California Education Partners
Quest for Tree Kangaroo
A three-day assessment challenges scholars to read a passage from an informational text then complete two activities that lead to a writing assignment. Day one and two begin as readers independently read a passage and tag the most...
California Education Partners
Seeing Eye to Eye
A performance task challenges scholars to read an informational text then respond with an explanatory essay. The exam begins with an independent reading of Seeing Eye to Eye by Leslie Hall. A second reading follows with the...
California Education Partners
Follow the Water by Arthur Dorros
Assess scholars' reading and writing capabilities with an exam that challenges learners to respond to an informative text. Through note-taking and peer discussion, pupils analyze a passage from the story, Follow the Water from Brook to...
California Education Partners
My Librarian is a Camel
A two-part assessment challenges scholars to gather information from reading then write an opinion piece. In part one, learners read, take notes, and answer text-related questions. In part two, participants use their new-found knowledge...
California Education Partners
Telescopes
An assessment challenges scholars to read an informative text then respond with an explanatory essay. The exam begins as participants read a text passage twice then take notes, making sure to jot down key details. Following the...
California Education Partners
We Are The Ship
An assessment sheds light on scholars' ability to read, gather evidence, and draft an original written composition. Learners read an informative text twice before taking notes and discussing their thoughts and textual evidence with a...
Curated OER
Writing Author's Purpose
Write in all three authorial purposes (persuasive, informational, entertaining) with this instructional activity. Young writers consider a time when a friend of theirs helped them out and gave them advice on something. They write a short...
EngageNY
Determining Main Idea Using Text and Illustrations: Accessing Books Around the World
Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...
Worksheet Web
Analyzing the Text
Practice analyzing informational text with a reading passage that details the Great Depression. Scholars read about the impacts of World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the Depression, then answer 10 true or false questions.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 4
As a mid-unit assessment, class members demonstrate their understanding of the concepts covered so far by crafting a formal, multi-paragraph essay in which they analyze how Rainer Maria Rilke's word choices develop the meaning and tone...
Curated OER
Language Study: Slang
That slang is the bomb! A simple handout explains to learners what informal language is and when it is appropriate. After reading, have your class write a few sentences using both informal and formal English. They can trade papers...
California Education Partners
Vincent Van Gogh
Living in someone's shadow would be difficult for anyone, including one of the most talented artists of the modern age. Middle schoolers read an excerpt from Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan...
University of North Carolina
Poetry Explications
Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The...
Curated OER
Beginner's Guide to Arabic
Introduce your language learners to Arabic. The most useful portion of this resource is the detailed information on the Arabic alphabet. Each letter is placed in a grid that shows the various ways to write it based on the situation...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Is Electronic Communication Helpful or Harmful?
Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...
Curated OER
Using Words: Verbal Communication
Written and verbal communication is the topic for today. The class goes over various facets of verbal communication, such as plain English, active voice, passive voice, cliché, and jargon. They then use those devices as they discuss...
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford
How to Write a Cover Letter
What are the key components of an effective cover letter? Using the resource, scholars read about the importance of sending an introductory letter to prospective employers. Next, they complete graphic organizers detailing what...
Curated OER
Introduction to Formal English
Ninth graders brainstorm different situations in which formal English is used. Individually, they describe how people would act if they were invited to the White House for dinner and what they would do. To end the lesson, they role...
Curated OER
Lesson 8: Summarizing Information
In this summarizing information worksheet, students read a featured article, summarize the article, identify the story's five W's and one H, and identify appropriate relevant facts.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.6
Sometimes it's all too easy to slip into informal language, ya know? Help your class master code-switching with the activity and drill provided here. The activity is a literature discussion where formal language is required. The...
Curated OER
Subject Pronouns in Spanish
Starting off with examples and explanations of English subjects and pronouns, this resource explores Spanish subject pronouns in great detail. Each subject pronoun is described and paired with examples. Additionally, the material...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 4
Can dogs feel shame? Explore the anthropomorphic connection between human emotions and animal behavior—or lack thereof—with a lesson about Temple Grandin's book, Animals in Translation. Ninth graders continue a close reading of chapter...
Cleburne Independent School District
Grade 6 English Language Arts and Readiness: Persuasive
What is the best way to compare and contrast viewpoints on the same topic? A persuasive writing unit plan addresses targeted skills, vocabulary, instructional strategies, and suggested resources that would be perfect for developing writers.
Literacy Design Collaborative
Tracing Character Development in Miss Awful
Scholars take a close look at Roger in Miss Awful. As the plot develops, readers track Roger's perceptions of his substitute teacher. Learners then discuss how Roger's actions toward the substitute changes as the story progresses before...