Curated OER
Using Color as a Pre-Writing Tool
To better understand how to compose a clear and well-organized paper, learners read short passages, write summaries, and make colored graphic organizers. This is a fully developed three-day lesson with suggested assessments.
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 47
The path to a more perfect union was rockier than most history books would lead you to believe. Young historians read “Antifederalist No. 47,” written by James Madison (under the pen name “Centinel”), which sharply criticizes the...
Curated OER
Skimming
Students examine how to skim textual material. They read an article, and identify the main ideas by reading first and last paragraphs, topic sentences, and other organizational clues.
Curated OER
Main Ideas Of Artists
Students explore the main idea and stories behind paintings. In this art lesson plan, students discuss how paintings tell stories and take tests based on details of paintings. The tests are embedded in the plan. Links that students...
Curated OER
Character Sketch
Pupils view a PowerPoint presentation about Character sketches, and write a four paragraph character sketch. Emphasis is placed on topic sentences having one main idea per paragraph and elaborating. They study and discuss ways to write...
Read Works
Bat News
Get the bat facts with a short nonfiction reading passage. After reading the passage, readers respond to questions that focus on main idea, inferencing, vocabulary in context, and author's purpose.
Reading Through History
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation: one of the most important primary sources for studying American history! An interdisciplinary resource includes a reading of Abraham Lincoln's seminal speech quoted directly. Following the reading, pupils...
Mr. Ambrose
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...
Curated OER
Glimpses of Japan: Picture books are an avenue to geographical knowledge
Student gains insight into the culture of Japan. They articulate the main ideas and supporting details, also they create a "glimpse of Japan" with an illustrated and written summary of the main idea and four supporting details from the...
Curated OER
Authors on the Internet
Fifth graders write a list of their favorite authors and illustrators before deciding on ways to learn more about them. They examine print and Internet resources as a way to answer questions they have. They complete an Author Scavenger...
Curated OER
Reading For Meaning
Select an article that explores people of another culture. After reading it as a class, distribute copies of this worksheet. It asks for a brief summary, encourages readers to make text-to-self connections, and asks learners to identify...
Curated OER
Flight Formation: The V's Have It!
Read, revisit, and reflect. Older elementary students summarize main idea 6using key details. They consider the V formation that birds fly in, summarize an informational text, and write critical thinking questions.
Curated OER
Practice Paraphrasing
Help your high schoolers identify the main idea of a passage with this lesson on paraphrasing. First rewriting a paragraph in their own words, they then underline the most important words in their paraphrase and use them in a summary....
School District of Palm Beach County
Framed Paragraphs characterization, problem and solution, symbolism, conflict
Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...
National Humanities Center
Teaching Emily Dickinson: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
Three of Emily Dickinson's poems, "I like to see it," "Because I could not stop for Death," and "We grow accustomed to the Dark," provide instructors with an opportunity to model for class members how to use close reading strategies to...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Creating Original Fiction
Fourth graders create fictional stories and demonstrate the use of various writing techniques. After selecting their main ideas, they find appropriate graphics to use as illustrations. In groups, 4th graders apply Hyperstudio in...
Curated OER
Author, Author!
Third graders, in groups, select and research a favorite studenT author or illustrator. They answer questions about the author, conduct research and prepare a PowerPoint presentation with their findings.
Curated OER
How an Idea Becomes a Law
Students create posters that demonstrate the step-by-step process of how ideas become laws. They list the fourteen steps of a bill becoming a law, describe a presidential veto, and define override.
Curated OER
End-of-Year Practice Test (Grade 6 ELA/Literacy)
With the end of the year quickly approaching it's time to find out exactly how much your sixth graders have learned. Specifically designed for the Common Core ELA standards, this practice test gives students five reading passages,...
Curated OER
Practice Book O
Whether you need resources for reading comprehension, literary analysis, phonics, vocabulary, or text features, an extensive packet of worksheets is sure to fit your needs. Based on a fifth-grade curriculum but applicable to any level of...
Curated OER
What Did I Just Read
Fourth graders write a summary for each chapter as they read a novel. They summarize the author's purpose and point of view after completing the novel. They also describe about how the author's point of view affected the novel.
Curated OER
Reading and Responding -- Lesson 7
Fourth graders work individually or in a small group to (1) read a nonfictional selection, (2) identify main idea and details, (3) identify the author's purpose, and (4) practice test-taking strategies.
Curated OER
Because of Winn-Dixie Scrapbook
Here is a fun resource that your kids will love. While reading the book Because of Winn-Dixie, they analyze the story's main characters by creating an online scrapbook. The purpose is to have them identify character traits and use...
BrainPOP
World History Lesson Plan: Uncovering Essential Questions
Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...