The New York Times
Decision Point: Understanding the U.S.’s Dilemma Over North Korea
Simulate the Situation Room and analyze the US's relationship with North Korea. The plan starts off with a quick review and an examination of a online timeline that updates as the situation continues. Next, the class reads an article and...
The New York Times
Looking for Answers: Making Sense of the Boston Marathon Bombing
How should America respond to acts of domestic terrorism? What motivates or prompts a terrorist attack? After reading an opinion piece on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, your learners will critically analyze factors that could have...
The New York Times
Kiev in Chaos: Teaching About the Crisis in Ukraine
Provide a historical context for the political unrest between Russia and Ukraine that began in late 2013. Learners review their prior knowledge and chronicle new understandings with a KWL chart, watch a video explaining the Ukrainian...
Pulitzer Center
Peacebuilding: Taking Home Lessons Learned in Africa
Learners take a closer look at one journalist's work on UN Peacebuilding efforts in four African nations: Sierra Leone, Burundi, Central African Republic, and Guinea Bissau. They collaborate to define peacebuilding and discuss the...
Pulitzer Center
The Crisis in the Ivory Coast
Through reading a variety of news articles and other informational texts, learners discover the political turmoil and intense ethnic and religious tensions that envelop the Ivory Coast today. Class members research the historical...
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Going to the Promised Land
To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...
American Library Association
Creating 21st Century Superheroes
Create 21st century learners by utilizing technology and library databases. Scholars explore the concept of comic books as literature and create a superhero who could uniquely solve a 21st century global issue. Databases such as SIRS are...
University of North Carolina
Brainstorming
Did you just hear thunder? Nope, you heard the sound of another kind of storm—a brainstorm! A handout teaches writers about different kinds of brainstorming and provides options for them to try when beginning to write their own papers....
Utah State Courts
Judges in the Classroom
Class members explore the process of a disposition hearing for juveniles, particularly looking at how the judge decides what sentence the juvenile offender should receive. Task your pupils with evaluating different sample cases provided...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Identify a Nonfiction Writer's Main Idea and Supporting Examples
Use this page to quickly identify the central idea of a text and organize ideas for writing an informational or explanatory text. The worksheet is split into two parts. In the first part, pupils note down the main idea and supporting...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Analyze a Story or History Completely and Carefully
Start off analysis of a text with a worksheet that asks pupils to complete several tasks. Class members note down a couple of characters or people and their distinguishing traits, describe the most important event, summarize the text...
Curated OER
Centers of the Storm: The Lyceum and the Circle at the University of Mississippi
Greek Revival architecture and the Civil Rights Movement? Sure! Examine how the Lyceum and Circle, two historic buildings located on the campus of the University of Mississippi, relate to integration and the 1962 riot on the university...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Charles Baudelaire: Poète Maudit (The Cursed Poet)
After learning the main ideas of the Decadent movement, learners work in small groups to read and translate poems by the French poet Charles Baudelaire using basic etymology skills. They then read the accurate English translations to see...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Text Structure Practice 1
This interactive learning exercise provides 10 questions: each includes a reading passage which students read and select the patterns of organization used in each passage. RI.11-12.3 Text development
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Nonfict Readers Analyze Structure/views[pdf]
This graphic organizer contains questions for students as they analyze any nonfiction text. Students will read closely to determine the text's structure, viewpoint, and tone. This graphic organizer is a copyrighted material that may be...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: History Thinker: Analyze Then Summarize [Pdf]
This Center for Urban Education resource provides a downloadable worksheet. Students will read about a historical event and answer scaffolded questions that will help them retell what happened, explain the causes and effects, and then...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Comprehensive Questions: Nonfiction [Pdf]
Questions are provided to help students determine the main idea, topic, and fact versus opinion of a nonfiction piece. Students are prompted to write a summary of an informational text.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Expository Escapade: Detective's Handbook
Working on higher-level thinking skills with your readers is made easier with this lesson. You will have your students connect with and analyze a mystery story at their grade-appropriate level. Lesson plan, printable worksheets, and...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
This tutorial focuses on writing a comparison and contrast paper for both literary texts and informational texts. It offers a YouTube video about writing a synthesis paper using either a point by point or a source by source arrangement....
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Understanding the Question
This lesson focuses on how to understand a reading question; it details three main parts: look for content and process words, state the question in your own words, and restate the question as a statement. It explains each and provides...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Analytical Papers: Organization
This slideshow tutorial focuses on organizing an analytical paper; it defines analysis and outlines the basic five- paragraph essay format. It discusses what goes into the introduction, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion. It...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Analytical Papers
This lesson focuses on analytical papers; it explains how to analyze a subject and the goal of analytical papers. They must include a defined or specific perspective from which to evaluate, an evaluation, and the breakdown of the...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Annotating Text
This slideshow focuses on the reading strategy, annotating text. It defines the term and purpose, lists types of annotation, explains what to annotate, and suggests how readers develop their own method.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Comprehensive Assessment: Nonfiction [Pdf]
Questions are provided to help students determine the main idea, topic, purpose, and opinion of a piece of nonfiction. Students are prompted to write a summary of the informational text.