In this lesson, students interview and introduce each other to the class as an opening activity.

In this lesson students analyze a model narrative and begin planning their own narratives.

In this lesson, students will build background knowledge about the important archetype of the hero’s journey. The ultimate objective is for students to apply their new understandings to Percy’s experiences in The Lightning Thief. In part 1, students focus on just the introduction and “Act 1: Separation.”

In this reflective essay, Chief Dan George compares his native North American culture with that of white culture. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this essay through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this lesson on The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, students will practice drawing evidence from the text to infer about the main character/narrator, and use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

In this lesson, students will integrate information from different media and formats, including charts, graphs, tables, and diagrams.

This lesson is to introduce students to the Islamic religion and the spread of Islam. The overarching goal is for students to find the commonality in the monotheisms and gain an appreciation and tolerance for each religion.

Jackie Robinson: Justice at Last is the story of two brave men who changed the course of history in sports. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments; writing samples included.

Jigsaw is a strategy that emphasizes cooperative learning by providing students an opportunity to actively help each other build comprehension. Use this technique to assign students to reading groups composed of varying skill levels. Each group member is responsible for becoming an "expert" on one section of the assigned material and then "teaching" it to the other members of the team.

In this story, the main character, Margaret is affected by the loss of her father and then the loss of her best friend who moves away. As she adapts to that change she discovers new talents and new friends. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments;

In this lesson, students will examine modern voices of adversity, focusing on a different perspective on the challenges people faced in a medieval village.

In this lesson, students will begin their unit on the Middle Ages, using "mystery activities" to build wonder and interest about the topic. Students will participate in a Four Corners exercise, examine vocabulary, and complete an exit ticket.

In this lesson, students research the various types of clouds using print and online materials. Then students write haikus using the Haiku App or the Haiku Poem Interactive, but they do not include the names of the clouds. The students share their haikus and guess what type of cloud each haiku describes.

WWII has started and Jimbo Kurasaki and his mother and brother have been confined to an internment camp because they are Japanese. He is not happy, but he copes by deciding that war “makes people crazy.” In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

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

This poem, written in a voice of a child, addresses the fears a child faces when starting at a new school and/or being placed in a new classroom. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments; writing samples included.

Students have read the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and will compare and contrast the relationship of the blacks and whites in the 1930's to the relationship of blacks and whites in 2013.

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.