English language arts
Any Novel: Character Map and Evidence Chart
Students build a character profile and relationship chart for a main character in any novel they are reading, with evidence from the text.
THE LESSON LIBRARY
A good plan.
A better starting point.
Find a lesson that fits your subject, your students, and the time you have.
English language arts
Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: Should the First Bell Ring Later?
Students read an original argument text about school start times, sort statements into claim, evidence and reasoning, and write their own CER paragraph.
English language arts
How Bats Find Their Way in the Dark: Main Idea and Cause and Effect
Students read an original science article about echolocation and answer questions on main idea, evidence and cause and effect.
English language arts
Mara and the Borrowed Bike: Character Traits with Evidence
Students read an original realistic story, choose trait words for the characters, and back each trait up with evidence from the text.
English language arts
PEEL It Apart: Writing an Analytical Paragraph
Students read a short original story passage, learn the PEEL paragraph structure, and build an analytical paragraph about a character.
English language arts
Socratic Seminar Prep Sheet for Any Text
Students prepare quotes and open questions about their current class text, then hold a respectful circle discussion and reflect on it.
English language arts
Synthesizing Two Sources: Sunday Hours at the Town Library
Students read an original library memo and a resident’s letter about the same facts, compare the two, and write a synthesis that uses both.
English language arts
The Lantern of Wren Hollow: Finding the Theme
Students read an original fantasy tale, map its story elements, and tell the difference between a topic and a theme.
English language arts
The Missing Trophy: Clues, Red Herrings and Inferences
Students read an original school mystery, record the clues, rule out suspects, and practice drawing supported inferences.
English language arts
Theme Tracker: Find the Big Idea in Any Novel or Play
Students track repeating ideas across scenes of the book they are reading, then build a supported theme statement.
English language arts
Warm Up Before You Play: Author’s Purpose
Students read an original sports article, decide why the author wrote it, and match short samples to the four common author’s purposes.
English language arts
Who Can You Trust? Evaluating Bias and Credibility in Three Sources
Students compare three original sources about a made-up study gummy, chart each source’s author, purpose and evidence, and rate credibility.