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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Benedict Arnold: Two Sides of a Bitter Coin by David White

For Students 7th - 8th
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) was an American general during the American Revolutionary War. He originally fought for the colonists' Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. Today, the name "Benedict Arnold" has become...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Golden Touch

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "The Golden Touch" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Griffin and the Minor Canon

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the short story "The Griffin and the Minor Canon" by Frank R. Stockton, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

For Students 7th - 8th
Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1863-1940) was an American writer and poet, best known for the following poem, which is considered a classic in sports-related literature. As you read, take notes on how the author develops the mood of the poem....
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Fifth Grade Autobiography

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Fifth Grade Autobiography" by Rita Dove, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Heart to Heart

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Heart to Heart" by Rita Dove accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Travel

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Travel" by Robert Louis Stevenson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Biometrics: New Ids That Are Uniquely You by by Sharon Oosthoek

For Students 7th - 8th
Police and law enforcement have historically used fingerprints to identify suspects and prosecute criminals. But now, using new technology and the science of biometrics, scientists have developed a different, and potentially more...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: At a Window by Carl Sandburg

For Students 7th - 8th
Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was an American poet and writer who won three Pulitzer Prizes in his lifetime. His work is known for the way it plays tribute to the common man. "At A Window" was published in Poetry in 1914. As you read, make...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "If" by Rudyard Kipling

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "If" by Rudyard Kipling, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Sonnet

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Sonnet" by James Weldon Johnson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Court Rejects New York City's Portion Cap for Sugary Drinks

For Students 7th - 8th
In 2014, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, designed a proposal known as "the soda ban" that would put limits on the size of sugary drinks that people could buy. The proposal was favored among health advocates, including...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Making a Fist

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Making a Fist" by Naomi Shihab Nye, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Answer to a Child's Question by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

For Students 7th - 8th
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet, literary critic, and a founder of the Romantic Movement in England, as well as a major influence on American transcendentalism. The following poem is, as the title suggests, the...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Echoing Green

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "The Echoing Green" by William Blake, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Halsted Street Car

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "Halsted Street Car" by Carl Sandburg accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Sonnet 43

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Sonnet 43" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Gift of the Magi

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Army Eyes 3 D Printed Food for Soldiers by Aarti Shahani

For Students 7th - 8th
Today, when most people think of a printer, they think of a laser jet printer that prints ink on paper. But thanks to new technology, engineers have developed 3D printers that can print objects-and even food. As you read, take notes...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: I Am the People, the Mob

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "I Am the People, the Mob" by Carl Sandburg, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Last Leaf

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the short story "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Excerpts Ch 1 & 7

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Excerpts" Frederick Douglass, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Alter Egos

For Students 7th - 8th
Can a person have two selves? Beyonce is also known as Sasha Fierce; Clark Kent, the newspaper reporter, transforms into Superman. The idea that a person can have "another self" is a relatively new concept. As you read about the concept...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: The Land of Story Books

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the poem "The Land of Story-books" by Robert Louis Stevenson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...