EngageNY
Video and Close Reading: “Developing a Vital Resource for Canadians and the World”
Scholars watch Developing a Vital Resource for Canadians and the World to learn about the supplement potash that helps plants grow. They watch the video several times, completing a note catcher to record key ideas along the way....
Curated OER
Reading the Play
Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...
Curated OER
Mean in Statistics: Practice Finding Averages
Using an online, interactive practice exercise, learners calculate the mean of six sets of numbers. A handy tool to provide practice or assess mastery. Immediate feedback notes correct responses and leaves incorrect ones in place so...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Two Settings in One Text
Look for the signal words! Scholars get both instruction and practice comparing and contrasting. Although it is completely scripted, it can also serve as a detailed outline. Demonstrate this as you read a passage (included) and search...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: Notecard Vocabulary Strategy
Understanding the vocabulary in a text, especially a text like Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science that includes quite a few technical terms, can be the key to understanding the text as a whole. Learners focus on...
Chicago History Museum
Reading Artifacts
History detectives put their keen observation skills to the test as they closely examine artifacts. Drawing on visual and tactile clues, they formulate a theory about who done it, or in this case who made it, why, and for what...
Curated OER
First Day of School
Primary learners complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book First Day of School. They will complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have discussions, and much...
Smithsonian Institution
George Washington: A National Treasure
Uncover the answer to a specific clue in a portrait of George Washington with a spyglass in an Internet-based interactive. Learners read a clue to an item hidden in a portrait of the First President of the United States in the last years...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Morphemic Elements, Make It Meaningful
Scholars learn to find meaning in words using affixes with a language arts activity. In pairs, children sort cards with printed sentences that include words with the prefixes mis- and pre- and the suffixes -er, -ness, and -able. Then,...
Curated OER
Reading Worksheet
In this reading activity, learners read a given portion of a book, summarize the information, select vocabulary words, write questions and answers about the reading, and draw an illustration of their favorite part. Students complete...
Curated OER
Learning the Roles in Literature Circles
I love literature circles! Get your pupils together and have them discuss the book they are reading. They determine and practice their role in the literature circle then discuss the book they are reading. This is a great introduction to...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Thor and Sif
Expose your readers to the fascinating legends of Norse Gods Thor and Sif. They read a brief introduction about traditional stories and myths then read several paragraphs on these figures, marking unknown words as they go. Learners look...
BBC
Words in the News
Here's an "old-school" lesson plan on an event in US history. High schoolers look into the massive layoffs that occurred in New Orleans in 2005. Discussion and debate take place, and groups of learners must cut and paste a series of...
Curated OER
Hoot: Vocabulary Squares
Study the vocabulary from Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with an activity featuring synonyms and antonyms. Kids fill in a graphic organizer for each word, prompting critical thinking as they find additional ways to put the word into context.
Prestwick House
Rhyme and Repetition in Poe's "Annabel Lee"
Many and many a year ago Edgar Allan Poe crafted the chilling tale of "Annabel Lee." The poem is the perfect vehicle to introduce Poe's concept of unity of effect, the idea that every element in a poem or story should help to develop a...
Curated OER
Comprehension Instructional Routine: Sequence of Events in Text
If you're looking for a detailed lesson on event sequencing from informational text, you've found it. There is an entire script for you to draw from as you explore order of events and sequence words. Scaffolding is key here; learners...
Curated OER
Animals Must Fit In
A instructional activity on tadpoles is here for your young biologists. Learners read a short paragraph on tadpoles, then answer three questions regarding how parts of their bodies help the tadpole to survive in the pond. There is a good...
Curated OER
Mystery Words
In this language arts lesson, 8th graders verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not directly stated. After a class discussion on how to use context clues, students pairs are given a worksheet of "mystery...
Curated OER
Latin Roots Grad, Mot, Cad: Interactive Puzzles
Three short puzzles emphasize Latin roots grad, mot, and cad in English spelling and vocabulary. Learners choose words from a list and complete spellings in boxes with definitions for clues. A reading passage using the words is included....
Teach-nology
The Skating Moose
What would you do if you saw an ice-skating moose? Kids read a short, entertaining passage and use a word bank to fill in the blanks using context clues.
Curated OER
Word Meanings From Context
Here's a context clues worksheet that provides practice or assesses the use of "a" words including alacrity, abrasive, acrimonious, abridged, alleviate, and more. Readers study the context and then select the best meaning from four...
Teach-nology
You Don’t Know How to Drive?
A cloze reading passage about getting a driver's permit at an older age prompts kids to use context clues as they read. They can use the word bank below to fill in eight blank spaces throughout the story.
Teach-nology
Mike, Mike Motorbike
If your kids like motorcycles and dirt bikes, they'll enjoy reading about Mike and his daredevil tricks. After reviewing eight words in a word bank, they fill in the blanks throughout the short passage using context clues.
LearnEnglishFeelGood.com
Mixed Verb Tenses
He was running or he has been running? Young grammarians must examine context clues to determine which verb phrase to use in ten sentences.