Curated OER
What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
Curated OER
Creating a Chapter Title
Second graders identify the main idea of a selection of text. In this creating a chapter title lesson, 2nd graders discuss how to find the main idea of a chapter, listen to a chapter read aloud, and create a title with explanation.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Excerpts from My Librarian Is a Camel: How Do People Access Books Around the World?
Acquaint your class with informational text through a close reading. First, examine a couple of pages together, looking at text features and content. The whole class focuses on marking down a brief summary of each paragraph before...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Answering Text-Dependent Questions About Librarians and Organizations Around the World
This is a skills-based assessment that asks test takers to use textual evidence to determine the main idea of an excerpt from an informational text as well as respond to text-dependent questions. The assessment is the middle point...
Curated OER
The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
Curated OER
Habitat Hunt
Third graders read several nonfiction texts and practice finding the main idea for the text as well as learn about various habitats. In this main idea lesson, 3rd graders read several nonfiction texts and make habitat cards. Students...
Curated OER
Lesson Two - Compound Words
Students complete activities with the book Sarah Plain and Tall. In this literature lesson, students read chapter two and complete attached activities. They list the compound words they find and study new vocabulary.
Curated OER
Find an Animal! Find a Book!
Students identify the themes of different books by classifying their genre. In this genre lesson plan, students examine a specific animal by reading both a nonfiction and fiction book about the species. Students compare the different...
Curated OER
Guidance for Creating Phonics Lessons for Dyslexic Students
Here is a quick and easy guide to help a new teacher build phonics lessons for students with dyslexia. It stresses the importance of fundamental basics while also providing clear and direct instructional practices that will help you...
Curated OER
Finding Main Ideas
Young scholars complete several reading activities to learn about main ideas. In this main ideas lesson, students read an article and find main ideas for the story. Young scholars then read news articles and complete main idea activities...
Curated OER
Famous Women in American History: Rose Freedman
Fourth graders read about Rose Freedman, a famous American woman. In this famous women in American history activity, 4th graders read a story about Rose Freedman, answer comprehension questions, and complete an associated worksheet. They...
Curated OER
The Chocolate Touch
Students read a book. In this story elements lesson, students share their favorite food, predict what the story will be about and discuss how they would feel if they got to eat their favorite food everyday. Students read the book The...
Curated OER
In Search of Food...Living Off the Vegetation
Fourth graders locate information to describe what Indians gathered and how they sustained life. They use 5 resources, select a paragraph from each and state the main idea and supporting details.
Friends of Fort McHenry
A Just War or Just a War?
What, if anything, makes a war "just"? This is an interesting and important question to explore with your class, and you can utilize an excellent lesson plan to support your group inquiry. The American Revolution and the War of 1812 are...
Curated OER
Identifying Important Ideas in Expository Text
Students identify the main ideas from expository text. In this main ideas lesson, students read a piece of text and practice identifying what is most important. Students complete another sample reading with a group then discuss as a class.
Curated OER
Learning Paragraph Structure Through Design
Students examine paragraph structure, the writing process, and then design a model for the process. In this writing skills lesson, students explore paragraphs using the SmartBoard. Students create a class T-chart about paragraph...
Curated OER
Write a Description
Finding the central idea is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers write descriptions of different animals using details and descriptive language. They watch a video of kids using descriptive language, and then use showing language...
Curated OER
A Poem for Two Voices for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Poems For Two Voices are a great resource in any language arts classroom, whether you are studying poetry or not. Focusing on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this lesson prompts young authors to write a Poem For Two Voices...
Curated OER
Outstanding Women
Research the lives of famous women in this social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use various sources to research a famous woman and create a presentation about the accomplishments of the woman. They can find the central idea throughout...
Curated OER
The Land Around Us - Lesson 3
While the content of this lesson is more specific to the first grade, the directions given to work on a PowerPoint are well written. These directions could be used by anyone, with any content. Younger learners may need help reading the...
Curated OER
Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching additional...
Curated OER
Identify Purposes of Text
Set a purpose for reading informational texts with this reading lesson. To find the central idea of a text, young readers turn titles and subtitles into questions to help them understand the text. They complete a T-chart for the lesson,...
McGraw Hill
Lesson 12: Absolute Mean Deviation
Learn a different way to determine variability. An informative lesson provides directions on how to calculate the mean absolute deviation of a data set. Pupils use examples to learn the process and then practice finding the mean absolute...
Curated OER
Showdown on the Frontier
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...