The New York Times
Dark Materials: Reflecting on Dystopian Themes in Young Adult Literature
The Hunger Games. Maximum Ride. Why is so much of young adult literature so dark? What is the appeal of dystopian literature to young readers? The six activities in this resource ask kids to reflect on some of the reasons this genre has...
Curated OER
Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
Curated OER
"Burned" Online Fun Trivia
Discern your readers' knowledge of the novel Burned. Ten multiple choice questions focus on reading comprehension. As an online quiz, the resource allows students to submit their answers and receive automatic feedback.
Curated OER
Mississippi Trial, 1955: A Request Strategy for Questioning
Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation. Class members use Bloom's taxonomy to craft six levels of discussion questions for Chris Crowe's novel, Mississippi Trial, 1955. Model questions from Chapter 3, a...
Federal Reserve Bank
“W” Is for Wages, W-4 and W-2
Don't let your young adults get lost in the alphabet soup of their paychecks and federal income taxes. Using sample pay stubs and reproductions of government forms, your class members will identify the purpose of such forms as a W-4 and...
Curated OER
Unwind: Anticipation Guide
After responding to a series of prompts on an anticipation guide, readers of Unwind craft five predictions about what will happen in Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel.
Curated OER
Unwind: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
To generate interest in reading Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel Unwind, class members engage in a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) that asks them to examine the front and back covers, the blurbs, and "The...
Curated OER
Unwind: Discussion Strategy, Chalk Talk
Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, engage in a silent discussion, posting their responses to a series of statements about characters in the story.
Curated OER
Unwind: Pre-Reading Strategy, K-W-H-L
Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, record what they know, what they want to know, how the will find answers to the questions, on a KWHL chart.
Curated OER
Unwind: Vocabulary Strategy, Creating an Unwind Glossary
Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are drawn into...
Novelinks
Tunes for Bears to Dance to: Concept Analysis
Considering using Robert Cormier's young adult novel, Tunes for Bears to Dance to for book circles or as a whole-class anchor text? Check out this overview of the key concepts and issues raised by the novel.
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
Curated OER
Uglies: Problematic Situation
As part of a unit centered around a reading of Uglies, a 2005 young adult dystopian fiction novel by Scott Westerfield, Steven Cummings, and Devin K. Grayson, class members engage in an activity that asks groups to come to a consensus...
Baylor College
Rainbow in the Room
Uncover the science behind the beautiful phenomena of rainbows with a simple demonstration. Shine light through different-sized containers of water as young scientists learn that rainbows occur when visible light is split up into its...
Baylor College
Modeling Earth's Atmosphere
Life on Earth is made possible by the unique composition of its atmosphere. Working collaboratively, a scale model is created as young scientists learn about the different layers of gas that surround the planet. Cards are included that...
Curated OER
China: Culture and Young Adult literature
Eighth graders are introduced to Chinese language and culture to make Asian reading selections in literature circles more meaningful. They write about Chinese characters, work on oral speaking, and read Asian books and then have...
Curated OER
Wild West Book List
Are you teaching a unit on the Wild West and need a good book suggestion that ties in? You've just found an extensive book list that includes titles for both juvenile and advanced readers. Each title is about some aspect of the Wild West...
Curated OER
A Long Time Ago in the Future
Students read and discuss Canadian young adult literature. They compare/contrast the elements of citizenship, characterization, and themes, write journal responses, and identify the elements that define Canadians.
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record interesting...
Curated OER
Kid Lit Crit
Students explore different types of student literature; they then write their own fiction pieces, in either fantasy/adventure or memoir/realism style.
Curated OER
The Holocaust in Literature: Fiction and Non-Fiction
Using literature is an effective way to address the Holocaust with your students.
Feedbooks
Little Women
The March sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy) have delighted readers for more 100 years—and they continue gaining young fans every day. An eBook of the classic novel, Little Women, provides a more modern look, but it does so without taking...
Learning to Give
What Are Your Thoughts?
The varying responses of the characters in Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to the discrimination they experience or perpetrate provides readers with an opportunity to not only examine the feelings of the characters but to...
International Reading Association
Children’s Choices 2014
Books for kids, chosen by kids! What could be better? This packet is made up of book lists, each with approximately 30 books included, organized by age group. Kids will enjoy the summer reading materials they choose from this resource!