Curated OER
Counting Up/Down Stories
Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details that...
Curated OER
Teens Making a Difference
Is your opinion significant? Help your class discover the influence their opinions hold and encourage them to make a positive change in their community. To start, they get in teams and brainstorm why their school should have more healthy...
Curated OER
School, Unplugged
What would school be like if you couldn't teach lessons that require technology? Would it benefit the class? Would it hold them back? Have your learners read this article and answer the basic reading comprehension questions. Then have...
Curated OER
Promote Nonviolence
Take a look at the topic of violence as seen in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Discuss together the values that Atticus holds and brainstorm ways to combat violence in a similar manner to what he portrays in the novel. Get your...
Curated OER
"It's All About Grandma Chic": Reading Informational Text
This New York Times "Learning Network" exercise on reading informational text poses 6 questions about a high-interest article on teen fashion. The article meant to be review with is resource, "More than meets the iPhone Lens", is rather...
K12 Reader
Cause & Effect
Young readers are introduced to the concept of cause and effect in a short passage on a comprehension worksheet. After reading the passage, kids record their answers to a series of questions.
K12 Reader
They See with Their Ears
Sometimes bats get a bad rap, even though they are fascinating creatures! Teach your class about echolocation with a reading passage. After reading, class members respond to five questions based on the text.
Curated OER
Personification
Introduce your young scholars to personification. The literary device is clearly defined and illustrated with clever examples. Opportunities for guided and independent practice using poems by Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes are also...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension - Short Stories: "Remains of a Marriage"
Planning a short story unit? Consider including this worksheet early in your plan. "Remains of a Marriage" provides the text that could be used as the basis of a lesson on close reading, on comprehension strategies, and/or group...
Curated OER
Discussion Web for The Catcher in the Rye
Is Holden Caulfield a reliable narrator? Readers use the provided graphic organizer to record specific textual evidence from The Catcher in the Rye to support their response. A teacher copy of the template is provided.
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: Assessment Strategy
Close up your study of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a letter-writing assignment. Pupils prepare by journaling and sharing with a partner. They then compose letters that focus on a big idea from the...
Curated OER
Unwind: Pre-Reading Strategy, K-W-H-L
Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, record what they know, what they want to know, how the will find answers to the questions, on a KWHL chart.
Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character
Charlotte's Web: A Story About Friendship
Strengthen the bonds of friendship within your class with a reading of E.B. White's award-winning novel, Charlotte's Web. Focusing on the unique characters in the story and the relationships they develop, young readers draw from their...
E Reading Worksheets
Main Idea
To develop their reading comprehension skills, learners read short paragraphs, summarize the passage in one sentence, and then develop an appropriate title that indicates the main idea of the selection.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Prereading Guided Imagery
What makes a place safe? What makes a setting effective? Explore the safe spaces and descriptive language with a prereading activity for Willa Cather's My Antonia. The teacher describes his or her own safe space and then prompts pupils...
Novelinks
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Concept Analysis
Considering using Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a whole class reading or for book circles? Check out this overview that provides a plot summary, a list of enduring questions raise by and themes addressed by the...
Nemours KidsHealth
Human Body Series - The Five Senses
Get your class up and moving with these engaging hands-on-activities that target their five senses. Children explore four different work stations that require them to look, smell, hear, touch, and taste as they record their responses...
Teaching Matters
Welcome to Writing Poetry
Your pupils are poets, and now they'll be able to show it with the exercises in this packet. The lessons, designed for beginner, intermediate, and experienced poets, not only feature a variety of poetic forms, but take learners through...
K5 Learning
Survival in the Wild
How do animals survive in the wild? Read about the different adaptations such as camouflage and self-protection that animals use to survive.
Penguin Books
Folklore and Fairytales: A Guide to Using Traditional Tales and Reimagined Classics
Every culture has its own stories to tell. An interesting educator's guide shares a large collection of fairytales and folktales, some from different cultures and some re-creations of classics. A summary and brief teaching ideas...
PBS
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
What rights are guaranteed to students? Do they align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved by the United Nations in 1948? Middle and high schoolers present persuasive arguments about the rights they believe...
Curated OER
Whoever You Are
Students examine cultures, traditions, and feeling throughout cultures. In this cultural lesson, students use literature, maps, and cultural information to examine how people have universal feelings despite their different cultures and...
Curated OER
Piñatas
Students discover the original uses and ceremonial meanings of the piñata and how it changed. In this piñatas lesson, students create their own piñatas. Students explain in Spanish the reasons for their designs.
Curated OER
Building Bridges to Others
Practice communication skills in order to make meaningful connections to others. Through studying effective communication, kids make meaningful relationships that can affect the community in a positive way.