Anti-Defamation League
What are Reparations and Should We Enact Them?
Young social scientists investigate recent legislative proposals for reparations for African Americans. They examine the rationale behind the proposals by viewing videos and reading related articles. To close the lesson, scholars craft a...
Curated OER
Cracking Cassius
Students examine the argument between Cassius and Brutus to define the importance of friendship and study a Shakespearean play. In this Julius Caesar analysis instructional activity, students list qualities of a best friend and read...
EngageNY
Reading and Taking Notes on Colonial Trades
In the tenth instructional activity of this unit, young scholars learn to categorize information as they continue researching their colonial trade. During guided practice, the teacher models how to read informational text slowly while...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Argument of the Declaration of Independence
When in the course of a course on historic American events, it becomes necessary for learners to examine, with decent respect, the Declaration of Independence, it becomes evident that there are six separate and equal parts of that...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Identify/Infer Motive
Why do people and characters act as they do? Require your class figure out the motivation of two people or characters they read about in a given text. In the short charts, pupils note down who, what they do, and why they do it. After...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Sequence Important Events
After reading any short informational or fictional text, ask your class to analyze the important events. They note down three important events on a short timeline, describing the events with either words or drawings. After this, pupils...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Discussion Web
Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with...
Curated OER
Shasta Dam: How High is Too High?
Research water use in California, environmental protection laws, and the proposition to raise Shasta Dam by 200 feet. Researchers use their findings to build an argument which will be presented at a mock decision panel. Groups then...
Curated OER
Stamp Act: Support of Oppose
In this American Revolution worksheet, learners complete a graphic organizer with information regarding the support and opposition of the Stamp Act.
EngageNY
Forming a Research-Based Claim: Cascading Consequences Chart
Is it relevant? Scholars choose a resource from their folders and search for relevant information about the harmful and beneficial consequences of DDT. They mark benefits in one color and harmful effects with another color. They then add...
Reading Worksheets
Inferences Worksheet 1
Knowing how to make inferences is a very important skill for readers of all ages. Help your pupils master this ability by providing practice. Pupils read four short passages and answer two to three questions about each to practice making...
EngageNY
Preparing to Write Historical Fiction: Determining Characteristics of the Genre
A language arts instructional activity helps young writers identify elements that make up historical fiction. First, it guides them through elements of fictional pieces with vocabulary cards. Then, pupils work collaboratively to...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Comparing and Contrasting Characters in Heidi
Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...
California Education Partners
My Five Senses by Aliki
An assessment designed to examine scholars' reading comprehension skills takes place over three days. Starting with a read-aloud of My Five Senses by Aliki, learners then take notes and discuss their most memorable moments with...
EngageNY
World Café about Pygmalion
Round and round you go. Scholars participate in a World Cafe to discuss Pygmalion. As they circulate around to different groups, they talk about three main questions that pertain to the actions of Eliza and Higgins. After circulating,...
EngageNY
Building Context for the Narrative: The Abolition Movement
That's history. Scholars work together to review the text Abolition and its accompanying text-dependent questions. They then determine what information to add to the Historical Context anchor chart. For homework, individuals think...
Digital Public Library of America
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: On-Demand Analysis of Meg Lowman’s Research in the Rainforest
Come explore with me. Scholars complete an end of the unit assessment in which they write an essay describing how Meg Lowman explored the rainforest canopy. Pupils fill in an outline organizer before beginning their writing.
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Literary Theories
Introduce ELA scholars to the basics of literary criticism with a 41-slide presentation that identifies eight different approaches to critical analysis. Each approach is defined, and advantages and disadvantages are listed. Also included...
Baruch College Writing Center
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Workshop
What's the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing? Show class members how to find the main ideas from informational text and condense it, restate it, or quote it directly with a series of educational activities based...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 12
As the first in a two-part, end-of-unit assessment that encourages readers to synthesize the unit's main ideas, class members review their notes for each of the three texts they read and develop three open-ended discussion questions...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 13
Using the open-ended discussion questions developed the day before, class members engage in a fishbowl discussion of the three texts that anchor the unit: “True Crime: The Roots of an American Obsession," “How Bernard Madoff Did It,” and...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 4
The fourth activity in a unit on crafting a research paper focuses on cohesion within and between paragraphs. Class members examine models that lack cohesion and ones that are cohesive and logically developed before using what they have...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 20
After comparing the working conditions of the enslaved people to those of the Indian indentured workers on the sugar plantations, class members examine the conditions and the actions of specific historical figures that Marc Aronson and...