Curated OER
When Is a Noun a Verb? Examining Double Duty Words
The New York Times' Learning Network provides great lessons! This one uses articles from the paper to help readers understand homonyms like mail (verb and noun). It also includes an exercise in reading informational text. Links to the...
Reed Novel Studies
The Slave Dancer: Novel Study
What are the effects of a good literary cliffhanger? Using the novel study for Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer, pupils consider why the author chose to end the first chapter with suspense. They also answer text-based questions, practice new...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment: Using Evidence to Support Analysis: “Frederick Douglass”
Show what you know! Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment using text evidence from Frederick Douglass. The teacher then presents expectations for independent reading assignment. Leaving the class, pupils turn in an exit ticket...
Curated OER
Hello Class: Consonant Blends
Review consonant blends with your scholars. Learners read a series of words containing a consonant blend, such as sp and mp. Then, they solve riddles involving these sounds. Finally, they create a list of words that have consonant blends.
Polk Bros Foundation
Preview Reading
Scanning a text before getting started is a reading strategy that your pupils can use to get a general idea about a text before diving in. Give some direction to their scanning with a worksheet that includes items to check for and space...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 2
"Everybody is guilty of something." As class members continue their close reading of Walter Mosley's essay, they examine how Mosley develops and supports his central ideas about Western civilization's relationship to guilt.
EngageNY
Read Expressions in Which Letters Stand for Numbers II
Reading and writing take on a whole different meaning in math class. Young mathematicians learn to read verbal phrases by focusing on operation words. They write equivalent algebraic expressions for both mathematical and contextual...
EngageNY
Relationships Between Key Scientific Concepts: What Causes Hurricanes?
A storm is brewing in the sea. Scholars complete multiple reads of How Does a Hurricane Form to determine gist, cause-and-effect relationships, and deepen vocabulary understanding. To finish, they complete graphic organizers...
Curated OER
Homophones and Homographs
Getting tired of correcting to, two, and too? What about weather and whether? Use a thorough lesson on homophones and homographs to clear up those differences. Fourth and fifth graders identify which words sound the same and are spelled...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 5
How does word choice influence the meaning and tone of a text? To answer this question, class members listen to a masterful reading of a passage from David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and then work with a partner to conduct a close...
Nemours KidsHealth
Healthy Snacking: Grades 9-12
Snacks—even the word can conger up a hunger. Rapidly growing teens, especially, rely on snacks to get them from one meal to the next. After reading a series of articles about nutrition and healthy snack choices, pupils fill out a report...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 15
Where does Friar Laurence's loyalty lie? After listening to a reading of Act 4, scene 1, lines 89-126 of Romeo and Juliet, groups examine the details of Friar Laurence's plan.
EngageNY
Research: Paraphrasing Relevant Information
Readers take a look at the source Ethical Style: How Is My T-Shirt Made? and discuss how to say the information in the article without plagiarism. Learners make note of and underline sentences that may present a problem in paraphrasing....
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom Super Scientist
Let's have a look at something different. Scholars take a look at the text Investigating the Scientific Method with Max Axiom Super Scientist and discuss how the structure, graphics, and images appear different than previous works...
Curated OER
Making Objects Human
Explore poetry, personification, and multiple languages with a poetry reading and writing lesson plan. After the teacher reads the poem to the class, a discussion about personification follows. The class then writes a collaborative...
California Education Partners
Bud Not Buddy
A two-day assessment challenges scholars to read an excerpt from the story, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis then complete a series of exercises in preparation for a writing assignment. Day one includes an independent...
Curated OER
Problem Solving Model
Use a vocabulary chart to introduce math functions. The class defines a list of mathematical vocabulary terms on a worksheet, as well as completes equations and expressions. They examine word problems and practice transcribing them into...
Curated OER
Hatchet: Before Strategy- Problematic Situation
If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...
Reed Novel Studies
Stone Fox: Novel Study
Wyoming has the lowest population of all 50 states. Using the novel study for Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner, pupils create brochures to attract visitors to the state, which is the setting for the novel. Additionally, they answer...
EngageNY
Using Effective Search Terms: Researching Water Management
Discover how to use search terms effectively! Scholars continue their exploration of Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst, engaging in a read aloud and then answering text-based questions. Next, pupils learn about using search terms and...
EngageNY
Informational Text Features: Analyzing “Hawaii’s Endangered Happy Face Spider”
Some things are better the second time around. Scholars reread an article about Hawaii's happy face spider, answering text-dependent questions as they read. Then, they use a Venn diagram to compare the text features of interviews and...
Brigham Young University
The Crucible: Problematic Situations
What would you do? To prepare for the final scene from Arthur Miller's The Crucible, readers are presented with a series of moral dilemmas and asked to consider what they would do in the same situations.
EngageNY
Analyzing Character: Louie Zamperini
Let's talk! Scholars create discussion appointments using map locations. After completing their appointment books, readers look closely at a few Unbroken pages. They use sentence strips to record details from their readings that help...
EngageNY
Connecting Informational Text with Litearature: Building Background Knowledge About Mexican Immigration, California, and the Great Depression
Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...