Reed Novel Studies
Shiloh: Novel Study
Marty is faced with a tough choice in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Shiloh. Scholars read to find out how Marty deals with his situation before completing worksheet activities to help readers gain a better understanding of the story....
Curated OER
Text Features of Fiction, Poetry, Drama: Story Matrix
How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...
EngageNY
Contrasting Evidence: “Water Is Life” and The Big Thirst
Sometimes differing arguments support the same claim. Scholars complete a graphic organizer comparing how two authors support the claim that people need to better manage the world's water supply. Pupils also complete a graphic organizer...
Curated OER
Performance-Based Assessment Practice Test (Grade 6 ELA/Literacy)
Keep an eye on the growth of your sixth graders' reading and writing skills with the help of this practice Common Core assessment. Working their way through the six included fiction and nonfiction reading passages, learners answer a...
Curated OER
The Things they Carried: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
To generate interest in and enable readers to connect to The Things They Carried, class members write about what they carry—both tangible and intangible things. The class then makes a list of these things and compares the list to...
Curated OER
Indiana Applied Skills Assessment Sample
In this Applied Skills Assessment worksheet, 5th graders complete a sample state assessment for Language Arts and Mathematics for 5th graders. They read a writing prompt and complete a writing activity that follows, answer various types...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literary Text: Pygmalion and Galatea
Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...
Stanford University
Ruby Bridges
A two-part lesson features Civil Rights hero, Ruby Bridges. Part one focuses on the heroic actions of Ruby Bridges then challenges scholars to complete a Venn diagram in order to compare themselves to her. Part two begins with a...
Academy of American Poets
The Immigrant Experience
The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes' "Theme for English B" is featured in a lesson that asks pupils to first read a biography of Hughes and list things about his life they think are important. The class then reads the poem and compares what they learned...
Curated OER
Performance-Based Assessment Practice Test (Grade 5 ELA/Literacy)
Check in on the development of your fifth graders' reading and writing skills with this Common Core-designed assessment. Given a series of six reading passages ranging from narrative stories to informational texts, young learners answer...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 19
Great minds think alike. Scholars read two texts and compare how the authors develop the same central idea. Readers analyze "Women" by Alice Walker and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss word use and new...
EngageNY
Comparing Text Structures: To Kill a Mockingbird and “Those Winter Sundays” (Chapter 6 and 7)
Scholars carry out a close read of the poem "Those Winter Sundays" to determine its point. They look at the words used and the structure of the stanzas and then compare the poem's narrative structure to chapter 6 of To Kill a...
Museum of the American Revolution
George vs. George
It's George versus George in the battle for the American colonies. An interesting activity compares the leadership of George Washington and King George III during the American Revolution. Scholars read text, compare portraits, and...
EngageNY
Comparing Multiple Accounts of the Same Topic: Learning about the Great Migration (Promises to Keep, Pages 10–13)
Get the story straight. Scholars gather information about the Great Migration as they listen to a reading from Promises to Keep. They then examine the text to find evidence to support the feeling of resentment. Learners take part in a...
K20 LEARN
The Emancipation Proclamation: Expanding The Goals Of The Civil War
Should Juneteenth be recognized as a national holiday? To prepare to take a stance on this question, young historians first analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and compare it to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. Scholars then read an...
American Institute of Physics
African American Physicists in the 1960s
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Political Parties
To demonstrate their ability to craft an analysis of informational text, class members read excerpts from James Madison's "The Federalist No. 10," from George Washington's Farewell Address, and from Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 3: Unit 1, Lesson 10
I know exactly how you feel. That may be a statement between Henrietta Lacks and John Moore. Scholars read John Moore's story and compare his story of cell use to that of Henrietta. Learners record in a vocabulary journal, analyze...
EngageNY
A Rainforest Folktale: Determining the Message of “The Wings of the Butterfly,” a Tukuna People Tale
Did you the message? Scholars listen to a read aloud of The Wings of the Butterfly to summarize and determine the message of the text. They discuss the folktale and vocabulary in groups, then use a double bubble map to compare the story...
American Institute of Physics
African Americans in Astronomy and Astrophysics
A two-part instructional activity focuses on the contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics of two African Americans: Benjamin Banneker and Dr. George Carruthers. In part one, scholars learn about Benjamin Banneker by...
K20 LEARN
Femme Fatales - The Landlady and Mrs. Maloney: Character Analysis Across Multiple Texts
Two stories by Roald Dahl, "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Landlady" provide readers an opportunity to compare stories by the same author. After a close reading of the stories, teams select a character from one of the tales, craft...
August House
The Ghost Catcher
Delve into a Bengali folktale with a series of reading comprehension activities. Before kids read The Ghost Catcher, they discuss the concept of reflections and mirrors. They then answer comprehension questions about the characters and...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Farmer George: The Seeds of a Presidency
Three activities make up a lesson that explores the connection between former president George Washington, the farming industry, and leadership. Scholars listen to two read aloud, Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas and George...