Handout
Curated OER

The Heart of Your Paper: 11 Methods for Writing a Topic Sentence (or a Thesis Statement)

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Help your young writers produce high-quality topic and thesis statements that go beyond basic wording and really illustrate complex ideas and critical thinking skills. From however and compound sentence statements to using...
Lesson Plan
8
8
The New York Times

Looking for Answers: Making Sense of the Boston Marathon Bombing

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How should America respond to acts of domestic terrorism? What motivates or prompts a terrorist attack? After reading an opinion piece on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, your learners will critically analyze factors that could have...
Worksheet
Warren County Public Schools

Small Group Discussion Questions

For Students 3rd - 7th Standards
Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...
Lesson Plan
Film English

Real Beauty

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Consider the theme of beauty with discussion about what makes person beautiful and the well-known short film put together by Dove skin care. Class members examine some of the images from the film and discuss the message of the...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Community Partnerships for Adult Learning

Goals Setting

For Teachers 5th - 12th
You can reach your goals, if you're SMART about it! Teach your class to how build specific goals that include all the elements of the acronym SMART. The plan includes detailed procedures for the teacher and requires pupils to...
Worksheet
Orange County Public Schools

Vocabulary #25 Worksheet – English 1

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
Practice ten vocabulary words with a series of critical thinking activities. After reviewing each word in context and matching them to their definitions, kids complete analogies and find antonyms to complete the assignment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hoot: Vocabulary Squares

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Study the vocabulary from Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with an activity featuring synonyms and antonyms. Kids fill in a graphic organizer for each word, prompting critical thinking as they find additional ways to put the word into context.
Worksheet
Public Schools of North Carolina

Math Stars: A Problem-Solving Newsletter Grade 1

For Students 1st - 3rd Standards
Keep the skills of your young mathematicians up-to-date with this series of newsletter worksheets. Offering a wide array of basic arithmetic, geometry, and problem solving exercises, this resource is a great way to develop the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hatchet: Vocabulary Strategy

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Want your class to use critical thinking when discussing vocabulary? Go beyond the dictionary with a vocabulary activity based on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Kids write the word in the center of a graphic organizer that also provides...
Unit Plan
1
1
Curated OER

Ecosystems

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
A critical look into the structure and function of ecosystems is here for young learners as a series of lessons and worksheet activities. Topics covered include land-based and marine ecosystems, connections to the water cycle, food...
Worksheet
Student Handouts

Logical Fallacies

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Help your learners grow their critical thinking and analytical skills by asking them to examine logical fallacies. After reading an example, pupils determine if two sets of premises and conclusions are logical fallacies or not and...
Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The House on Mango Street: Question Answer Relationships Strategy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Good readers question text as they read. The Question Answer Relationships Strategy (QAR) used in this resource with The House on Mango Street, provides readers with a concrete approach for questioning Sandra Cisneros' text and...
Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Devil’s Arithmetic: QAR Strategy

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Asking questions about the text is an important way for kids to become critical readers. Use a QAR activity based on The Devil's Arithmetic to help learners decipher between questions that are right there, between the author and the...
Organizer
1
1
Writing Educators Symposium

Asking the Right Questions

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Drones Take Off

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
Ever wonder what drones are doing high above us in the sky? This article gives your class an insight to what those robots in the sky are doing. After reading an article on drone technology, pupils are prompted to respond to a...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 2

For Teachers 10th Standards
Sometimes, sensory details can bring you back to a familiar place. Study the setting descriptions from a critical chapter in Amy Tan's A Joy Luck Club, and discuss how they enhance the book's plot and contribute to a central theme.
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1

For Teachers 9th Standards
Where does a writer find inspiration? "Go into yourself," says Rainer Maria Rilke in "Letter One" from Letters to a Young Poet. Readers of Rilke's letter to Franz Xaver Kappus examine the words and figurative language Rilke uses to...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Exponents

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Expand your knowledge of exponents with an activity that promotes critical thinking and comparison skills. Middle and high schoolers compare numbers written in expanded and exponential form and explain their strategies for solving...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 16

For Teachers 9th Standards
Was Oedipus' destiny determined by fate or by his actions? Using details from the text, ninth graders delve into a critical thinking exercise based on Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Now that Oedipus has learned his true identity, readers...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Three-Dimensional Space

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
How do 2-D properties relate in 3-D? Lead the class in a discussion on how to draw and see relationships of lines and planes in three dimensions. The ability to see these relationships is critical to the further study of volume and...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Just How Far is That Star?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires...
Lesson Plan
Pearson Longman

Emotions Reading

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Explore the many types of feelings and how people express them with a activity compiled of kid-friendly activities that spark critical thinking, self-reflection, and reinforce language and writing skills. Scholars delve into the variety...
Handout
1
1
Wildwood Trust

Habitats

For Teachers K - 2nd
The circle of life is all around us, from the black bears in the nearby mountains to the pile of dead leaves in the backyard. Encourage young scientists to take a critical look at the world around them with a set of lessons...
Unit Plan
University of New Mexico

Educating Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Three mini units make up one large unit designed to explore multiculturalism and encourage cultural identity. Each lesson sparks thoughtful discussion, critical thinking, and are equipped with activities and assignments geared to...

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