Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Fastest Woman in the World" by Pat Parker

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Fastest Woman in the World" by Pat Parker, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Heartbeat of Mother Earth

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Heartbeat of Mother Earth" by CR Willing McManis, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Soaring "On the Wings of Wind"

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Soaring "On the Wings of Wind"" by Lois Miner Huey, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Anklet

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the "The Anklet" by Neil Philip, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Seeing Through Dorothea's Eyes

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the "Seeing Through Dorothea's Eyes" by Sudipta Bardhan, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Poppy Lady

For Students 5th - 6th
A learning module that begins with the "The Poppy Lady" by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Can We Cultivate Our Own Happiness

For Students 7th - 8th
Martin Seligman coined the term "positive psychology" to describe his exploration of how people can improve their own happiness. In this report from 2002, ABC News explains Seligman's research and findings in the field of positive...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: A Woman Who Went to Alaska by Mary Kellogg Sullivan

For Students 7th - 8th
In Mary Kellogg Sullivan's book A Woman Who Went to Alaska, Sullivan describes her adventures in Alaska during her search for riches. Between 1896 and 1899, an estimated 100,000 people migrated to the Klondike region of the Yukon in...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Conflicting News Reports on the Fate of the Sinking Titanic

For Students 7th - 8th
The RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 15 April 1912, after colliding with an iceberg. More than 1,500 passengers died as a result of the ship sinking. After the ship...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Autumntime by Anthony Lentini

For Students 7th - 8th
The story "Autumntime" by Anthony Lentiniis set in a future where technology meets almost all human needs. It also provides a guided reading mode, assessment, discussion questions, and teacher's guide. [Free account registration required...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin

For Students 7th - 8th
Kate Chopin (1850-1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered one of the leading feminist writers of the 20th-century. This story begins with a married woman's disappointment over the...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Behind Closed Doors: "Colorism" in the Caribbean by Michel Martin

For Students 7th - 8th
In this interview, Michel Martin discusses Frances Robles's report on colorism in the Dominican Republic. Colorism is a form of prejudice based on the darkness of a person's skin color. Discrimination based on colorism often occurs...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Censorship: For the People or for Controlling the People? By Mc Birney

For Students 7th - 8th
Censorship has, and continues to be, a highly debated topic. Some people believe that in order to secure the safety of citizens, information should be closely censored. However, many other people believe that this is a violation of...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Courage in Denmark: Resistance to the Nazis in Wwii by Us Holocaust

For Students 7th - 8th
World War II (WWII), a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 involved more than 100 million people and over 30 countries. The Allied powers - including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union - worked together...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: American Justice in the Supreme Court

For Students 7th - 8th
The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United States. It was set up by our Constitution to make important decisions about the law. This article describes how the Supreme Court works, and its impact on American justice. It also...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Alexander Hamilton" by Jessica Mc Birney

For Students 7th - 8th
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was an American political figure and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. In this informational text, Jessica McBirney discusses Hamilton's life and accomplishments, specifically his...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Dance Mama Dance by Daniel Beaty

For Students 7th - 8th
Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and poet. His productions are known for incorporating music, movement, and words. In this poem, the speaker discusses their mother and their wish to see her dance. It also provides...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Assassination of the President:attempted Murder of Secretary Seward

For Students 7th - 8th
This excerpt from an 1865 newspaper, Evening Star, contains multiple accounts of the night President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward were attacked. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E....
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: An Incredible Job: Being America's President

For Students 7th - 8th
The President of the United States is the elected commander-in-chief who has many responsibilities that are crucial to in the safety and success of America. This informational text by USHistory.org discusses the duties of the President,...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Ancient Egyptian Dynasties: Ruling Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms

For Students 7th - 8th
Egypt is famous for its enormous pyramids, many of which can still be visited today. The pyramids were built by the rulers of Egypt, called pharaohs. In the following informational text by USHistory.org, discusses the rise and fall of...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Cinderella" by Charles Perrault

For Students 7th - 8th
French author Charles Perrault is often called the "father of the fairy tale" for his well known tales such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Puss in Boots," "Sleeping Beauty," and "Cinderella." Cinderella is a famous folk tale, a story that...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Chief Powhatan's Address to Captain John Smith (1609)

For Students 7th - 8th
The Powhatan are Native American people from Virginia who share an Algonquian language. In 1607, the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia colony became the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. At the initial arrival of the...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Close Calls in u.s. Election History (2016)

For Students 7th - 8th
Democracy and power to the people are celebrated as key American values, but sometimes democracy is more complicated than one might think. This informational text investigates some close calls in U.S. elections and what caused their...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Coping Mechanisms

For Students 7th - 8th
Work, school, money - these are some of the most common stressors in everyday life. The effects of stress on a person's mental and emotional health may vary, but without the proper tools to cope, stress can have serious consequences. It...