National Wildlife Federation
What's Your Habitat?
How are third graders like rabbits? They both live in habitats and require food, water, and shelter to survive! An educational science lesson encourages your learners to think about their own habitats and survival needs, before comparing...
Curated OER
Exposing Expository Text Structure in a Rainforest Setting
Learners create a thematic booklet containing examples of different types of expository text structures. They explore a variety of expository text structures.
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
A simple activity for young readers, this introduces the idea of author purpose. Learners analyze various types of texts (newspaper articles, magazines, books, advertisements, etc.) and determine if the author's purpose for writing was...
Curated OER
Mixed Bags: Fiction and Nonfiction
The second in a series of three lessons from Scholastic comparing and contrasting fiction and nonfiction, this activity requires learners to read, write, and compare two books independently. After briefly reviewing the features of...
Ontario
Critical Literacy—Media Texts
Media texts convey both overt and implied messages. As part of their study of media, class members analyze the language, form, techniques, and aesthetics in a variety of media texts.
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Character Changes Lesson and iPad Assignment
Round, flat, static, dynamic. As part of a characterization study, scholars review the different types of characters and create a slide show demonstrating how a dynamic character in a story they have read changes throughout the tale.
Curated OER
Non-Fiction Texts
Third graders examine different types of non-fiction texts. In this non fiction instructional activity, 3rd graders use different types of texts to gather information. Students work in groups to analyze the texts for author's purpose,...
Curated OER
Different Tribes, Different Times
Second graders study the different types of Native American culture groups. They, in groups, visit four different work stations to examine various culture groups and complete a Corn Cycle worksheet.
Curated OER
Contour Hand Gestures with Text
Students examine different types of hand drawings. They create their own 3-D contour drawings. They also discuss the use of symbolism in art.
Curated OER
Does Cloud Type Affect Rainfall?
Student uses MY NASA DATA to obtain precipitation and cloud type data. They create graphs of data within MY NASA DATA. They compare different cloud types as well as precipitation types. They describe graphs of the precipitation and cloud...
Curated OER
TEXT MESSAGING
Students examine the differences between standard and non-standard English and use text-speak to rewrite a plot summary and a news story. They identify a type of non-standard English and determine the characteristics that make it...
Curated OER
Identify Intended Media Messages
How does media convey different messages? Use this lesson to explore media by identifying and analyzing selected images. Middle schoolers analyze a poster and discuss the intended meaning of the imagery and how it makes them feel. They...
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...
Lakeshorelearning
Read and Write about It
Reading informational text is a skill that transcends subjects and grade levels. Practice reading about different topics in various formats with a language arts lesson that includes opportunities for writing and research as well.
Curated OER
Recognizing Text Relay
Fifth graders recognize and distinguish between different types of text. After a discussion of the various types of text, small groups compete in a relay race game demonstrating their knowledge of the text. Correct choices earn...
Curated OER
Identify and Discuss the Author's Purpose
Examine author's purpose in a persuasive text using this scaffolded plan. You essentially have a verbatim script here, but it can definitely be used as an outline instead. Review questions that readers should ask themselves when...
Curated OER
Let's Get Along
Students examine the book Smoky Night. In this cultural lesson, students read the text and discuss why it's important to get along with others. Students complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast themselves with a peer.
Scholastic
Prescription Pain Medication: What You Need to Know
The national epidemic of opioid addiction is making its way into high school populations. Educate the students in your class about the ways prescription opioids can both block pain and deliver large amounts of dopamine that make it very...
Curated OER
Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
Scholars study a historical photograph to make predictions of what happened right after the picture was taken. They research a variety of different topics and use primary sources to answer questions about common food, fashion trends, and...
CPALMS
Point of View: A Close Reading of Two Bad Ants
Chris Van Allsburg's Two Bad Ants provides third graders with an opportunity to examine point of view and how the point of view of others may differ from their own.
Channel Islands Film
Santa Cruz Island - Visible Thinking Routines
Visible Thinking Routines are designed to help learners deepen their understanding of what they are learning and enable them to communicate their understanding of concepts to others. Individuals adopt one of these routines to use to...
EngageNY
Analyzing Main Ideas and Details: Why Care about Water?
Pay attention to details! After completing text-dependent questions about paragraphs 10-12 of "Water is Life," scholars view the video "Why Care about Water. "They view the video three times and use a Main Idea and Details note-catcher...
Curated OER
Careers - Community Helpers
Different types of community helpers are the focus of this sociology lesson. Learners read the book Community Helpers from A to Z, choose a community helper to focus on, complete a graphic organizer, draw a picture of their helper, and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...