In this lesson, students will use a text based discussion protocol to analyze theme and characters in the novel.

In this lesson, students will select evidence from literary or informational texts in order to create their final performance task. Students will work with a partner on this activity.

In this lesson, students complete the final section of their Researcher's Notebook, in which they formulate a plan of action based on their research findings.

In this lesson, students will synthesize their learning from Chapters 1-5 of A Long Walk to Water, focusing on their current understanding of Nya and Salva. This prepares them for a shift in focus to informational text in the following lesson.

This lesson is intended to be used with the PBS FRONTLINE documentary "League of Denial" and supports students learning by contextualizing the concussion crisis in the NFL with background on concussions in youth.

This lesson was designed to help students gain social studies/history content knowledge by using textual evidence to answer text-dependent questions.

The following series of activities for the classroom allow students to explore and interact with poetry by writing letters to poets.

"Life Without Gravity," a nonfiction selection, is designed to help students become familiar with the characteristics of an expository essay and how weightlessness affects the body. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

For this lesson, students closely examine the different characters in a novel by keeping journal entries, meeting for group discussions, and using an online graphic organizer. This extensive character examination helps them prepare for a final project that involves creating an interview-style television show in which students write the script and assume the roles of the television host and the characters on the show. Questions can be about events from the novel as well as other topics that were not explicitly covered in the novel. Answers are based on students’ knowledge of the characters and their personalities.

This teacher's guide for Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words by Margarita Engle contains information about the book, discussion questions and prompts, activity suggestions including a readers theater, and ways to connect the themes in the book to other subjects.

Listen-Read-Discuss (LRD) is a comprehension strategy that builds students' prior knowledge before they read a text. During the first stage, students listen as you present the content of their reading through a lecture, often paired with a graphic organizer. Next, students read the text and compare what they have learned during the lecture to their understanding of reading the text on their own. Finally, students discuss their understanding of the text with other students in their small/large group.

Literature circles are a way to engage students in reading by selecting texts to read and discuss with peers. Instead of traditional literature circle roles, use question stems as a way to spark discussion. These question stems build in the complexity of thinking required. Reflection questions are included for debriefing after the small group discussion.

Literature circles are a way to engage students in reading by selecting texts to read and discuss with peers. Instead of traditional literature circle roles, use question stems as a way to spark discussion. These question stems build in the complexity of thinking required. Reflection questions are included for debriefing after the small group discussion.

Literature circles are a way to engage students in reading by selecting texts to read and discuss with peers. Instead of traditional literature circle roles, use question stems as a way to spark discussion. These question stems build in the complexity of thinking required. Reflection questions are included for debriefing after the small group discussion.

Literature circles are a way to engage students in reading by selecting texts to read and discuss with peers. Instead of traditional literature circle roles, use question stems as a way to spark discussion. These question stems build in the complexity of thinking required. Reflection questions are included for debriefing after the small group discussion.

Literature circles are a way to engage students in reading by selecting texts to read and discuss with peers. Instead of traditional literature circle roles, use question stems as a way to spark discussion. These question stems build in the complexity of thinking required. Reflection questions are included for debriefing after the small group discussion and students will use flipgrid.com to complete their reflections.

This teacher's guide for Little Green by Chun Yu includes background information on the Cultural Revolution, discussion questions, activities, writing practices, and collaborative exercises.

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.

From the Standford University Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute,the primary goal of this lesson is to challenge students’ preconceived notions about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and the roles they played in the African American Freedom Struggle. While there is certainly much to be learned by examining the different philosophies and tactics of each leader, these two men, who combined their religious leadership with political action, have much more to teach us as we explore how their vision for racial justice developed into a call for social and economic equality and human rights.

In this lesson, students will use the individual experience of Mary McLeod Bethune to analyze choice, its affects on social equality, and impact on their own life experiences.