EngageNY
Reading about Freaky Frogs: “The Glass Frog”
Freaky frogs are the focus of a lesson plan designed to boost reading comprehension skills using text features and asking and answering questions. Informational text and a poem supply scholars with animal-related vocabulary and facts. A...
EngageNY
Research: Close Read of Text 2 for Each Expert Group
Pass the chalk! Pupils participate in a Chalk Talk activity to synthesize information from multiple texts about Roberto Clemente and Althea Gibson. Scholars also read an informational article about one of the athletes, searching for...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Identifying Perspective and Using Evidence from Informational Texts about the Dinka and Nuer Tribes
Pupils consider the varying perspectives of people in different cultural groups as they read an informational text about the Dinka tribe of Southern Sudan and complete graphic organizers. They also respond to a constructed-response...
Odell Education
Reading Closely for Textual Details: "And I am willing to lay down all my joys in this life..."
Look closely, some details are hidden! Scholars learn how to find attributes by first examining characteristics in illustrations and then move to locating details in text with close reading. The teacher models good practices for...
K5 Learning
Rocks
Five short answer questions follow an informational reading passage that details the three different types of rocks—sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic—and their rock cycle.
Odell Education
Reading Closely for Textual Details: "We, as a people, will get to the promised land!"
Take another look—there are probably more details than readers realize. Scholars analyze nine texts in a five-part unit that contains 21 activities to find textual details. Activities include close reading, independent reading,...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Paragraph 4 of “Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison”
Why is reading a text closely a helpful skill? Using the 13th of 20 lessons from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, scholars continue reading the informational text "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison." They work with...
Mr. Nussbaum
North Carolina Colony
Ten multiple-choice questions make up an interactive practice designed to increase reading comprehension. The topic of the informational reading is the North Carolina Colony.
EngageNY
Reading for Gist and Answering Text-Dependent Questions: Local Sustainable Food Chain
Readers use sticky notes and a Reading Closely: Guiding Questions handout to record the gist of a different section (pages 161-166) in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. They then pair up and share their ideas. To end the lesson, readers complete...
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
Reading Informational Text for Details: Meg’s Rainforest Experiment (Pages 17–20)
Take good notes. Scholars record information in their note catcher sheets as the teacher reads aloud pages 17-20 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World. Learners then reread parts of the text in groups and rotate to share the notes they...
EngageNY
Organizing an Opinion, Reasons, and Evidence: Expert Group Text 3
Let's race to the finish line. Scholars read an informational text about a chosen athlete. While reading, they add evidence and reasons to a graphic organizer to support their opinions about how their athlete broke barriers.
EngageNY
Organizing an Opinion, Reasons, and Evidence: Text 2 for Each Expert Group
The proof is in the reading. Using the informative resource, scholars read a second article about either Althea Gibson or Roberto Clemente. As they read, they continue adding reasons and evidence to their graphic organizers to show how...
EngageNY
Independent Reading: Final Product
Cheater! Scholars create independent reading cheat sheets to help others learn about a book. They rate the book, list quotes, and describe how they connected to the text. Readers share their cheat sheets with others and conduct a gallery...
EngageNY
Finding Relevant Information and Asking Research Questions: The Benefits of Video Games
Video games may not be so bad after all. As scholars read the text "The Many Benefits, for Kids, of Playing Video Games," they summarize the gist in their researchers' notebooks. Next, pupils draft supporting research questions based on...
ReadWriteThink
"Three Stones Back": Using Informational Text to Enhance Understanding of Ball Don't Lie
"Three Stones Back," a passage from Matt de la Pena's best-seller, Ball Don't Lie, allows readers to practice their close reading skills as they compare the passage to an information text about wealth inequality.
EngageNY
Reading to Determine Important Relationships between People and Events: The Importance of the 1936 Olympics for African Americans (Promises to Keep, Pages 16–19)
Scholars look at cause-and-effect relationships while doing a close read of the 1936 Olympics on pages 16-19 of Promises to Keep. They complete a cause-and-effect note catcher and add their ideas to an anchor chart. Readers then work...
EngageNY
Reading for Fluency: Readers Theater about the Rainforest (Page 33)
Lights, camera, action. Scholars use page 33 of The Most Beautiful
Roof in the World to create a readers theater. They work in triads and use sticky notes to mark and create their own speaking parts from sections of the text. They then...
Computer Science Unplugged
Twenty Guesses—Information Theory
How do we determine how much information to include and what can be left out? By playing a game of 20 questions, the class generates the best strategies for finding a number. They then move on to guessing the next letter in a short...
Teaching Tolerance
Civil Rights Activity Book
An activity booklet includes a timeline of the movement, a song, and various informational reading passages on leaders, events, and the Civil Rights Memorial in Washington DC. Reading response questions and word puzzles are sure to...
Curated OER
The Lightning Thief: Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
Before diving into the engaging tale of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, conduct this directed reading and thinking activity. Assess your pupils' knowledge of Greek gods and mythology through a knowledge web, and...
K20 LEARN
Preparing for Othello - Frontloading Meaning (Part 1): Pre-reading Strategies
The success of any instructional activity based on a complex text relies heavily on what instructors do before beginning the reading. Before reading Othello, scholars engage in a series of pre-reading activities, including completing an...
Curated OER
Using a Magazine/Non-Fiction Texts
Working with magazine articles and other informational texts, students identify the parts of a non-fiction work. The learners use SMART board files to guide instruction, as well as a transition to writing their own non-fiction article in...
Curated OER
Presenting Information
How do you make a pizza? Scholars examine a recipe for one of their favorite dishes. After reading the eight steps, they must re-write the steps in order. Although this offers great printing practice, younger writers may find the narrow...