In his essay, Mandela explains his shifting understandings of freedom based on different stages in his life. Mandela explains how his perceptions of freedom evolved from wanting freedom for just himself to fighting for freedom for others, and concluding that denying freedom to others robs the oppressors of their own freedom. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

The Lost City of the Aztecs is about the demise of the Aztec Empire and how Montezuma, the last Aztec emperor, reacted to the arrival of the Spaniards at Tenochtitlan in 1519. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this history through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

Includes six text-dependent questions, one constructed response writing prompt, and explanatory information for teachers regarding alignment to the CCSS for Thomas Jefferson's 1801 Inaugural Address.

This article examines what happens when a sugar planter tries to save his sugar crops by importing a few mongooses. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

Using the supernatural powers of The Monkey's Paw, the Whites make a wish for money, receive the money after their son is involved in a fatal accident, wish for his return, and finally wish for his disappearance. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

When a sudden and inexplicable force causes everything to stop working on Maple Street, the people there begin to wonder who or what is responsible. Fear begins to invade each person’s mind. This behavior reveals that the real monsters on Maple Street are the people themselves and the fears and prejudices they harbor. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this lesson, students will read 'The Moon Book' by Gail Gibbons. Each page, the teacher will stop and talk with the students about what they are learning about the moon. After the students read the book, additional actvities are provided in the lesson including arts and crafts, oreo moons, and much more.

In this lesson, students use comprehension skills to discuss and respond to questions about a text.

In Mrs. Flowers, an excerpt from the autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the author, Maya Angelou, describes a significant experience with a respected person in her community, Mrs. Flowers, who changes her life. Through their interactions, Maya Angelou learns the power of language (spoken and written) and relationships to transform lives. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In My Papa Mark Twain, Suzy Clemens, at thirteen years old, wrote a biography of her famous father, author Mark Twain. Through describing her favorite of Twain's books, The Prince and the Pauper, Suzy Clemens expresses the complete awe and beaming pride she has for her father as a published author, and critically comments on Twain's readership of the day. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments; writing samples included.

In this chapter from Russell Freedman’s photobiography, the author details Abraham Lincoln and one of the most difficult times in American history. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this history through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments. Includes printable copies of text.

A young Bedouin girl has earned the nickname Nadia the Willful because of her quick temper. Her brother, Hamed, is the only one who can tame her temper. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments; writing samples included.

Julia Alvarez recalls her family's early years as Dominican immigrants in America, and describes her reactions to the mispronunciation of her family members’ names. Eager to fit into school, Alvarez allows herself to be called American names and nicknames” although proud of her heritage and native language, young Alvarez struggles to fit in. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

This resource includes six text-dependent questions, one constructed-response writing prompt, and explanatory information for teachers regarding alignment to the CCSS and a mini-assessment.

This excerpt from Jackie Robinson’s autobiography, "I Never Had It Made," begins with the history behind Branch Rickey’s plan to integrate major league baseball. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this history through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

The poem describes the victorious homecoming of a ship. The Captain responsible for the safe return of his ship and crew has died before reaching port, and the narrator is grief stricken at the loss. While acknowledging the greatness of the victorious return of the ship to port, the poem also laments the loss of the leader responsible. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this book through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this speech, Rudolfo Anaya celebrates the purchase of the 1 millionth library volume by the University of New Mexico. He begins by describing how as a child on summer evenings he sat under the stars and listened to the stories of los viejitos, the old ones. For Anaya the million volumes in the university’s library represent freedom because preserving access to ideas leads to the preservation and ultimately the regeneration of our cultural ideals. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

The main character, Mr. Johnson, embarks upon quite the opposite of an ordinary day. This day he spends as a do-gooder, wandering the streets of the city, purposefully taking time to insert himself into the lives of the people he passes. His perfect day is juxtaposed the moment he returns home to his grumpy, negative wife. The irony is: most ordinary days are not filled with all great deeds, but rather a mixture of positive and negative experiences. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.