Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.10
Make sure that your pupils have mastered complex literary nonfiction by the end of the year and use this resource to help get them to that point. After a brief description of the Common Core standard, a list of age-appropriate...
EngageNY
Taking Notes Using a Graphic Organizer: Inferring About the Importance of Religion in Colonial America
Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...
Curated OER
Where in the World is Mrs. Waffenschmidt? #22
Mrs. Waffenschmidt has traveled to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Learners must read the informational passage to identify this fact. The text uses facts to help learners determine the teacher's location.
Curated OER
Where in the World is Mrs. Waffenscmidt? # 15
Where can that globe-trotting teacher be? Is your class ready to read an informational passage to find out where Mrs. Waffenschmidt is hiding this week? If they are, then they'll discover she's checking out the Rock of Gibraltar. A great...
Curated OER
Gender in the Classroom by Deborah Tannen
Bring some informational text into your high school classroom with this worksheet. As your pupils read Gender in the Classroom by Deborah Tannen, provide them with this analysis sheet. They study specific quotations and sections of the...
Curated OER
The Who's Who of Quantum Physics
This wonderful recap of powerful figures in scientific history includes pictures, important dates, and the information about their inventions or impact. Atomic structure and the photoelectric effect are introduced. The first slide gives...
Curated OER
American Dream and The Great Gatsby
Is the American Dream alive and well or has it dried up and died? As part of a study of The Great Gatsby, class members search for articles on the state of the American Dream, analyze the arguments presented in those articles, and then...
Curated OER
Cyberbullying and Civic Participation
Encourage your class to create rules and regulations for cyberbullying. Learners explore civic participation by thinking about the rules and regulations already in place in their lives and studying Canada's Canada Gazette. As a final...
Curated OER
Desert Drama
Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...
Curated OER
Let's Discuss Current Events
Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story (Peters)
Lisa Peters presents macroevolution as a large-scale family tree in her book Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story. She suggests the process from single-celled organisms to modern-day humans, and learners explore new vocabulary through the...
Curated OER
Be That As It Maya
Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...
Curated OER
Deep Impact
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...
Curated OER
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Use the historical account of Claudette Colvin to study civil rights and connect past injustices to modern issues. As learners read, they examine chapter titles, record quotes, and participate in discussion. Next, they research active...
Curated OER
Hip-Hop History and the Beastie Boys
So what about those Beastie Boys? Kids read a New York Times article relating the history of hip-hop and rap icons the Beastie Boys. They then answer eleven who, what, when, where, and why questions about the text they read.
Curated OER
Learning From the Past
Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...
Curated OER
The Start of a New Era for Roman Catholics
Read all about it! Check out this article from the New York Times. Kids read about changes made to the wording used in Catholic Mass. They consider these changes by responding to each of the 10 related questions that ask, who, what,...
Curated OER
Nov. 17, 1973 | Nixon Declares 'I Am Not a Crook'
Connect events of the past to events of today. Budding historians read an eight paragraph passage describing the Watergate scandal. They then connect the Nixon scandal to sex scandals of recent times. There are six critical thinking...
Curated OER
Taken by Storm
Extreme weather can be frightning and as young readers find out, deadly. They read the New York Times artcle Taken by Storm and then answer eight comprehension questions. Note: Learners can post their thoughts about the article on the...
Curated OER
Taking Stock Before Iowa
As scholars take in the constant ambush of current events, help them develop media literacy skills by extracting important details from hard news articles. This story from December 2011 presents information on the Republican primaries...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 2
You scream, I scream! Young learners read this passage about ice cream flavors, then answer 13 questions about details from the reading. The questions address details from the text, vocabulary, and parts of speech. Use this activity to...
Curated OER
Textual Analysis Lesson: Segregation: Past or Present?
Are your scholars reading Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee? If so, use this textual analysis packet and lesson guide to drive deeper thinking about the characters, create personal connections, and apply historical contexts to the text....
Curated OER
Adventures in Toyland
There are many ways to tell a story; Richard Patterson's three-dimensional painting If serves as the inspiration for some creative storytelling for elementary school writers. They watch a clip from Toy Story (you'll need to bring this),...
Curated OER
Crocodiles Escape in Vietnam
What, there was a crocodile escape? Read, analyze, and examine a newspaper article with your class about the crocodiles that escaped in Vietnam. Your English language learners note the facts and key vocabulary in the story and answer...