Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...

Students explore the concept of community helpers.  In this community helper lesson, students brainstorm the community helpers in their neighborhood after reading a book about jobs in the community.  Students then host a...

Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...

Which option would most children choose: One marshmallow now, or two marshmallows in 10 minutes? Learners watch the social experiment on video and discuss their observations. They then read articles and work in small groups to analyze...

Learners of all ages read and discuss books about Asian America. In this Asian-America lesson plan, different books for every age group are listed and various teaching strategies are suggested. Great tips cover virtually every grade level!

After hearing or reading a New York Times article on Twinkies, kids attempt to fill in the blanks by memory alone. They re-read the article, only this time words are missing, it's up to them to fill in each blank with a word from the...

Fill in the blanks, that's what young readers of this New York Times article are going to do. They read an article relating interesting facts about space tourism, then fill in 20 blanks. A copy of the article and a word list is included.

What's up with Tiger Woods? Find out by reading a sports article describing an upswing in Tiger's career. Interested readers will scan the article to answer nine comprehension questions. Note: A secondary related article and blog post...

A confidential message written by Thomas Jefferson provides readers with an opportunity to practice their reading comprehension skills. The resource, part of a series, includes questions that require a close reading of the message and a...

How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...

History detectives put their keen observation skills to the test as they closely examine artifacts. Drawing on visual and tactile clues, they formulate a theory about who done it, or in this case who made it, why, and for what...

Here is a precise article explaining chronological events that led Martin Luther King, Jr. to march for freedom and civil rights.

If the world were 100 people...17 would not have access to safe drinking water, 18 would not be able to read or write, and 52 would not have a primary education. Using the theme of "100 people," this resource explores other major issues...

After completing an online activity about the Mayflower, scholars draw a picture about what they know of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a one-sentence summary. A reading of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma is...

Following an online activity, scholars listen to a read-aloud of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma. Pupils discuss their family traditions and complete a T-chart comparing the holiday then and now. Collages are made to...

A four-paragraph informational text details the life of the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. A prompt challenges scholars to write or discuss a time in their life when they were not included and how that made them feel. 

Some days, the world seems like it is becoming darker, but research suggests that the world might actually be becoming a more peaceful place. An informational reading passage accompanied by a series of activities builds English language...

First graders assist in making a list of the many things that Brown Bear saw in the story. They create an illustration of the person, place, or thing that they wrote about in their pattern sentence.

Learners read, write about, and cook with rice in this home economics instructional activity. They reflect on the experience eating rice at home or in other ethnic foods.

Sixth graders read three novels to practice their reading and comprehension skills. Using each novel, they create a list of the characteristics of each culture represented. In groups, they also identify the setting, characters and plot...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is difficult to read and difficult to teach. The novel is so highly regarded that it is one of most often listed as an option for the AP Literature and Composition exam. The materials in this packet from PBS...

The materials in this 48-page packet are designed to supplement a unit study of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Included are vocabulary lists and activities, discussion questions and quizzes, book report ideas, a bibliography of...

Celebrate the arrival of winter with a reading of Jack Ezra Keats' book The Snowy Day. Engaging children by asking them about their own experiences in the snow, the teacher goes on to read the story...

Prior to reading Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, class members use the provided worksheet to list what they know about the Holocaust, what they want to know, and how they will find the information they seek. After...