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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: See Our Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"See Our Progress" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students who turned a vacant lot into a prairie garden and then were interviewed and shown on the television news. It is followed by questions which require students to...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Why Did Mamma Change Her Mind? [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Why Did Mamma Change Her Mind?" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a party. Mom said her son and daughter could each have 5 friends (5 boys and 5 girls). The girl wanted all girls so the party was cancelled. It is followed...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A New Park [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"A New Park" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how a school in need of a playground got a city park instead. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: After the Chicago Fire [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
"After the Chicago Fire" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how Chicago was rebuilt after the great fire. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Bold Plans, Big Dreams, City Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"Bold Plans, Big Dreams, City Progress" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage celebrating the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham's plan for Chicago. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago: Deval Patrick [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"Chicago Is a City of Possibilities" is an inauguration speech by Deval Patrick given as he became governor of Massachusetts. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes determining...
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Unknown Type
Education Development Center

Tv411: Summarizing

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
This activity asks students to read short paragraphs and select the statement that best summarizes each paragraph. It is part of a larger reading unit.
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Activity
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Part 1 Reading: Literature: Determine Theme

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Determine the theme of a story with this reading activity. See the model and then practice identifying the theme.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Mo Dept. Of Ed.: Analyzing and Evaluating Literary Works

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Lesson plan designed for eleventh graders. Students analyze and evaluate a short story for elements of literary works such as theme, mood, word choice, imagery, tone, and main idea. Includes a student handout and a scoring guide. It...
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Unit Plan
Other

Christina School District: Kindergarten: Essential Questions [Pdf]

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Printable six-page document. Each page begins with a Big Idea topic and then lists five essential questions for students to ask and learn from throughout the unit. Bid Idea topics include: We see all kinds of people each day; Books help...
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Unit Plan
Other

Literature Unit: "A Day No Pigs Would Die"

For Students 6th - 8th
This site features questions for each of the chapters in Robert Newton Peck's "A Day No Pigs Would Die."
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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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Activity
University of Maryland

British War Poetry in the Age of Romanticism

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This annotated collection of poems focuses on the theme of war in the late 1700s. Good for an interdisciplinary look at British history or for a literary exploration of war as a theme.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Fairy Tale Autobiographies

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Lesson which requires students to analyze fairy tales for literary elements such as characters, setting, conflict, and theme. Students work in groups and write about, edit, and illustrate their fairy tales.
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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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Handout
University of Victoria (Canada)

The U Vic Writer's Guide: General Literary Terms

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The University of Victoria's Writer's Guide includes an extensive list of literary and rhetorical terms. List can be displayed alphabetically.
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Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: What's Been Lost?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
In this lesson, The Black-Eyed Peas song entitled "Where is the Love?" will be dissected by students. Then students will build upon the song's them and compare it with the picture book by Denise Fleming, Where Once There Was A Wood....
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Breaking Barriers: Critical Discussion of Social Issues

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Through a series of picture book read-alouds and journal entries, students engage in critical discussion of complex issues of race, class, and gender.
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Unknown Type
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: More Trees [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
"More Trees" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a student and his mother getting trees from the city and planting them in their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide...
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Unknown Type
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Potawatomi Prairie [Pdf]

For Students 5th Standards
"Potawatomi Prairie" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the Potawatomi tribe and what their life may have been like during the different seasons of the year. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Nsw Dept. Of Ed.: "One World" [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Reading unit plan about endangered animals from the New South Wales, Australia, Department of Education and Training entitled "One World" (Forty-four page PDF file). It contains ten days worth of teaching suggestions that use a variety...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Mc Graw Hill: Part 1 Reading: Literature: Summarize

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
Learn how to summarize a story with this reference article; see the model showing the summary process.
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Unit Plan
TES Global

Blendspace: The Giver

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This blendspace includes thirty-two spaces with content connected to Lois Lowry's dystopia novel, The Giver. Links include novel discussion questions, author interviews, and video tutorials to review literary topics.
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Unit Plan
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Teaching Theme

For Teachers 3rd - 9th Standards
In this learning module, students will learn more about themes in stories. Worksheets and activities are provided to reinforce the concept of theme. This module is designed to support Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III students.