EngageNY
End of Unit 2 Assessment: Final Draft of Literary Argument Essay
Take the last step in writing a literary argument essay using Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in an activity focused on feedback. Using the stars and steps revision method, pupils consider teacher and peer feedback to revise...
EngageNY
Planning for Writing: Introduction and Conclusion of a Literary Argument Essay
After completing three body paragraphs of an argument essay about life's rules to live by from Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis, it's time to begin writing the introduction and conclusion. Independently, pupils draft the final two...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "We All Return to the Place Where We Were Born" by Oscar Gonzales
What do you remember about your childhood home? Scholars listen to Oscar Gonzales reading his poem "We All Return to the Place Where We Were Born" in Spanish and English, then discuss what they learned about Gonzales.
Literacy Design Collaborative
Analyzing the Development of Theme through Pivotal Moments
Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party" and Martha Salinas' "The Scholarship Jacket" provide sixth graders with an opportunity to identify key scenes that authors use to develop their themes.
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “The Everglades” by Campbell McGrath
Florida's Everglades come alive for young environmental scientists as they watch a video taken in the park and read a poem about the watery paradise. After a careful study of the two resources, class members consider the function of the...
Curated OER
Number the Stars, Lesson 10
Young scholars analyze the literary element mood in Chapter 10 of the novel Number the Stars. They explain why the literary element mood is a feeling that a story creates in readers. Students share their thoughts on the topic of mood and...
Curated OER
Grab a Winning Book to Read on March 3
Students identify periods of history and read a news article about a librarian who wrote an award winning book. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a class challenge and a vocabulary activity, then...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 5 of 15 in Unit Plan
Sixth graders complete activity 5 of 15 about the book Esperanza Rising. In this Esperanza Rising activity, 6th graders build on work done in the previous activity. They complete response logs, and vocabulary posters. They investigate...
Curated OER
Number the Stars, Lesson 2
Students discuss the qualities of a good book club. They explore the behaviors that contribute to a good book club discussion. Also, they compare/contrast a response type that could be used any time in their reading logs.
Curated OER
Mystery Lessons
Learn about mysteries with your readers. They will investigate plot, basic elements of mystery, famous characters, and become familiar with genre vocabulary. Bring in props and mystery books to begin and then have learners create story...
Write Away!
Voices In the Park
Explore the impact a narrator's point of view has on a story with a reading of the children's book, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Written in four different voices, the story is told and retold from different perspectives to...
Curated OER
Edgar Allan Poe Short Story WebQuest
Introduce your class to Edgar Allan Poe with a series of mostly self-guided tasks and assignments. Class members follow the list of tasks, starting by watching a video with background information and ending with a compare-and-contrast...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Twits Get the Shrinks
Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer the...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - Muggle-Wump Has an Idea
If a bar of chocolate was on the floor, would you try to pick it up? What if it was covered with glue? The eighth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has scholars imagine crazy scenarios. The lesson...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Instructional Routine
After reading "The Bullet," a particularly intense chapter in Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members listen to the Spanish and the English versions of "Dimelo" by Enrique Iglesias. They then discuss how the song...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Counting by 7s
Everyone takes a different journey through grief. A series of lesson plans for the novel Counting by 7s introduces readers to the main character who loses her parents in a car crash. Discussion questions and writing prompts combine...
Curated OER
Running Out of Time: Vocabulary Strategies
Review concepts and terms after reading Running Out of Time. Learners each come up with a few terms that they think are important and then participate in a list-group-label exercise, paying close attention to the two main years featured...
Curated OER
Multicultural Literature Lesson Plan The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
Sixth graders begin reading "The Lotus Seed" before determining a plant that is a representative of their country or region. They illustrate the plant and write sentences about it and locate the region on a map. Finally, they make a...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for a 5th Grade Science Class
Sixth graders use the SQ3R reading strategy to learn about the behavior of light. In this behavior of light lesson, 6th graders read a selection about the behavior of light and use the strategy to complete the reading. Students make a...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 6
How can a screenplay create meaning and drama in ways that other forms of writing cannot? That is the question class members must answer as they compare the cantina scene of the screenplay for George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope with...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Days 8 and 9
How does an author's choice of artistic medium influence an audience? What about how an author chooses to transform original source material? These are the questions class members grapple with as they compare scenes from episode IV...
EngageNY
Carl Hiaasen’s Perspective of Florida: Part 1
Share some tips. Scholars read Five Creative Tips from Carl Hiaasen to determine the gist. They think-pair-share their ideas about the text with a partner and then focus on challenging words and answer text-dependent questions.
Curated OER
Book Share
Sixth graders meet in small groups to reflect on and share their thoughts after reading a short story, poem, or chapter in a novel. Groups of students utilize a book share evaluation worksheet that's imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension Strategy Ideas
Young scholars participate in pre-reading activities, journal keeping, vocabulary lists and other reading comprehension boosters. These activities can be applied to many genres.