Curated OER
Read Between the Lines
Build comprehension, inference, and conclusion skills by encouraging learners to see the importance of reading between the lines.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 3: Adventures of Don Quixote
Fifth graders explore the Adventures of Don Quixote in a four-week language arts unit. Scholars listen to and discuss a new chapter each day as well as examine vocabulary and practice word work including suffixes, subject-verb agreement,...
Curated OER
The Purpose and Power of Persuasion
Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1
All the Common Core standards are important, but they all build off the ability to cite textual evidence to support analysis. See how to scaffold this standard into three steps of development, along with assessment ideas with the ideas...
Virginina Department of Education
Planning Persuasive Writing
A nice starting exercise that organizes a learner’s persuasive writing assignment by issue, claim, and hard and soft evidence. Definitions of the terms aforementioned are provided, as well as the worksheet needed by the class. The...
Curated OER
Considering Media And Meanings
Students study reproductions of prints or murals. They interpret artworks supporting their conclusions with evidence in work and from contextual information. They focus especially on significance of artist's choice of mural or...
Curated OER
United States Entry into World War I: Some Hypotheses About U.S. Entry
High schoolers determine the most compelling evidence explaining why the U.S. entered WWI. They read and discuss a handout of reasons why the U.S. entered the war, and take a poll as to which reason was the most compelling.
Curated OER
The Election Is in the House: Was There a Corrupt Bargain?
Students take a stand, supported by evidence, on whether there was a "corrupt bargain" between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams.
Curated OER
Aston Hall: A Jacobean House
In this history activity, students write down the evidence they see at Aston Hall to support 6 different statements about the hall. They then use their notes to answer 3 questions.
Curated OER
Using Pre-reading Strategies: Infer
Use this resource to support your class practicing inference with poetry and visual art. The plan calls for an examination of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and the "Mona Lisa" to promote speculation about artist's intent. From there, it...
Curated OER
Will It Sink Or Float?
Have your class predict whether objects will sink or float in water. Learners consider a data table of mass, volume and whether the object sank or floated. They develop an evidence-based explanation for the results.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8
Your learners need to develop skills to argue effectively, and this comes by understanding the traditions that make claims valid, and what detracts from their effectiveness. Although this resource does not give advice on how to...
Curated OER
Call of the Wild: After-reading Response Strategy
Readers select a character from Call of the Wild, record their responses to a series of prompts in a spiral notebook, and use details from the novel to support their thinking. The spirals are then used as source material to support...
Curated OER
Dropping the Atomic Bomb: The Decision That Defined a Presidency
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this World War II lesson, students research the implications of the use of nuclear weapons to end the war in the Pacific. Students determine...
Curated OER
Global Warming - The Heat is On: Global Climate Change Revisited
After listening to your lecture on climate change, young scientists access NOAA's database listing Mauna Loa's carbon dioxide data. They graph the monthly means and then compare their graphs to NOAA's. This is a concise plan that could...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 9: Climax
Conduct a close reading of chapter 9 of The Cay. Read the chapter again and ask pupils to respond to a list of included text-dependent questions. Finish the class with the provided writing assignment, which asks learners to use textual...
Curated OER
Taxed Tempers Toss Tea To Tides
Engage learners in persuasive writing, research, and creative thinking. They research the series of events that led to the Boston Tea Party and create brochures that include propaganda intended to rally Patriot support or dissuade...
Curated OER
Coffee & Chocolate: Knowing Healthy Foods
An article relaying vital information about health and nutrition are the backbone of this instructional activity on eating the right foods. A series of activities are used to help upper graders understand the science supporting our...
Harper Collins
Narnia Trivia Challenge
C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series transports readers to a magical land. An interactive trivia game tests their knowledge of the series through multiple-choice questions. The game features one question per book.
Curated OER
Down in the Dumps
After an introduction to municipal sludge, middle school ecologists consider the pros and cons of dumping in the Hudson River Canyon. The class is split into two groups: one to debate in favor or dumping and one to debate against the...
Curated OER
Like Water for Chocolate Guided Reading Worksheet
Planning a novel unit on Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel? If so, this comprehensive guided reading learning exercise might appeal to you. Steer readers through the entire novel with a routine of comprehension questions and...
Curated OER
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is a treasure trove of topics awaiting exploration by readers of Nathaniel Hawthorne's romantic opus. Whether looking for imagery (light/dark, mirror, scarlet letters), symbols (static or evolving), ironies, etc.,...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1
Your students have mastered using textual evidence in literature, but what about using this skill in informational texts. Uh oh! That is right—they are not the same thing. Darn the Common Core! See options on how to differentiate...
Curated OER
The Biomed Unit Project
Students write a persuasive paper following the expository theme format of introduction, first body paragraph, second body paragraph, third body paragraph, and conclusion that addresses the prompt of the final project adequately. They...