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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Why did Stephen Douglas support the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854? Why did Abraham Lincoln oppose it? Young historians examine how the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 affected the political balance between free and slave states and explore how...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Oh Freedom! Sought Under the Fugitive Slave Act

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Using the harrowing story of the Crafts, a couple enslaved in the South who escaped to freedom, young historians trace the story of the Fugitive Slave Act. After examining documents, including affidavits and arrest warrants for the...
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PPT
National Humanities Center

Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Act it Out: Dramatizing Asian American Stories

For Teachers K - 12th
Read and act out folktales, fairy tales, or myths from various Asian American cultures with your class. Each group reads a story aloud and then works together to create a short play or skit about the story. Suggestions for stories are...
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Activity
Library of Congress

Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Fugitive Slave Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the novel...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Not Getting the News about the Stamp Act

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
How did American colonists react to the Stamp Act of 1765? Your young historians will examine primary source material by reading excerpts from a transcription of the Pennsylvania Gazette and then identifying the sentiments expressed by...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

For The Sake Of Security: U.S.A. Patriot Act & Bill of Rights

For Teachers 8th - 12th
A substantive New York Times article about the U.S.A. Patriot Act, military tribunals, racial profiling, and the Bill of Rights forms the basis for a discussion of the complex interplay of fundamental American rights and the aftermath of...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

"Clean Water Act"

For Students 7th - 9th
Read the short reading passage entitled "Clean Water Act" to help your class build reading fluency and comprehension. While most questions focus on recall, learners are asked to use the context to define select vocabulary words. This...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 5: Level 10

For Students 9th - 10th
Whether used as a reading comprehension assessment, as the basis of a mini-lesson on reading strategies, or as extra practice, this exercise will prove to be valuable because of the answers and explanation key that accompanies the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Building Background Knowledge About the Hero’s Journey, Part 2: Acts 2 and 3 Plus Focusing on Key Vocabulary in “The Hero’s Journey”

For Teachers 6th Standards
It's all in the details. Scholars read acts two and three of The Hero's Journey and collect important details from the text. They share their notes with their peers and listen for key words from the story. They then turn their attention...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

World Religion Day: Reading Activities

For Students 7th - 8th
If your class is observing World Religion Day in January, use this resource to provide a research and response opportunity. A short informational reading (available as an MP3 download for auditory learners and listening exercises) is the...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Close Reading of Waiting for the Biblioburro: Finding the Main Message and Taking Notes

For Teachers 3rd Standards
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...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 6

For Students 7th - 9th
A great resource for advanced English language learners or native speakers working on reading comprehension. Before reading, discuss different reading strategies. Then, after they read the selection, have your class complete the multiple...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 1: Level 11

For Students 10th - 12th
Here’s a reading comprehension assessment that will capture the interest of your learners. Stink bugs and the danger they pose to farmers is the subject of the passage, while the eight questions ask readers to infer, predict, summarize...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension 1: Level 12

For Students 9th - 12th
Need to assess the reading comprehension level of your class or of a new student? The subject matter of the reading passage, euthanasia, is sure to engage your readers’ interest while the questions test a variety of comprehension...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension - Short Stories

For Students 8th - 10th
Much more than a simple reading assessment, this resource can form the basis of a review of comprehension strategies, as a worksheet that models for readers how to employ strategies to answer questions based on passages, or as a practice...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

For Teachers 9th - 12th
1964: A victory for the civil rights movement! Scholars read a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discuss what affirmative actions means to them. The resource is a jigsaw activity, with each group focusing on one section of the...
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Worksheet
Reading Through History

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Why was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 so important? The reading in the resource discusses how the act affected Southerners, Northerners, and the slaves themselves. Scholars complete the reading as a form of direct instruction while...
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Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: The Challenges of The Plains

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...
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Unit Plan
West Corporation

Making Inferences – Use Your Mind to Read!

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
How can you tell if someone is happy? The lesson works with elementary and middle school scholars to activate their schema and pay attention to details to make inferences in their daily lives, poetry, and other literature. Cleverly...
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Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 The Kansas-Nebraska Act

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Continued Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions and Vivid Words and Phrases

For Teachers 3rd Standards
As 3rd graders continue reading Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, they focus on the concepts of predator and prey in the fifth lesson plan of this unit. Scholars further develop their ability to answer questions using evidence from the text...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Continued Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions and Vivid Words and Phrases

For Teachers 3rd Standards
In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young scholars are...
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Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Educating About Immigration The DREAM Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration legislation,...