for Kids
Students examine the concept of kindness to others. They define kindness, listen to various stories about random acts of kindness, and create an e-mail chain describing their own acts of kindness that is sent around the world.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 5
Class members continue their study of Romeo and Juliet by watching scenes from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and then examining the figurative language Shakespeare uses in Act 1, scene 5, lines 92–109 when Romeo and Juliet meet at the ball.
Curated OER
Reading Review for Grade 2 (2.4)
In this reading review for grade 2 (2.4) worksheet, 2nd graders answer 25 multiple choice comprehension questions in standardized test format.
Teacher Web
Sign of the Beaver Chapter Questions
Helpful for your unit on Elizabeth George Speare's Sign of the Beaver, a list of reading questions are a good way to check for understanding after your class finishes a chapter. Each two chapters have three or four questions,...
Scholastic
Teaching with Aesop's Fables
Bring the applicable morals of Aesop's Fables to your classroom with a series of reading comprehension activities. With 12 different fables with activities and exercises, the packet focuses on the ways learners can apply the fables...
Curated OER
Drama: The New Friends
Reader's Theater is a great way to build fluency, intonation, and dramatic flare. The class reads the theater piece, "The New Friends" paying attention to how they express emotion and feeling as they read. They discuss the use of plot,...
Curated OER
Drama: Learn A Lesson from the Lion
Reading is reading, whether it's for drama or English class. Boost reading fluency, accuracy, intonation, and comprehension while fostering creative acting skills. Kids read the provided tale of "The Lion and the Mouse" several times in...
Curated OER
Taming of the Shrew: Updated, Translated, and Performed
Make The Taming of the Shrew modern and relevant with this outline. Small groups can choose from a list of suggested scenes and update with modern language and settings before acting them out. Great questions refine writing and...
Curated OER
The State of "No Child Left Behind"
Your class can read about the changes Obama considered making to Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. After reading the article, pupils answer 13 questions that ask, who, what, when, where, and why.
Curated OER
Reading the Play
Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...
Curated OER
Analyzing Atmosphere: Macbeth Murder Scene and Dagger Speech
Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act II, Scenes I and II) lacks explicit details of the murder of King Duncan, yet the author creates an atmosphere that allows us to visualize the event. Readers interpret the "Dagger Speech" by writing stage...
K5 Learning
Androclus and the Lion
Kindness is never a standalone act. Fourth graders read the classic tale of Androclus and his act of service to the lion, which is repaid to him by the lion in a Roman colosseum. After reading the passage, they answer four comprehension...
K12 Reader
Solids, Liquids, & Gases
Solids, liquid, and gas, the three states of matter, are the subject of a cross-curricular reading comprehension exercise that asks kids to first read an article about these forms, and then to respond to a series of questions based on...
Curated OER
Beauty or the Beast
Does the FDA really intend to protect public health? Spark a debate in your chemistry or health class by using this article, titled "Beauty or the Beast." It questions the safety of cosmetics and toiletry products, govenment regulations,...
Curated OER
The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
Curated OER
Lights, Camera, and Action!
These activities center around acting out a play to help create fluent readers who use expression and emotion. As readers work through the play the first time, they also practice decoding strategies. In small groups of four, they then...
Curated OER
ReQuest Strategy: Reciprocal Questioning
Explore reciprocal questioning with this ReQuest comprehension strategy. After reading a passage, learners first question the teacher, trying to "stump" her. Then it is the teacher's turn to ask the pupils questions. All correct answers...