New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: June 2015
Heroes rise from adversity. That theme forms the focus of the critical lens essay in a sample comprehensive English examination. The exam, which is part of a larger series of sample standardized tests, also includes two short response...
Curated OER
Book Critic
What better way to get kids excited about reading than by having them start a book club together? This lesson suggests many good books that kids should enjoy reading or listening to together. After reading a story, young readers keep a...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Before and After a Moment in Time
Think about a moment, frozen in time. Now take a critical look at the painting, Better, Homes, Better Gardens. This painting works to provide learners the opportunity to analyze art, critique artist's choices, and write a story inspired...
Odell Education
Making Evidence-Based Claims: Grade 6
In order to make evidence-based claims, one must be able to draw explicit information from text. From here, learners take that information, analyze the text to develop a deeper understanding, and connect with the information in order to...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Speaking Skills
Students listen to The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and use a teacher created puppet for a listening activity. In this Hungry Caterpillar lesson, students recall the order of events in the story with the puppet and cards of the...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension
After listening to a story learners engage in a kinesthetic activity to answer comprehension and critical thinking questions. Finally, the students identify three main facts about the story. Extensions include a fact and opinion...
Curated OER
Ready, Set, Action
Young scholars identify propaganda techniques used in commercials created by their classmates. In this active listening lesson, students use the provided scoring guide to evaluate commercials that their classmates made that feature...
Curated OER
Sexual Exploitation: Day 1: Communication
Students research and practice communication skills as assertiveness and listening in terms of sexual exploitation. For this communication lesson plan, students practice skills in 2 person teams.
Curated OER
Cloze Word Story
Fifth graders complete a cloze word story test. In this listening skills instructional activity, 5th graders listen to a story and follow along with their own copy. Students listen to the story a second time and fill in the missing words...
Curated OER
"Uncle Sam's Got Himself in a Terrible Jam": Protest Music and the Vietnam War
"And it's one, two, three...what are we fighting for?" Use music to assess the climate of protest during the Vietnam War, listening to and analyzing Country Joe MacDonald's "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" (lyrics included)....
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Voice of Nature
Understanding a text can be a very interesting task. Fourth graders read a passage describing the origin of an Aboriginal myth. They answer 11 comprehension questions that require them to pull key details, use context, and think...
Curated OER
The Emperor and the Kite
Fourth graders develop critical listening skills and answer four questions related to the story, THE EMPEROR AND THE KITE. They identify the main idea and recall a question that involves making a judgment.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Literacy Criticism
As learners continue to examine a short story of their choice, they take some time to look at analysis completed by others on the same story. In the eleventh lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils explore various sites for literary...
Curated OER
Popular Music and Music Videos
This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...
Pyro Innovations
Get into Shape
Shapes are so fun! Little ones explore, identify, and create shapes using tangrams or pattern blocks. The activity is intended to stimulate critical thinking while engaging learners through play and shape identification. Each child will...
Health Smart Virginia
TED Talk Reflection
Here's a activity that encourages listeners to pay close attention to a presentation and encourages them to reflect on what they have heard. Participants identify ideas that touched their emotions, new ideas, and ideas they found memorable.
Curated OER
ESL/EFL Lesson Plan - Longevity Blood Tests - By Sean Banville
Students read the article Blood Test Predicts When You'll Die. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the article and complete a variety of activities. They work individually and in pairs to complete questions dealing with...
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 6: Low-Advanced SAT Level
Consider using this instructional activity, another in a series of sentence completion exercises, as the basis of a lesson on test taking or comprehension strategies, as a critical thinking exercise, or as extra practice for up-coming...
Curated OER
"The Wind" by James Reeves
Inntroduce primary learners to essential critical reading strategies with an activity based on James Reeves' poem, "The Wind." Learners listen as the poem is read, first as a riddle, and then re-read with the title visible. The class...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: June 2016
Those in positions of authority don't always have the best interest of their people in mind. As part of a sample assessment question, readers must consider how works of literature they read apply to a quote from Edmund Burke—"The greater...
Curated OER
Speech! Speech!
Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Teaching Tolerance
Where We Stand
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Academics learn strategies to share their opinions and agree or disagree with others in a respectful manner. The resource provides scenarios to help individuals form opinions and share them with...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
Is it possible to have too much concern for others? Can we be trapped by our expectations as well as those of society? Edith Wharton's chilling tale of Ethan Frome asks these and other disquieting questions. Signet's guide to Ethan Frome...
Curated OER
SIGHT READING RHYTHM PATTERNS
The perception of rhythms by reading and the ability to auditorily discriminate these rhythm patterns by listening to them performed by the teacher is practiced here. your students will work to create an eight-beat long rhythm pattern.