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8th Grade Reading Comprehension Success
Augment your eighth grade language arts curriculum with a thorough set of reading comprehension activities and assessments. Focusing on a variety of skills, including vocabulary in context, text structure, main idea, and author's style,...
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Lemony Snicket Series Comes to an End (Unfortunately)
An informational text about Lemony Snicket leads to a discussion of the books class members have read in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. Children then compare and contrast the settings, plots, and characters in the different...
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Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...
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Multiple Viewpoints (Three Little Pigs)
Your youngsters have probably read The Three Little Pigs, but have they read The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig? Have your learners brainstorm how the second book could be similar or different from the first. Encourage your...
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Beautiful Bovine
Looking for a fun and interactive way to explore bovine biology? Learners read a brief informational text (included for printing) before participating in several cross-curricular activities. First, grab their attention with a hilarious...
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Literary Comparison
Compare and contrast two pieces of literature with this lesson. With the use of a Venn diagram, pupils make connections between literature and real-life situations. They practice skills of surveying a text looking for important details,...
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Learning From the Past
Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...
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Rights and the Wyandotte Constitution
Every state uses a set of rights to establish laws and regulations. Explore the Wyandotte Constitution as it was written in 1859 and compare it with how rights in Kansas have changed, especially those that pertain to gender and race. A...
Tell City Schools
The Cay
Support your instruction of The Cay by Theodore Taylor with this extensive unit of materials. Provided here are prereading activities, worksheets and discussion questions for the entire book, and reading quizzes that you can use to check...
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Fractured Fairy Tales
Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...
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A Visit to Hogwarts
Students collaborate in groups to read excerpts or entire selections from two Harry Potter books, use educational software to create concept maps detailing similarities and differences between first two Harry Potter books, and analyze...
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Edgar Allan Poe Short Story WebQuest
Introduce your class to Edgar Allan Poe with a series of mostly self-guided tasks and assignments. Class members follow the list of tasks, starting by watching a video with background information and ending with a compare-and-contrast...
EngageNY
Gathering Information about Water Management: Assessing and Reading Internet Sources, Day 3
Water is life! Using the informative resource, scholars first read two informational articles about water management in agriculture. Then, they use a Venn diagram to contrast the different types of evidence authors use to support 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...
EngageNY
Seeing, Hearing, and Comparing Genres: A Poem and a Letter
One can never be too prepared. Pupils prepare for their upcoming mid-unit assessment by writing their group norms for small group discussions. Additionally, scholars read and listen to a poem, comparing the two experiences using a Venn...
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Compare and Contrast
In this compare/contrast worksheet, students look at pictures of a chair and a cat and read about they are similar and different. Next, students fill in a graphic organizer about how these 2 things are alike and different.
Core Knowledge Foundation
The Five Senses Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
Young readers explore the five senses with a read-aloud anthology. Each lesson follows the routine of introducing the reading, listening to a read-aloud, answering comprehension questions, then practicing a skill. Modification and...
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Rain Forest Babies: comprehension skills
In this comprehension skills worksheet, 2nd graders read the book Rain Forest Babies and complete comprehension activities. Students complete 5 activities including note taking, compare and contrast, and personal opinion.
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At Play Long Ago and Today: comprehension skills
In this comprehension skills worksheet, students read the book At Play Long Ago and Today and complete comprehension activities. Students complete 5 activities including note taking, compare and contrast, predicting, and author's purpose.
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Compare and Contrast: Literary Analysis
Seventh graders are able to use active listening skills, take notes and identify literary elements of a short story. They use/create graphic organizer, compare/contrast literary elements from various stories and compare and contrast traits.
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Homes Then and Now
Before reading a book or text describing life in the 18th or 19th century, you might want to preview vocabulary. Each slide provides a description and image of technology common to household use prior to the 20th century, and compares it...
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Comparing or Contrasting Two Books
Students compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons lesson, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.
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One Room School House Reading Lesson
Students explore schools during the Colonial period. In this American history lesson plan, students participate in a simulation of school days in Colonial America. Students visit a museum and use the schoolhouse as a setting for their...
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Differing Federal Responses to the Great Depression: Letter Analysis
Young analysts examine two letters, one written by President Hoover and one written by FDR. Each letter contains that president's response to the role of the Federal Government during times of crisis (The Great Depression). They analyze...