Curated OER
Idea-Noun Definition: Source Searching
A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...
Curated OER
Getting the Word Out
Discuss and generate blogs in this technology lesson. Middle and high schoolers explore examples of blogs and create their own blogs. Use this lesson throughout the year to reinforce concepts from your language arts class (or any class)....
Curated OER
Where the Red Fern Grows Chapter 4-6 Worksheet
Looking for a quick review sheet for several chapters of Wilson Rawls' novel Where the Red Fern Grows? Check out this one, which is made up of a straightforward list of questions that ask learners to remember the plot and express their...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Jan Brett
Prepare to teach Jan Brett stories by taking a look at this teacher resource, which includes text-based questions, writing assignments, discussion ideas, and vocabulary practice for 18 different stories.
Dream of a Nation
Big6 Research Project
Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...
PBS
Broadcast News
Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...
EngageNY
Contrasting Perspectives: Should the Farmworkers in Esperanza Rising Go On Strike? (Chapter 12: "Los Esparragos/Asparagus")
Explore multiple perspectives through a jigsaw activity that will improve your pupils' understanding of the characters in Esperanza Rising as well as their understanding of strikes and human rights. Tapping into prior knowledge, and...
EngageNY
Using Informational Text Features and Learning Freaky Frog Vocabulary
What kind of text features help children build a strong vocabulary? Class members use text features such as headers to unpack new vocabulary words. They create vocabulary journals in which they will write what they think the definition...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...
Curated OER
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Civil Rights Movement Speeches
Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 13: Character Development 2
Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...
English Worksheets Land
A Tale of Two Gardens
Gardening is fun, no matter what you're growing. A reading comprehension activity encourages learners to compare and contrast two gardens that grow different items.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Predators and Prey
Reading is fantastic, especially when it's reading about bullfrogs. Kids get cozy with predator/prey relationships as they hone their information-reading skills. They start out as they read a portion of the text aloud, then they...
Penguin Books
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Young Readers Edition
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...
Curated OER
Capitalization
Teach your class the rules of capitalization with this fun, engaging lesson. Children participate in a learning activity, collaborate with peers, and practice their writing as they learn three specific rules: to always capitalize the...
Making Evidence-Based Claims: Grade 7
The most effective way to support an argument is with clear and relevant evidence. As seventh graders read and listen to Cesar Chavez's California Commonwealth Club Address, they work through five sections of a textual analysis unit,...
English Worksheets Land
Charlotte and Cherie
Could you imagine running into a stranger who looked exactly like you? Class members read about identical twins who were separated at birth, and answer three reading comprehension questions to practice comparing and contrasting details...
Curated OER
Affixes and Roots
Here is a skills practice sheet that instructs fourth graders to form words using affixes and root words. After reading 16 clues, individuals match an affix to a root word in order to create the word that best fits the clue.
Illustrative Mathematics
The Napping House
How many people and animals can cram into a single bed? Find out with this cross-curricular math and language arts lesson. Following along with a reading of the children's book The Napping House by Audrey Wood, young mathematicians add...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical journal...
Curated OER
Art Class, Variation 2
Given a set of six paint mix ratios, artistic mathematicians produce an equation that relates the number of parts for blue paint to parts for yellow paint resulting new shades of green.
Curated OER
Commas and Colons and Semicolons? OH MY!
Take a close look at both the definitions and uses of commas, colons, and semicolons. Commas set off clear parts of sentences, colons come before an explanation, and semicolons join two complete thoughts. Review these types of...
New York City Department of Education
What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue: How Did Jazz Influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...