The Pledge of Allegiance, the Gettysburg Address, the National Anthem, and the Preamble to the Constitution all get close attention in an exercise that asks learners to rewrite these formally-worded documents into informal language....

Building on a previous lesson plan, readers continue using context clues to learn new vocabulary. Additionally, they continue working on their Gathering Evidence graphic organizers, making connections between an informational text and A...

Boost reading comprehension skills with a lesson all about freaky frogs. A poem hooks scholars and takes them into a reading of an informational text followed by peer discussions. A three-page worksheet focuses on text features and...

Pupils take a mid-unit assessment, completing a point of view graphic organizer based on an informational article about offshore drilling. Next, learners answer text-dependent and short-answer questions about the text.

Writers use the Short Response Graphic Organizer: The Border to learn how to answer short response questions. After completing the organizer, they rotate among classmates conducting peer critiques of their work.

A theme runs through it. Scholars analyze how a common theme runs through the myths they have read and The Lightning Thief. They complete graphic organizers and view a four paragraph model essay. They analyze the essay for structure and...

Which side are you on? Scholars watch a video of John Stossel discussing the use of DDT pesticide. Learners talk about the purpose of the video and the speaker's argument and then complete a Tracing an Argument graphic organizer while...

Freaky frogs are the focus of a lesson plan designed to boost reading comprehension skills using text features and asking and answering questions. Informational text and a poem supply scholars with animal-related vocabulary and facts. A...

Considering Christopher Crowe's Mississippi Trial, 1955 with reading groups or as a whole-class text? Check out the background information and instructional ideas in this seven-page resource packet.

How do pupils relate paired passages to each other? Here's a resource that helps! The lesson includes a short story and a poem as a set of paired reading passages, followed by some analysis questions. It also includes an essay template...

Here is an instructional activity that asks pupils to analyze poetry and sparks discussion about two different types of texts: asking how is the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling alike and different from the story, Bud, Not Buddy by...

What happens when a tenuous grasp on sanity begins to slip? Compare Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and Emily Dickinson's "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain" with a lesson plan focused on developing a common central idea. High...

A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...

May I take your order? Scholars read "Ain't I a Woman" and participate in a World Cafe. They work in small groups to discuss text-related questions and then complete a Note-Catcher sheet to organize their thoughts. For homework, learners...

Not all compare and contrast assignments have writers compare and contrast in the same way. Some only ask for comparisons, others only ask for contrasts, and many require more focus than a simple list of similarities and differences....

The unsinkable ship that sunk. Scholars review the case against the White Star Line following the tragic loss of life from the Titanic disaster. Academics read documents and organize them into arguments for and against the cruise line....

Let's compare and contrast! Scholars use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the experience of reading a poem and listening to its audio version. Next, they complete graphic organizers, comparing two different genres: a poem and a...

There would be no luck if it were not for bad luck. Scholars take a close look at the theme of adversity through multiple reads of Taggot, the Blacksmith’s Daughter. They place sticky notes on important details of the story and complete...

How do authors convey their points of view? Using the resource, scholars read an excerpt from a primary source document about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Then, they complete graphic organizers to analyze the author's point of view.

That sounds like a plan! Scholars complete the Newspaper Article Planning graphic organizer to understand the process of writing a newspaper article. They also use what they learned about researching factual information and...

Not all sandwiches are edible. Scholars use a Quote Sandwich graphic organizer to draft the written content of their informative consumer guides. Additionally, they view a mini-lesson on formal writing. 

There's no such thing as over-planning. In preparation for their informative consumer guides, scholars complete a Quote Sandwich graphic organizer to compile their information about sustainable fishing methods. Next, volunteers share...

Sustainable seafood is not an oxymoron. Pupils watch a video about how consumers purchase seafood responsibly. Then, using resources in their assessment research folders, they complete a graphic organizer to record factual information...

Where would society be without the TV? Working together, scholars complete an anchor chart about the invention of the television. Additionally, pupils complete vocabulary cards for key terms from the unit and organize them on a metal...