Stanford University
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
What makes a good primary source? The assessment tests pupils' knowledge of how to use primary sources with written responses. Designed for high school social studies, it requires scholars to read and analyze a text excerpt...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Answering Questions then Rereading the Text to Identify Details in Support of the Answers
Even first graders can be exposed to good reading strategies and comprehension skills. The teacher demonstrates how to read informational text, look at the questions, reread the text, locate answer, then locate supporting details to...
Speak Truth to Power
Dalai Lama: Free Expression and Religion
How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...
Curated OER
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...
EngageNY
Writing to Inform: Analyzing a Model Using a Rubric
Learn to write right. Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in the Middle Ages. They discuss the essay and make annotations working with an elbow partner. Learners then take another look at the essay using a...
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
Lesson Plan for Japan
The effect of cultural beliefs on the progress and industrialization of a society is an interesting idea to consider, and this is certainly true in this lesson on feudal Japan. Your young historians will read informational texts on...
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...
Stanford University
Mexican American Rights
What's the best way to date a primary source? A thought-provoking assessment uses written responses to test learners' knowledge of primary source analysis. High school scholars compare text excerpts to determine which documents were...
Dawgeared.com
Book Review
Reflect on your reading with a book review form. After finishing a novel or short story, kids choose the correct genre and discuss their favorite part. They also decide which part they would change, and whether or not they would...
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
Powerpoint Grading Rubric
Do your class members ever focus too much on graphics or animations when designing a PowerPoint presentation? Have you ever come across a presentation filled with great information, but found it difficult to read because of color choices...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Compare and Contrast Topics in Two Texts
A scripted lesson can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to John Updike
Expand your pupils' understanding of the short story genre with a study of John Updike and his story "A&P." This lesson, the fourth in a series of fourteen, invites learners to examine literary terms and read and discuss the story....
E Reading Worksheets
Valentine's Day Main Idea and Text Structure Review
To demonstrate their understanding of a main idea and of text structures, learners read six paragraphs, draft a sentence explaining the main idea of the passage, create a title for the passage, and form a graphic organizer that...
C-SPAN
Electoral College Pros/Cons and Alternatives
If every vote counts, why do we need the electoral college? Middle and high schoolers study the Constitutional precedent of the electoral college, as well as its place in historical and modern elections, with an engaging social studies...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Historical Context: Discovering a Painting
Class members are presented with the image of a painting and asked to record their first impressions and analysis. They then research the time period in which it was painted and discuss how their research impacted their first impression...
Pulitzer Center
"Voices from Haiti": Using Poetry to Speak up for a Cause
Explore a real world use of poetry with your class! Young language arts pupils consider the concept of advocacy and how journalism, photography, and poetry can raise awareness for a cause. They read several poems about individuals...
Student Handouts
Foreign Affairs
Inform your class about foreign policy during the Reagan administration. The resource includes a reading passage that gives an overview of foreign policy decisions made during the Reagan administration and nine questions for pupils to...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: August 2015
Need a comprehensive test about global history and geography? Look no further! Test young historians' understanding of how to use primary sources to formulate answers with an assessment that uses multiple-choice questions that...
Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures
Tree Life
The life of a tree is the focus of a packet consisting of several activities all covering a different subject. Second graders measure shadows, make pinecone critters, write poems, count rings, complete a word search, play tree tag, and...
Scholastic
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Lesson Plan
Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss with a lesson that features the memorable tale of The Lorax. After listening to a riveting read-aloud, scholars take part in a grand conversation about the story and environment. Then...
Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures
Getting to Know Trees
Celebrate the beauty of trees with a packet full of activities designed to help kindergarteners get to know about their leafy nature friends. Covering a variety of subjects, scholars go on a nature hike, read Shel Silverstein's The...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 8: Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac Teacher Guide
Joseph Bruchac's Code Talker tells the remarkable story of Navajo Marines' role in battles of the Pacific Theater during World War II. As scholars read the novel, they also engage in activities that expand their knowledge of Navajo...