National Endowment for the Humanities
Language Analysis Based on Stave 1
Class members meet the original scrooge, the Dickens character whose name has become synonymous with a cold-hearted, tight-fisted, miser. Using the provided worksheet, readers closely examine context clues to determine the meanings of...
News Literacy Project
Democracy’s Watchdog
As part of a study of the importance of the First Amendment, expert groups research different historic case studies of investigative reporting, and then the experts share their findings with jigsaw groups. The case studies include Nellie...
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Three activities are designed for readers of Jack London's The Call of the Wild. First, class members research and create posters that reflect the setting of the novel. Next, groups create posters with images that represent each chapter...
EngageNY
Relationships Between Key Scientific Concepts: What Causes Hurricanes?
A storm is brewing in the sea. Scholars complete multiple reads of How Does a Hurricane Form to determine gist, cause-and-effect relationships, and deepen vocabulary understanding. To finish, they complete graphic organizers to record...
EngageNY
Relationships Between Key Scientific Concepts: Planning What Causes Earthquakes
That is ground shaking news! Scholars read Earthquake in multiple reads to determine the gist, identify cause and effect relationships, and understand vocabulary. Learners complete graphic organizers to describe what happens before and...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: On-Demand Note-Taking, Analysis, and Reflection: “Should We Drill?”
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.
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Identifying Opinions and Evidence: The Importance of Sports in American Society, Part I
What's the gist? Learners determine the gist of an informational article about sports in America. They also participate in a jigsaw activity, rereading the article and discussing the author's opinion and supporting evidence.
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Mid-Unit Assessment: Identifying Author’s Opinion and Supporting Evidence: Sports in American Culture
Quiz time! Serving as the mid-unit assessment, scholars complete a Two Opinions Word Sort activity. In addition, they read an article about the importance of sports in America and answer text-based questions.
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Identifying Author’s Opinion and Evidence: The Value of Sports in People’s Lives, Part II
Context matters! Using the intuitive resource, pupils decipher context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words from an informational text. Also, in small groups, they practice identifying the author's opinion and supporting...
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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...
EngageNY
Paraphrasing Quotes and Analyzing Visual Elements, Part 2: Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom Super Scientist
Solve the world's problems. Class members move on to section two of Investigating the Scientific Methods with Max Axiom Super Scientist and complete a similar activity as in the previous lesson plan. Next, they carry out a first read to...
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Using Quotes to Explain: Why Philo Farnsworth Invented Television
Television or radio? Scholars read pages 18-28 of The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth to discover why Farnsworth thought TV was better than radio. They determine the gist of the section and then look closer at why...
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Analyzing Documentary Videos: “Great Bear Rainforest Remote Camera Project” British Columbia, Canada
Lights, camera, action! Viewers discuss a video about the Great Bear Rainforest Remote Camera Project. As they watch, they find the gist, determine the meaning of unknown words, and analyze the features of a documentary as an...
EngageNY
Presentation of Events: Comparing Two Authors
Give a little clue! Readers learn how context clues can help them determine the meaning of words by viewing a Context Clues Resource sheet then completing a Context Clues
practice sheet. They then compare events presented by two...
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Mid-Unit Assessment: Developing the Narrator’s Point of View, Figurative Language, and Connecting Passages across the Novel Dragonwings
Let's get creative! As part of a mid-unit assessment, scholars create a piece of artwork illustrating the theme from Laurence Yep's novel, Dragonwings. Additionally, pupils use a graphic organizer to identify figurative language in the...
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Using Routines for Discussing A Long Walk to Water and Introducing Juxtaposition (Chapters 9 and 10)
Take a stand. Scholars consider what it means to take a stand in A Long Walk to Water. They complete an activity by taking a stand and moving to a labeled section of the room that matches their opinion. Readers then examine text features...
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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...
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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....
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Establishing Routines for Discussing A Long Walk to Water (Chapter 6)
Middle schoolers use a reader's dictionary to locate words they do not know in chapter 6 of A Long Walk to Water. They then turn attention to gist and work on a Salva/Nya anchor chart to record what happens to the characters. Finally,...
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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...
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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...
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Building Background Knowledge: What IS the Omnivore’s Dilemma Anyway?
What's the best thing on the menu? Scholars enter the room, complete a gallery walk of menus to choose a food to pretend to order, and then discuss how they made the decision. Next, they read The Omnivore's Dilemma and relate their...
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Building Background Knowledge: Vietnam as a “Battleground in a Larger Struggle”
Read. Stop. Think. Scholars use a reading strategy to process the challenging text, "The Vietnam Wars." They read a paragraph and then stop to think about the text and its meaning. Readers then go on to work with partners and make notes...