Curated OER
Summing Up "Penguins on Parade"
Students review the meaning of comprehension as it refers to what they have read and how they remember information. They discover the meaning of summarization including the steps they should follow. They then predict what an article...
Curated OER
Star Summarizers
Students participate in a reading literacy lesson with the goal of improving reading fluency and comprehension. They work on the skill of summarization that helps to pick out important details of a reading.
Curated OER
Digging through the mess to find the treasure
Students summarize a text selection of their choice. After a brief, written demonstration of summarizing, students read a selection of their choice. With a partner, they summarize what they have read in their own words and create a...
Curated OER
Swoosh-Remember That
Young scholars use a six step process to write a summary of a provided paragraph. The steps include: delete unimportant information, delete repeated information, substitute easy terms for a list of items, add a series of events with an...
Curated OER
Removing the 'Junky' Words
Students explore was to comprehend a story through summarization. They are introduced to a lesson by explaining that when we read there are a lot of extra, unnecessary, junk words. Students explore ways not pay to attention to the...
Curated OER
What's Important To You?
Second graders discuss as a class the importance of silent reading and describe some examples when it would be inappropriate if everyone read out loud. They read silently along as an article called, "Fighting a Mystery Illness" is read...
Curated OER
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis lesson. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving
First graders summarize similarities and differences of life in England and America for the Pilgrims by reading a mini-book. Then, they write a journal entry in first person on what it is like to be a pilgrim in England and in America....
Curated OER
Keywords: A Memorization Strategy
Here is a fabulous, five-page lesson plan on how keywords can help a reader with his/her reading comprehension. After a teacher-led discussion, pupils pair off with each other and work together to identify the main idea in a passage of...
Curated OER
Mayan Myths/Folktales
Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or...
Curated OER
Draft Dilemmas
Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...
Curated OER
Differentiated Language Arts
Pupils read speeches and identify the main idea as well as the literary techniques employed, paying careful attention to the persuasion and repetition elements that each speech possesses. Using a graphic organizer, they analyze,...
Curated OER
Robbing the 'Hood?
Students investigate historical figures and how they play a role in tourism by reading and discussing the article "When Robin Hood Supped, Was it Yorkshire Pudding?" In groups, students investigate issues related in the article in...
Curated OER
Y-Intercept and Slope Intercept Form
Alegebra amateurs identify the slope and the y-intercept given a linear equation in slope-intercept form by correctly completing some in class problems. They write the linear equation in slope-intercept form that corresponds to the given...
Pulitzer Center
Exploring Downstream: Water Resources
The lack of clean water is a life-threatening plight for millions of people around the world. Through an extensive WebQuest, young environment or social studies classes compare our water availability to that of the cxitizens of Ethiopia,...
EduGAINs
Coureurs de Bois, First Nation Peoples, and the Fur Trade
The interactions between the Coureurs de bois (runners of the woods) and the First Nation Peoples as they engaged in the fur trade are the focus on this Canadian history exercise. Kids select learning centers based on their learning...
Curated OER
Rachel's Life is in a Hole
Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...
Curated OER
Online Information: Fact or Fiction
Discuss ways to determine if the information middle and high schoolers gather online is accurate. Using the Internet, they cite two sources that show conflicting points of view on a subtopic of conservation. They summarize and analyze...
Fairfax Public Schools
Walter Dean Myers
If you are reading works by Walter Dean Myers in your class, this resource might be worth a look. Included here are activities and discussion questions for Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary, Somewhere in the Darkness, Scorpions, Fallen...
Curated OER
Constitution/Impeachment/Reconstruction
Eleventh graders analyze a chart comparing U.S. census data from 1850, 1880, 1900, and 1920. They read a handout summarizing immigration legislation from 1882-1996 and create a graph charting how open / closed U.S. immigration is over time.
Curated OER
Newbery Award Winners
Sixth graders select a book from the Newbery list and read it. They write a short summary of the book without giving away the ending and then research the book's author. They write a book review and, finally, incorporate all of this onto...
Curated OER
Book: Crossing the Seas
As learners read each chapter of Eric Schwartz's Crossing the Seas, they analyze the actions of United States in Venezuela, Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the intent of the Monroe Doctrine. They then compare...
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson plan. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson plan includes several options to...
Curated OER
Wiki Comment: The News and You
Kids explore the world of news media by creating a wiki page. They will create a wiki page on the Internet in order to comment on and question the stories that take place in the world. They will practice creative writing by summarizing...