Provide extra support for language learners as they progress through the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on animal adventures. This 30-page packet includes scripted lessons designed for beginning, emergent,...

This packet, the second in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on amazing animals, contains exercises and activities designed for the ESL/ELD classroom.

Listen, look, speak, and move are the routine steps of the English language development lessons found in a We Can Work It Out themed unit. Language proficiency is reinforced through picture cards, poems, and grand discussions about...

Walking in nature is the theme of a unit designed to support English language development lessons. Scholars look, write, speak, and move to explore topics such as camping, woodland animals, instruments,...

If readers don't understand key portions of a text, it may seem more like a foe than a friend. The second resource in a series of three ESL lessons designed to accompany the texts in Nature: Friend or Foe makes the texts easier to...

Did you know that there are 15.2 million refugees in the world? High schoolers will read "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" and learn how they can get involved to lower this surprising number. To really encourage involvement,...

Down on the Farm is the theme of this series of ESL lessons designed to support reading, speaking, and listening skills. Over three weeks, your learners will have the opportunity to sing songs, play guessing games, create masks,...

Here's a fascinating take on a three-year honors, AP language, and AP literature course. Designed for teachers, the presentation suggests how to connect Tolkien's classic to the AP English canon. Very thought-provoking and definitely...

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

After completing the first five chapters of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle By Avi, use direct quotes to make inferences about how Charlotte feels about certain characters. Later, when the novel has concluded, revisit...

Does Mark Twain’s satire become sarcasm and does he cross the line of propriety in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? As an introduction of satire, class members view an excerpt from The Daily Show and discuss Stewart's use of this...

How did Charles Darwin support his controversial theory of evolution with evidence? Use an excerpt from his 1859 work On the Origin of Species to reinforce the importance of making inferences within an informational text, and to...

Use this attitude survey to find out how your class members feel about reading. You can then analyze the responses, and design a unit study of Rowling's novel based on these attitudes.

Prior to reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, spark engagement, and step into the shoes of Charlotte Doyle through this guided imagery activity focusing on adventure and the emotions that may be felt along...

Take an in-depth look at a passage from Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. Included here is the reading passage as well as a step-by-step procedure for reading the text, a set of text-dependent questions, and a final writing...

Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...

This, the sixth in a series of 10 related resources, examines the life and works of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American author, born in 1825, who advocated literacy for both free and enslaved African Americans.

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...

Paul Revere, Mercy Otis Warren, James Forten, Henry Knox. The voices of the American Revolution come alive in this enrichment packet designed to challenge learners who have mastered the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin...

If you are considering adding or expanding a unit on utopian and dystopian literature you simply must check out this fabulous resource. Packed with plans, activities, project-based and 21st century learning opportunities, the unit...

Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...

Designed for teachers, this 12-page packet uses passages from Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" to model how to design activities that encourage close reading of complex text.

James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides eighth graders with an opportunity to sharpen their literary analysis skills. After a close reading of the text, class members highlight and annotate parts of the dialogue and...

As teachers, it is our job to encourage learners to stand up for what they believe in and help them learn lessons from life's events. A set of practice questions designed for the ELA MCAS assessment features passages that teach positive...