Curated OER
Esperanza Rising - Literature Circles and Review (Day 3)
Kids love working with their peers. Get your class into small literature circles and have them complete weekly assignments. Before beginning this week's activity, have each learner write a letter from Esperanza in California to Abuelita...
Curated OER
Create College-Ready Readers with Text-Dependent Questions
Build content literacy and cater to the Common Core State Standards by creating text-dependent questions to accompany reading passages.
Curated OER
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Have your class explore the effects of war by reading Eleanor Coerr's story, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." This is a story about a sixth grader who lives in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb is dropped. Learners answer questions,...
EngageNY
Analyzing Point of View: Inferring about the Natural Disaster in Eight Days
Who is telling the story? Readers take a look at the text Eight Days to determine if the story is told in first or third person. They then discuss in groups and complete a shared writing activity to describe how the narrator's point of...
Curated OER
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Problematic Situation
Accompany The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis with this activity learning exercise. Spark a discussion about the story's characters' decision making skills while making inferences and allow learners to connect personally...
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Every Day We Get More Illegal” by Juan Felipe Herrera
A study of Jan Felipe Herrera's poem "Every Day We Get More Illegal" opens the door for a discussion on immigration. To begin, class members examine the photograph "Desert Survival," record their observations of the image, and then...
Great Books Foundation
The Glass of Milk
It's not easy to ask for help. Learn why a boy on a ship struggles with accepting help in "The Glass of Milk," a short story by Manuel Rojas. Six discussion questions prompt class members to make inferences from the text about character...
California Education Partners
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
Conduct a lesson that leads into a writing assessment. After reading an excerpt from From Seed to Pumpkin, first graders demonstrate their interpretation of sections of the passage by sketching the details from each part.
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...
Reed Novel Studies
The Lions of Little Rock: Novel Study
A true friend sticks with you through thick and thin. Marlee and Liz, main characters in The Lions of Little Rock, have that type of friendship. Scholars learn vocabulary and answer comprehension questions as they read how the two girls...
Reed Novel Studies
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher: Novel Study
Don't count your eggs before they hatch—unless they are dragon eggs. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher follows the main character as he finds himself hatching dragon eggs. Scholars work through the resource and read how Jeremy tries to...
Reed Novel Studies
The One and Only Ivan: Novel Study
A new friend, a new perspective, and a new light are all found in Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan. Ivan, a gorilla, was content with his life until a baby elephant befriended him. Readers find synonyms, answer...
Reed Novel Studies
I Am David: Novel Study
Many people dream of getting a fresh start or starting over again. David, a main character in I am David, gets that chance and must learn to live life outside of the concentration camp. Scholars read about David's adventures as they...
Reed Novel Studies
Tuck Everlasting: Novel Study
Would you want to live forever? That is a question that Winnie, in Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, must answer. Scholars read to find out what Winnie chooses and reinforce their knowledge with vocabulary activities,...
Reed Novel Studies
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit: Novel Study
What a joy to see the world through the eyes of a child. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit allows readers to see a child's perspective of fleeing Germany due to having a father the Nazis wanted. Scholars read about the adventures of the...
Student Handouts
Comparing Countries’ Constitutions
Analyze the constitutions of five different countries and see how they relate to each country's culture and traditions. Pupils read the preambles to the constitutions of India, Ireland, Russia, Suriname, and the United States. After...
Eastconn
Women of the California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was not just an opportunity for the male gold miners sifting for shiny nuggets. Small groups read accounts of the ways women took advantage of the influx of workers to run hotels, bake pies, and wading out into...
Reed Novel Studies
James and the Giant Peach: Novel Study
Everyone wants to feel like they belong. James, in James and the Giant Peach, finds a feeling of belonging in a very odd place—inside a peach! Scholars read the story of James and the Peach and work through vocabulary, language, and...
NASA
The Big Climate Change Experiment Lesson 3: Climate Change Lines of Evidence
Consider the preponderance of evidence when making a verdict. The third of five lessons in Unit 1: The Big Climate Change Experiment focuses on the evidence for climate change. Learners study graphs, diagrams, and pictures regarding...
Curated OER
Inference By Analogy
Students infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustration.
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
A Research Project: A Discussion of the Recreating and Populating of a Colonial Village
Primary source research, secondary source readings, and discussion provide the understanding necessary for students to create a colonial persona, and simulate a situation appropriate for this person, time, and place. While the...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
A Case Study of Memory Loss in Mice
Using a short news article, high school or college biologists examine the scientific method in practice. The article, which focuses on an Alzheimer's experiment performed on rats, has very limited information, so learners must be...
Great Books Foundation
On the Origin of Species
How did Charles Darwin support his controversial theory of evolution with evidence? Use an excerpt from his 1859 work On the Origin of Species to reinforce the importance of making inferences within an informational text, and to...
Mr. Ambrose
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...