Curated OER
Maniac Magee: Problematic Situation
As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would...
Curated OER
Detective Fiction: Focus On Critical Thinking
Turn your 6th graders into detectives while growing their love of reading. Using critical thinking skills, they will be able to describe the five basic elements of detective fiction, read detective novels, make predictions, use the...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Exploring Character Development in The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
How did the Civil Rights Movement affect young people in the United States? Scholars read Christopher Paul Curtis' novel, The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. Next, they write compare and contrast essays showing how the main...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Illustrating Text
Ideas like this are highly effective for helping build better reading comprehension. The class listens to an excerpt from a grade-appropriate text, and they discuss what clues or words helped them visualize the scene. They then read a...
K20 LEARN
Mob Mentality and "The Outsiders": Integrating Fiction and Nonfiction
S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders allows middle schoolers to reflect on mob mentality. After reading an article and watching a video about herd mentality, class members find examples in the novel of when characters go along with the...
Curated OER
The Grapes of Wrath: Problematic Situation
To prepare for a reading of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, kids must prioritize a list of items to take with them on a journey to Texas.
EngageNY
Learning from the Narrator’s Point of View: Introducing Dragonwings
Journey into the past with Laurence Yep's Dragonwings. Scholars complete anchor charts to analyze techniques the author uses to develop the narrator's point of view in his novel. As they read, pupils also complete word catchers to...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: On-Demand Note-taking and Text-Dependent Questions
Flex those brain muscles! Scholars take a mid-unit assessment, conducting research to take notes about how a particular invention helped meet society's needs. To complete the test, they work on draft sketches for their graphic...
Curated OER
Act It Out!
An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative lesson designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the play,...
Curated OER
Jack and the Beanstalk
Student increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing good reader strategies, 3rd graders complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed assessment of...
Curated OER
Up, Up, Up The Banana Tree
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding, chunking and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed...
Curated OER
Racy Readers
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After discussing the importance of reading fluently, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed...
Curated OER
Use Your Imagination: Reading to Learn
Students examine the process of visualization as a means of comprehending what happens in a story. They read a chapter in a novel, visualize what happened in their mind and then draw a picture of what they visualized. They write two...
Curated OER
Picture Collage Book Report: Voltaire's Candide
Here's an alternative to a traditional book report for your class to demonstrate that they understand and can articulate the main character's evolution and the social themes presented in Voltaire's satirical novel Candide. Your young...
Curated OER
KWHL Jacob Have I Loved
Your class has just begun reading Jacob Have I Loved, and they're coming upon the fifth chapter. Pause their reading and have them complete a KWHL chart (not included) to detail what they've learned from the novel's beginning. An example...
Curated OER
A New Candidate for Animal Farm
Students create an advertising campaign in which a candidate from Animal Farm will run for an upcoming election. In this follow-up activity to George Orwell's Animal Farm lesson plan, students explore propaganda, rhetoric, and satire as...
Curated OER
Mapping Out A Summary
Students summarize a selected piece of fiction text. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a chapter in the novel they are currently reading. They write a chapter summary using a story map and the process...
Curated OER
Fast and Fluent Frogs
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed assessment of...
Curated OER
Maniac Magee: Found Poem
Instruct your readers to scrounge through the pages of Maniac Magee in search for descriptive passages or words they may use to write poetry. As they look for meaningful, sensory descriptors in Jerry Spinelli's novel, readers...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Body Biography Book Report
Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where students choose...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: Anticipation Guide
Get your pupils thinking about some of the big ideas present in Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson with this anticipation guide. Learners decided if they believe a series of statements are true or false. A discussion follows.
Curated OER
Biopoem: Ender's Game
Here's an activity designed to encourage character analysis. Readers craft a biopoem for a character in Orson Scott Cards' popular science fiction novel Ender's Game.
Novelinks
Lord of the Flies: Outlining and Begin Drafting
Help young writers with the daunting prospect of a five-paragraph essay. Using William Golding's Lord of the Flies, learners work through a short process to shore up their brainstorming and prepare to write a longer essay.
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Response to Art Exercise
Depending on your perspective, solitude can be lovely or very, very lonely. Kids take a look at the simple landscape illustrated in Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince, and write a short journal entry about their...