Curated OER
A Similar Look at Another Text
Second graders read stories about relationships and record their thoughts using a "Before" and "After" organizer.
Curated OER
Making a Family Newsletter: Using a Word Template
Students create a one-page family newsletter about a selected person in their family. They bring in a photo or use a digital camera to take a picture of their selected family member, and use a newsletter template to write and publish...
Curated OER
Mother's Day Celebration
In this ESL Mother's Day reading comprehension activity, students read a short text about two children who celebrate the day in an affordable way. There are 5 questions to answer and a short essay about Mother's Day.
Canby School District
Hoot Study Questions
After reading each chunk of two chapters of Carl Hiaasen's novel Hoot, ask learners to respond to related study questions. The instructions at the top of the questions suggest that individuals should read the questions first, read the...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: K-W-L
What would your class like to learn about Japanese culture? Prepare them for a novel unit about Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter with a KWL chart. After listing what they already know about Japanese culture, they write questions...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Family Voices In As I Lay Dying
Learners analyze William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' and his use of multiple voices. In this William Faulkner lesson plan, students analyze Faulkner's use of multiple voices in narration. Learners examine the Bundren family through the...
Curated OER
THE SWEET TASTE OF SUMMER
In this reading of text activity, students read and analyze a short story about watermelons and then answer eight questions in complete sentences.
Curated OER
Family Pictures
Fourth graders, after reading the story, "Family Pictures," discuss the format of the story and then recall a favorite family experience of their own. They then write a paragraph as modeled by the author describing that experience with...
Curated OER
Science-- "Moving the World?"- Learning About Levers
In this levers learning exercise, students read a one page information text about the three classes of levers. Students then analyze 10 pictures of simple machines and circle the fulcrum point. Students classify each machine according to...
Curated OER
Reading- Earthquakes (Online Interactive)
In this reading comprehension learning exercise, students read a 3 paragraph text about a student who is home alone during an earthquake. Students fill in the blanks in 14 sentences. This is an online interactive learning exercise.
Curated OER
"Hamlet" Do you know the text?: Fun Trivia Quiz
While this short quiz is not well designed, it may be useful for generating your own reading comprehension questions on William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Curated OER
Is That Movie OK?
Discuss movies and movie enjoyment with your middle school language arts class. They interpret movie review information, determine appropriate movies, and then write film reviews to share with the class. Focus on using context clues to...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Icky Bug Colors (Pallotta)
Get to know the bugs around us with emerging readers who use Jerry Pallotta's informative book Icky Bug Colors to learn vocabulary in context. Address terms before reading the text aloud, preparing kids to listen for them later....
Curated OER
Tunes for Bears to Dance to: Graphic Organizer Strategy
"What are Henry's options?" "What do you think Henry will do?" To better understand the central conflict for the main character in Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members engage in a compare-and-contrast activity that...
Novelinks
Maniac Magee: Discussion Questions
Why did they say that? What did they mean? How did they feel? Using the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, challenge your young readers to answer the comprehension questions about chapters 41 and 42 of Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Each...
Curated OER
For the Record
Learners read a New York Times article in order to examine the importance of cultural artifacts. They create essays from the point of view of one cultural artifact to demonstrate the knowledge they gained by doing research.
Curated OER
Learning From the Past
Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...
Curated OER
Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers...
Reed Novel Studies
The Sisters Grimm: Novel Study
Author Michael Buckley's novel The Sisters Grimm features two fairy-tale sleuths who are tasked with stopping a giant from destroying their town. Using the novel study, individuals acquire new vocabulary and answer...
Curated OER
Awesome Stories: Vincent van Gogh
Who was Vincent van Gogh? Most of the questions can be answered in two or three sentences; however, there is at least one essay prompt and one personal response question that require longer answers. Questions call for a good mix of...
K20 LEARN
No Imitations, Please! Avoiding Plagiarism
With all the stuff available online, good essays are just a click away. But talk about tracking! Writers beware! New tech can now identify plagiarism, and the consequences of presenting someone else's work as your own are severe. Here's...
It's About Time
Sounds in Strings
How many of your pupils play an instrument? A musical science lesson will help all of them understand how string instruments work. Young scientists construct a string-and-pulley system to test frequency and pitch. The lesson...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Third Grade Skills Unit 10: Living in Colonial America
Over three weeks, third graders participate in lessons designed to boost spelling and grammar skills—adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns—and prefixes. Readings are themed to share stories about Colonial America.
Curated OER
Bloom's Taxonomy for Ethan Frome: Chapter Four
As your class progresses through Chapter four of Ethan Frome, provide them with these thought-provoking questions built using Bloom's Taxonomy.