Curated OER
Analyzing Textbook Formats
Young scholars explore the characteristics of a non-fiction text. In this comprehension lesson, students are led on a guided tour of each text and identify the features of a non-fiction text. Young scholars continue to practice locating...
Dream of a Nation
Big6 Research Project
Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...
Curated OER
Parts of a Book
Second graders learn to identify the parts of a book. In this book parts lesson, 2nd graders learn the names of book parts by participating in a teacher led lesson in which they look at transparencies. They complete a worksheet in which...
Curated OER
Give Me the Facts!
Young scholars study how to summarize a reading passage to improve their comprehension. They read a non-fiction passage and use five steps to summarize it while working in groups of three. Next, as class, they decide which group provided...
Curated OER
Science Summaries are the Bomb!
Fifth graders read a dissection article and complete close reading activities for the text. In this reading skills lesson, 5th graders read an interactive frog dissection article in teams. Student teams complete a KWL chart and write a...
Curated OER
A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...
Curated OER
To March or Not to March?
Students read historical artifacts about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and analyze the choices made during the time. In this March on Washington lesson, students read Martin's Big Words and the 'Step Back in Time' sheets....
Curated OER
Author's Purpose
Sixth graders brainstorm the reasons authors write, and they list their responses on the board. Students discuss each purpose they have listed.Students work independently to read the selection "Tarantulas and Typhoid" by Stephanie Moss....
Curated OER
Comparing Themes Across Texts
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
Curated OER
Abigail Adams: Integrating Social Studies and Language Arts
Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...
Curated OER
"My Holiday Diary"
Students participate in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book "My Holiday Diary" by Jason Telford. They scan the text to locate specific information, write a statement taken from the text and change it...
Curated OER
5 W Questions
Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book. In this journalism lesson plan, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....
Curated OER
"My Body"
Students participate in various shared reading and writing activities related to the book "My Body" by Rhonda Jenkins. They identify and list words that could be used to label other body parts in the book, draw a picture of their face...
Curated OER
Animal Artists
Learners read a current events non-fiction article and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions about it. In this animal artists paint for fun lesson plan, students also work on dictionary skills, geography, and creative thinking by...
Curated OER
Forging Freedom
Students read the story Forging Freedom by Hudson Talbott about the holocaust. For this holocaust lesson plan, students also answer discussion questions.
Curated OER
Narrative Procedure
Pupils identify narrative procedure. In this narrative procedure instructional activity, students analyze a recipe and visit the website www.ehow.com. Pupils discuss narrative procedures and answer questions. students make a list of the...
Curated OER
Persuasive and Emotive Language Lesson Plan
Young scholars explore persuasive language. In this emotive language lesson, students consider the use of language that incites readers as they participate in reading and writing activities that require them to describe a tourist...
Curated OER
Selavi
Students read the novel "Selavi". They relate the story to their own experiences. They also make predictions as they read the story. They research a specific aspect of Haiti once they have finished reading.
Curated OER
Feathers, Flippers and Feet
Second graders read, "Feathers, Flippers and Feet." In groups, they research important information about feathers and wings. They discover why feathers and wings are important to animals. Students create a presentation to share with the...
Curated OER
Fact and Opinion Lesson Plan
How are fact and opinion different? Middle schoolers explore fact and opinion and write articles pertaining to a football match, eliminating all opinion statements in order to focus on the facts. Then they discuss bias in the media....
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: The Teenage Brain and Connections: Free Choice Activity
During this lesson, which is all about making connections, learners watch a documentary about the teenage brain and connect it to Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, their own lives, and the world.
Curated OER
Researching the Past
Learners research the western movement in order to learn note taking strategies with nonfiction texts. They use the Internet to search for important information about the western movement using the Cornell Notes note-taking system. They...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its own...
Schmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2
Although the ideas on how to implement the skill RI.9-10.2 are lacking, the assessment would work well for challenging learners to summarize, and identify the main ideas of presidential speeches that are of similar topics. One could use...