Curated OER
Reading Strategies for Decoding Tricky Words
Help primary school pupils learn valuable reading strategies. As they choral read a poster or big book, they predict covered words and learn various reading strategies for figuring out an unknown word. This will help them gain an...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes
Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...
Curated OER
Mixed Bags: Fiction and Nonfiction
The second in a series of three lessons from Scholastic comparing and contrasting fiction and nonfiction, this activity requires learners to read, write, and compare two books independently. After briefly reviewing the features of...
National Math + Science Initative
Reading an Informational Text: "It All Started with Sputnik"
Sputnik was one of the greatest scientific advancements of the 1950s, and this reading lesson does it justice. Pupils start off with pre-reading questions and a video. They then read an excerpt from an article, which is accompanied by...
National Council of Teachers of English
Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction
With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...
Curated OER
What Do You See at the Pond?
With What Do You See at the Pond?, young readers explore pond life and practice reading strategies. Learners first make predictions and then read the simple story independently. After a second read-through with a partner, kids come...
Prestwick House
Reading Nonfiction: Analyzing Joseph McCarthy's "Enemies from Within" Speech
Looking for a lesson that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many historical references...
EngageNY
Reading and Talking with Peers: A Carousel of Photos and Texts about Frogs
Frogs are the theme of a lesson plan that challenges scholars to examine photographs, read informational texts, then ask and answer questions. Scholars work collaboratelively as they rotate through stations, discuss their observations,...
Media Smarts
Bias in News Sources
As young consumers of media, it is important for high schoolers to explore concepts of bias and prejudice, and how they may be present in media. After discussing ideological messages that media can contain, individuals complete a warm-up...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Main Ideas about the Bullfrog
As your class reaches the end of the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the seventh lesson plan in this literary unit helps third graders transition from reading narrative to expository writing. Scholars develop their note-taking skills...
EngageNY
Asking and Answering Questions: Reading about a Frog's Habitat
Building upon previous lessons, scholars take to asking and answering questions about a frog's habitat. A partner discussion follows a read-aloud of an informational text in preparation for a worksheet that boosts reading comprehension...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Paragraph 4 of “Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison”
Why is reading a text closely a helpful skill? Using the 13th of 20 lessons from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, scholars continue reading the informational text "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison." They work with...
EngageNY
Reading for Fluency: Readers Theater about the Rainforest (Page 33)
Lights, camera, action. Scholars use page 33 of The Most Beautiful
Roof in the World to create a readers theater. They work in triads and use sticky notes to mark and create their own speaking parts from sections of the text. They then...
Curated OER
Identifying Features of Nonfiction Text
Learners explore nonfiction text. They identify the cover, title page, and table of contents of a nonfiction book. Pupils work in groups to create a chapter for a nonfiction class book about heroes.
Curated OER
Build Mastery: Purpose for Reading
Do you agree? Set up three stations in your room for this reading comprehension activity: I agree, I disagree, and I'm not sure. Learners listen to statements and walk to the sign that best describes their response. Model this with an...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 8: Nonfiction Close Reading
As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a close reading of a section of Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Jigsaw groups then compare the voice in the essay...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Becoming Experts on Specific Articles of the UDHR
A continuation of the previous lesson, which is part of a larger group of lessons on human rights (see additional materials). Here, in Lesson 7, your class will explore more articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After...
EngageNY
Close Reading: The Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
As part of a group of lessons, your class will return to the primary text for this unit, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Key vocabulary as well as close reading strategies continue to be the focus skills; however, this lesson...
The New York Times
Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core's Emphasis on Informational Text
Nothing aids in comprehension more than an explanation and understanding of why things are done. Address why the Common Core requires the reading percentages that it established and analyze how this affects your readers. Learners read...
EngageNY
Shared Reading: Learning About Colonial Trades
Trading in Colonial America is the focus of a lesson plan that boosts reading skills. As a class, scholars examine the informational text for crucial details, use their newfound knowledge to share information with their peers, and write...
ReadWriteThink
Captioning the Civil Rights Movement: Reading the Images, Writing the Words
Scholars boost their knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement with a lesson that challenges writers, readers, and historians to analyze primary sources and caption their observations. By way of reading, writing, discussion, independently,...
Curated OER
A Pill with a View
Students brainstorm a list of potential uses for micro-video technologies. After reading an article, they analyze the development of a new pill-sized camera. In groups, they create a children's book that shows them the various systems of...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5: Structure of an Argument
Imagine a cross-curricular project that not only rewards learners for examining the textbooks used in their other classes but builds literacy skills as well! Groups compare the formats and writing style in their various textbooks. Teams...
Curated OER
Reading and Responding -- Lesson 9
Fourth graders work independently or in a small group with a tutor or teacher to (1) read a nonfictional selection, (2) practice drawing conclusions, (3) identify main ideas, and (4) practice responding to cause and effect questions.