EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Lost Boys of Sudan
Get deep! Teach scholars how to make connections between texts to deepen their understanding of a topic. Using the resource, pupils read and annotate a short informational text about Sudan's Civil War and refugee crisis. Next, they...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka and Nuer Tribes
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...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka and Nuer Tribes Until the Mid-1980s (“Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War” Excerpt 1) (Version 1)
Readers consider comparisons between the Dinka and Nuer tribes in South Sudan, making connections between an informational article about Sudanese tribes and the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They annotate the text to help...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka Tribe (“Loss of Culturally Vital Cattle Leaves Dinka Tribe Adrift in Refugee Camps” Excerpt 1)
Text annotations help readers track essential ideas. Pupils continue reading and annotating an informational article about Sudanese tribes, connecting it with A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They also begin writing about their...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Three: What's the Status of Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...
EngageNY
Comparing Historical and Fictional Accounts: Second Sudanese Civil War (Chapters 14 and 15, Plus Rereading “Time Trip”)
Let's compare! One pair of scholars adds to the Salva/Nya anchor chart by gathering evidence about the characters from chapters 14 and 15 of A Long Walk to Water. The rest of the class pairs work on adding to the Survival anchor chart....
EngageNY
Final Performance Task: Delivering an Opinion Speech with Multimedia Display
Welcome to the grand finale! Scholars practice reading their speeches to a partner and make last-minute changes based on feedback. Pupils then present their final opinion speeches to their small groups and show off their work in a...
Planet e-Book
Wuthering Heights
Though it is Emily Bronte's only novel, Wuthering Heights became one of the greatest of all-time. The classic novel gets an update in the form of an eBook. Readers learn about Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar, and the other characters...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Dinka and Nuer Tribes Until the Mid-1980s (“Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War” Excerpt 2)
Scholars continue making connections between the article "Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War" and A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They talk with partners to discuss how the article helps them understand a character's point of...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Structure Forming Meaning
Teach literary lovers how to form opinions about form. Scholars read
informational text about the form used in villanelles. After analyzing
the structure used in the poetry with graphic organizers and gallery
walks, writers create...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Examining the Unique Living Things of the Rainforests and the Scientists Who Study Them
Gorillas, tigers, and tree frogs ... welcome to the rainforest! Scholars complete a KWL chart to determine what they already know—and what they want to find out—about the rainforest. Next, they participate in a gallery walk, viewing...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Why Are Sports Important in American Culture?
What makes sports so special to many Americans? Scholars ponder the question as they participate in a gallery walk, immersing themselves in images and texts about sports. Pupils also complete a vocabulary strategies anchor chart to...
K20 LEARN
HOT Questions: Creating Meaningful Questions
Scholars examine a list of questions and sort them into corresponding groups based on similarities. A gallery walk allows peers to see how their peers sorted questions and leave notes. Costa's Level of Questions is the topic of a...
K5 Learning
Liza's First Spelling Bee
Learners read about Liza's first spelling bee before answering six reading comprehension questions. Skills include identifying similarities, making inferences, drawing conclusions, and answer questions based on explicit information in...
K5 Learning
Treasure Hunt
After reading about a book that leads two friends on a treasure hunt, class members respond to four short answer reading comprehension questions. Skills include describing the characters, retelling the story in their own words, writing...
National Woman's History Museum
Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution
Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Environment
A fiction and nonfiction text, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry and I See a Kookaburra! Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page begins a learning experience in...
Library of Congress
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was the greatest, as he'd tell you himself. A set of reading comprehension worksheets walks through parts of Ali's life and promotes individuals to become good readers and writers.
EngageNY
Introducing Module 4A: This Is Your Brain—Plugged In
What does brain science reveal about teens and decision making? Scholars watch a short video and participate in a gallery walk to pique their interest and curiosity about the topic. Next, they begin reading an informational article about...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Excerpt 3 of “The Digital Revolution and the Adolescent Brain Evolution”
It's time to level up and discover how video games affect the brain. Pupils explore the topic as they continue reading excerpts from an article about adolescent brain development and the digital revolution. Scholars also participate in a...
Curated OER
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Second graders participate in guided reading and writing experience in this set of five lessons. They complete a picture walk of Michael Rosen's, We're Going on a Bear Hunt before listening to the story and retelling it. Working with a...
Curated OER
Build Mastery: Purpose for Reading
Do you agree? Set up three stations in your room for this reading comprehension activity: I agree, I disagree, and I'm not sure. Learners listen to statements and walk to the sign that best describes their response. Model...
Curated OER
The Gift of the Magi
Test the true meaning of giving - and irony - with this lesson plan about "The Gift of the Magi." Using textual analysis, details, and text organization, middle schoolers make predictions about future events in the story and determine...
Curated OER
Build Mastery: Fact and Opinion
Is it a fact or an opinion? Get your kids up and moving during this reading comprehension activity. They listen to you read a book or passage (consider writing something yourself to get the ideal text), listening for facts and opinions....