K20 LEARN
Mob Mentality and "The Outsiders": Integrating Fiction and Nonfiction
S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders allows middle schoolers to reflect on mob mentality. After reading an article and watching a video about herd mentality, class members find examples in the novel of when characters go along with the crowd and...
C3 Teachers
Black Genius: How Did Black Genius Help Build American Democracy?
"How did the slavery system undermine the United States' democratic principles?" This question launches a study of how the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, and Article IV,...
C3 Teachers
Reparations: Why Are Reparations Controversial?
To understand why the topic of reparations is controversial, young scholars gather background information by reading articles, watching videos, and examining cases where reparations were made. Learners consider the lasting repercussions...
Curated OER
Ethical and Critical Thinking: Genetically Modified Food
Students read statements representing different points of view on Genetically Modified Food. They identify the "facts" and "opinions" in each statement, and then briefly summarize the issue of Genetically Modified Food in a short...
Curated OER
Food Myths Critical Thinking and Reading
Students read a series of statements made by students about the hazards and benefits of various foods. They distinguish the "facts: from "opinions" in the dialogue, summarize the facts in a short paragraph, and write an essay...
Curated OER
The March Continues
Young scholars explore the Civil Rights Memorial. In this character development and U.S. History lesson, students employ reading comprehension strategies while reading a news article about the Civil Rights Memorial. Young scholars work...
Curated OER
More Analogies Volume 3
In this recognizing analogies instructional activity, students read sentences with two analogies at the beginning, determine how they are related, and complete the analogies by choosing the best multiple choice answers. Students write 16...
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
Horror Tales: What Makes Them Spooky?
Before you jump into this instructional activity, be aware there is little to work with. That being said, the ideas are solid and will be brought to life with a little Halloween spirit. Learners examine horror as a sub-genre, and...
Curated OER
Walk Two Moons: DR-TA, Chapter 17: “In the Course of a Lifetime”
Use this question and answer worksheet as an assignment for Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons. The questions listed support better comprehension and critical thinking of chapter seventeen.
Curated OER
The Outsiders: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
It can be difficult to begin a novel when you don't know what it's about. Take the opportunity to begin S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders slowly, making predictions and answering questions about the book's first nine pages.
Curated OER
Iraq's Latest Strategy: Suicide Attacks
This discussion based lesson focuses on the sensitive topic of suicide attacks or bombings used throughout history during times of militaristic upheaval. Learners read news stories, compose journal entries, and engage in a class...
Curated OER
Food and Dialect
The dialect words for types of food from across the British Isles get pupils thinking about native dialects and how they differ from Standard English. Class members create a dialect dictionary and discuss the difference between accent...
Curated OER
Listening/Reading Transfer - Guided Reading
Work on predicting and making inferences with Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff. After every few pages, the teacher asks listeners to make predictions of what will happen next. Develop critical reading strategies with your young learners!
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Blooms’ Taxonomy Questions
Question what you read with a lesson based on Bloom's Taxonomy. As kids read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, they formulate questions with cues from a graphic organizer, and answer them to work on critical thinking skills.
Curated OER
Forming Open-Ended Questions
Help readers learn to create their own open-ended questions for any text you are working with. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, learners begin on the lower levels and work their way up to form questions that focus on synthesis instead of simple...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2011
Scholars read an excerpt from the short story "The Bonfire" by Kunikida Doppo as well as a nonfiction passage about handcycling. Next, they answer comprehension-based multiple-choice questions. Additionally, they respond to short-answer...
Curated OER
Questioning Strategy for Les Miserables
After reading or watching the musical Les Miserables, challenge your high schoolers with these analysis questions. The sheet provided suggests having class members record the answers to these questions, but they would also be good...
Curated OER
Maus: Making a Visual Representation
How do you represent a tragic event? Are stories of tragic events better left untold? After reading chapter two of Maus and studying other representations of the Holocaust (suggestions are included), class members create a representation...
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...
Santa Ana Unified School District
The Power of Point of View
Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...
National Wildlife Federation
Hot, Hotter, Hottest: Extreme Weather's Impact on Our Resources
How dry is it? It's so dry, the river only runs twice a week! Through an analysis of maps and discussions, pairs learn about droughts across the United States in the ninth of 12 lessons. They then read about, answer questions, analyze...
Curated OER
Understanding and Using Primary and Secondary Sources in History
Explore primary and secondary sources in this historical analysis lesson. Young researchers define the terms primary source and secondary source. They read a primary source document provided by the teacher and answer questions about the...
Novelinks
Things Fall Apart: Bloom’s Taxonomy
Promote critical thinking and literary analysis with a short activity. Readers of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart respond to a series of questions modeled on Bloom's Taxonomy.