K12 Reader
Hide and Seek
After examining a brief article about survival adaptations, readers identify the main idea of the passage and list two supporting details.
Odell Education
Reading Closely For Textual Details: Grade 8
Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...
Curated OER
Truth Be Told
Encourage your middle and high schoolers to share their memories of a recent event. After reading a New York Times article, they discuss Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. They write their own memoir about a significant event that affected...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Louie’s Change of Heart
Scholars read additional pages in Unbroken to discover more about Louie's character. Readers use turn-and-talk strategies to discuss character traits that describe Louie. They then answer text-dependent questions and cite evidence to...
EngageNY
Launching the Performance Task
This word or that, this picture or that. Individuals dive into the lives of The Little Rock Nine and the connotation used in the book A Mighty Long Way as they begin the performance task. The task scenario establishes literature lovers...
Baruch College Writing Center
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Workshop
What's the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing? Show class members how to find the main ideas from informational text and condense it, restate it, or quote it directly with a series of educational activities based on two...
PBS
Who Knows Best
Finding an expert in a given field when conducting research can be a challenge. This guide provides step-by-step directions as well as links to resources that help young sleuths find the authorities and experts they need. As a bonus, two...
K12 Reader
What's the Forecast?
Rain gauges, thermometers, and wind vanes. After reading a short article about weather forecasting, readers identify the tools meteorologists use to predict the weather.
K12 Reader
Limited Resources
Here's a comprehension exercise that asks readers to include direct quotes in their analysis of an article on ways to conserve natural resources.
Curated OER
Don't Believe the Hype
Are hand sanitizers good for you? What about the environment? Research the science behind commonly used cold medicines. The class reads an article, creates a product poster, and conducts independent research on product claims made by...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Classify Facts and Opinions
Telling fact from opinion can be tricky. Direct your class to practice their reading and comprehension skills by taking notes on the facts and opinions in a text. Pupils fill out a two-column chart and write down how they know a...
iCivics
We the Jury
Learners take on the roles of jurors in a civil case to evaluate evidence and determine a verdict in this engaging online interactive experience.
Scholastic
Lesson 2: Values and Barriers
Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...
iCivics
Drafting Board: Military Intervention
Should countries use their militaries to stop humanitarian crises in other countries? Learners make claims, organize their reasoning, and provide evidence for their arguments with this rich resource.
Scholastic
Lesson 1: What Are Barriers?
Scholars discuss the concept of a barrier with a short passage on Jackie Robinson. The writing process begins with a paragraph and several other sentences about Robinson's unique traits that made breaking a barrier possible.
Louisiana Department of Education
Essential Elements Cards
Use essential elements cards to help lesson plan! Each card contains an informational text common core standard for grade levels six through eight and suggestions for activities and supports. Cards address skills such as citing textual...
Curated OER
SOAPS Primary Source "Think" Sheet
Planning on using primary source materials? Introduce your class members to SOAPS, a worksheet that models how to analyze and reflect on primary source materials. Readers name the document, identify the subject (S), the occasion (O),...
Pearson
Making Inferences
The ability to make inferences is an important skill. Provide your class with some practice. This resource includes several different passages with which learners are required to practice inferring. They read each passage and respond to...
iCivics
Drafting Board: Community Service
Should schools impose community service graduation requirements? In the final lesson of the Drafting Board series, learners solidify their practice of crafting an argument supported by sound reason and evidence.
Curated OER
Unit 3: Scientific Writing
Write-on! Demonstrate a writing model and support learners as they write an informational essay on a water resource issue of your (or their) choosing. The lesson plan provides a well-scaffolded summative writing experience that wraps up...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment Parts 1 and 2: Evaluating Arguments and Claims
Which came first: the chicken or the egg? As part of the end-of-unit assessment for The Omnivore’s Dilemma, scholars watch a video about organic eggs versus conventional farm eggs. They use graphic organizers to collect evidence as they...
EngageNY
Evaluating an Argument: The Polyface Local Sustainable
Who has the better argument? Class members work in small groups to compare the arguments on the Example of Strong and Flawed Arguments sheet. They then analyze Michael Pollan’s argument on pages 161–166 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and...
K12 Reader
Extreme Weather
What is thunder? After reading a short article about extreme weather, middle schoolers must use information in the text to explain this weather phenomenon.
EngageNY
Reading for Gist, Answering Text-Dependent Questions, and Determining Author’s Purpose: Industrial Organic Food Chain
After re-reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma using a Reading Closely: Guiding Questions handout, class members use sticky notes to annotate and determine the gist of the text. Finally, they use an Author’s Purpose graphic organizer to...