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Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Compare/contrast Themes and Genres in Literary Texts

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Determining the theme is not easy; you have to use the clues the author leaves to figure it out yourself. The author implies information about the story through plot points, setting, and characters. You infer and draw conclusions based...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Lorraine Hansberry: "A Raisin in the Sun": Analyzing Theme

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In this interactive lesson, discover how literary techniques like setting, characterization, and conflict contribute to the overarching theme of a text. Through analysis of Lorraine Hansberry's iconic play A Raisin in the Sun, explore...
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Article
AdLit

Ad lit.org: Classroom Strategies: Power Notes

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Power Notes is a strategy that teaches students an efficient form of organizing information from assigned text. This technique provides students a systematic way to look for relationships within material they are reading. Power Notes...
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Professional Doc
AdLit

Ad lit.org: An Introduction to Analytical Text Structures

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Many students are used to writing narratives - stories, description, even poetry, but have little experience with analytical writing. This article is an introduction to six analytical text structures, useful across content areas. See...
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Website
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Summarizing Worksheets and Activities

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
In this instructional resource, students will learn more about summarizing texts. Worksheets and PowerPoint lessons are provided to reinforce understanding about ways to summarize nonfiction texts and to identify main ideas. This module...
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Professional Doc
Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center

Wisconsin Rt I Center: Text Dependent Questions [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Describes a reading strategy where students must respond to text by supporting their ideas with text-based evidence. Lists different categories of questions the teacher can prepare based on the text chosen, with examples for each.
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Handout
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Use Details and Examples

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Review how to use text evidence, details, examples, and personal experiences to make inferences then read a passage to practice on your own.
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Handout
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Ideas and Supporting Details

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
See how to pick out the main ideas and supporting details on this site. Click on Model at the bottom right.
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Handout
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Ideas and Supporting Details

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
See an example of how to determine the main ideas and supporting details of a story.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Informational Text: Summarize

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Learn how to summarize a section of a text with this site.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Structure Within a Story

For Students 6th - 7th Standards
Learn why structure is important when organizing a story then read an excerpt from the story "Three over Four" to practice how structure helps to develop the story's theme, setting, and plot.
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Graphic
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Read to Learn, Share What You Learn [Pdf]

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Several tips for reading to learn are provided on this page. Students will explore the BIG idea presented in a nonfiction piece.
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Classify and Summarize Information [Pdf]

For Students 2nd - 8th Standards
This learning module contains a link to graphic organizers that will help students categorize content and comprehend short and extended texts. The graphic organizers are designed to be applied to reading nonfiction passages in science...
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Activity
InterLink Language Centers

Interlink Language Centers: Reading Exercises Science

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
An interactive exercise for students to use while developing an understanding of how to read scientific informational texts. The text is presented one paragraph at a time and difficult vocabulary words are defined as footnotes. Then...
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Unit Plan
McGraw Hill

Mc Graw Hill:informational Text: Analyze Development of Text Elements:individuals

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
Read an informational piece, and learn how to analyze the development of individuals in the text. Includes practice exercises.
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Unit Plan
McGraw Hill

Mc Graw Hill: Informational Text: Analyze Development of Text Elements: Events

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
Read an informational piece, and learn how to analyze the development of an event in the text.
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Unit Plan
McGraw Hill

Mc Graw Hill: Informational Text: Determine Central Idea and Supporting Details

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
To understand a text, you must understand the central idea of the story. Learn how to recognize the central idea and supporting details with this article. Click the links at bottom right.
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Activity
Other

Frontier Central School District: Determining the Theme of a Literary Work [Pdf]

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Guidance and exercises for finding the theme of a literary work, including a list of commonly seen universal themes.
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Graphic
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Narrative Pyramid

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
A printable narrative pyramid where students can record information about a story including the character, setting, problem, main events, and solution. Directions on how to use this type of graphic organize as well as lists of teaching...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Get the Gist: A Summarizing Strategy for Any Content Area

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A five-part standards-based lesson plan in which students learn to write a 20 word summary of an informational text by focusing on answering the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how. This strategy can be applied to any content...
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Interactive
Quia

Quia: Elements of Literature: Rags to Riches

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Answer the 15 questions in this game about literary elements for the prize of fame and fortune. Java is required.
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Interactive
Quia

Quia: Rags to Riches: Literary Elements

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Show off your knowledge of literary elements by playing this game. Just answer 15 questions correctly, and be the big winner.
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Article
Other

Writing & Reading Success Center: Summarizing Paragraphs [Pdf]

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
An explanation and example of summarizing a paragraph, especially helpful for taking notes on texts.
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Interactive
Vocabulary University

My vocabulary.com: List of Themes for English Language Arts

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a list of themed puzzles for English Language Arts. Click on a theme or puzzle that will take you to an interactive activity. All content is printable without a charge. NOTE: Each theme has a corresponding vocabulary word list...