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Mapping Out the Story
Discuss the reading comprehension strategy of summarization with your elementary schoolers! They read a chapter from their social studies textbook, Regions Near and Far, and create a map, or word web, for the chapter. They identify...
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Documenting Sources: An Introduction to Incorporating and Documenting Outside Sources in Your Writing
Text heavy, the 16 slides in this presentation provide specific examples to introduce researchers to documenting outside sources in expository writing. A follow-up activity or worksheet would provide an opportunity for guided practice.
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Research and Documentation
Did you just assign a research project to your high school class? Begin the research process with this presentation. Give your class ideas about where to find information, how to evaluate sources, and how to properly cite them. The...
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Frederick Douglass Expository Reading Guide
Help your high schoolers navigate the cross-curricular text Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass with this reading guide. The questions guide learners through composing a summary of any given chapter in the text. In addition,...
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Sample Lesson on Taking Notes
Have your middle schoolers define the terms outline, summary, paraphrase, plagiarism, citation, reference, and bibliography. They identify the main ideas, topic sentence, supporting ideas in technical writing and create note cards using...
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Bridge to Terabithia: Visualizing to Optimize Comprehension
Good readers visualize. And in our image-rich culture it is imperative that children are provided with opportunities to practice this important skill. A selection from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and Bridge to Terabithia,...
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Poetry Reading for ELL Beginners
Bring the imagery of the desert to your classroom with this ELL lesson plan. After reading Madeleine Dunphy’s Here in the Southwestern Desert, learners complete a graphic organizer about the features and images of the poem. The...
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Analyzing Literature via Literature Circles
Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...
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Literature Study Guide: Gulliver's Travels
Although the title suggests this resource is devoted to Gulliver’s Travels, the materials and templates can be used with any work of literature. Readers fill out a reading schedule chart, write a summary, keep a vocabulary word list, and...
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Question What You Read
Readers test their reading comprehension after reading a nonfiction text about Paleo Indians. (This text is in Alabama: It's History and Geography, but other texts can be used.) After reading the nonfiction article as a class, they...
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Are You Aware?
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read several short paragraphs about farm animals and then answer five multiple questions about each paragraph.
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Practice Paraphrasing
Help your high schoolers identify the main idea of a passage with this lesson on paraphrasing. First rewriting a paragraph in their own words, they then underline the most important words in their paraphrase and use them in a summary....
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Esperanza Rising: Lesson 7
Sixth graders discuss the vocabulary word, "migrate" and what it means and how it relates to the novel they are reading, Esperanza Rising. In this novel lesson, 6th graders read chapter 7 of their novel in small groups and complete a...
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Narrative Writing-10 Strategies for Engaging the Reader
Fifth graders discuss what narrative writing represents. For this language arts lesson, 5th graders review the ten strategies for engaging reader. Students listen to and read good examples of each strategyand write engaging beginnings in...
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Reading Comprehension
For this reading comprehension worksheet, 5th graders complete 3 long answer questions. Students must explain the setting and main characters of a story they read and give a paragraph summary.
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The Hatfield and McCoy Feud
Fourth graders explore the main characters in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. For this Hatfield-McCoy lesson, 4th graders gather information about the feud from the Internet and books. Students research the main characters involved and write a...
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Paper Bag Book Report
Young scholars read books and write a unique kind of book report. In this literature lesson, students use paper bags to construct projects about the books they read. Young scholars present their projects to the class.
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Paraphrasing
In this paraphrasing instructional activity students are tasked to paraphrase five short passages. Students write their paraphrase and can then self check against sample answers.
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Starfish: The Stars of the Sea Lesson Plan
Students discover many characteristics of the starfish. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify characteristics of starfish. Students develop a language experience chart and record their new-found information, and...
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THE SWEET TASTE OF SUMMER
In this reading of text worksheet, students read and analyze a short story about watermelons and then answer eight questions in complete sentences.
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From America, With Love
Students research the experiences of specific immigrant groups in the United States. Letters are written from imaginary immigrants to relatives in their countries of origin, including historically accurate details.
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Writing Session: Evaluative Writing
This evaluative writing PowerPoint provides a framework for developing the critical thinking skills needed to critique literary selections. Deductive and inductive reasoning skills are featured as well tips for building a good argument...
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Babushka's Doll
Third graders read the story Babushka's Doll and write a summary of the main events in the story. For this summaries lesson plan, 3rd graders discuss the country of Russia before they read.
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Putting it all Together
Students take notes and summarize information. In this communication lesson, students summarize information by taking notes using the various methods that their instructor presents to them.