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This lesson invites students to use their understanding of modern experiences with digital technologies to make active meaning of an older text, such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, by asking students to create their own modern interpretation of specific events from the drama. Students first brainstorm a list of technologies they use and then imagine what would happen if Romeo and Juliet were set in a modern-day world and that technology was available to the characters. Students work in small groups to create technology profiles for characters in the play, and then discuss their ideas with the class. Next, students select from a variety of projects in which they re-imagine a scene from the play with modern technology incorporated. Finally, students share their projects with the class and discuss why they made the choices of scene and technology that they did.

This brief animated video provides an introduction to the skill of using synonyms.

This WPSU interactive The Detective's Notebook Game is designed to get students to think about what they are reading and to answer questions that require inferencing. In the game, the student has access to an amateur detective's notebook in which several clues or events have been observed. From these clues, some inferences or predictions can be made. The game is part of Blue Ribbon Readers, a collection of games designed to help elementary school students learn to read. This game is best for students in grades 3 - 6)

This resource allows students the opportunity to practice drawing conclusions based on text evidence.

In this activity, students will read The Flag Maker by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, a story about the creation of the first American flag. Students will be able to answer questions based on key details from the story. Students will explore the main character's emotions throughout the story and try to guess what she is feeling.  

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. Students will interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can explain how a region's climate can result in severe weather, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson. In addition, the conclusion of this text describes design solutions to prevent hurricane-related hazards.

Grimy Gators are popping out of the city sewers! Students will need to remember their subject-verb agreement rules to get rid of them. Students will read the subject at the top of the screen, then click on the verb which agrees with that subject.

This resource contains 40 cards that include a Greek or Latin root word, a related image, and example words. These cards could be used as flashcards, a teaching activity, or classroom decor. In addition, all of the words are related to science and could be used to support the analysis of domain-specific text. This resource also includes informational material for teachers regarding teaching this concept.

While students in grades 4–6 often have the necessary skills to decode words, they sometimes struggle with comprehending the words they have read. In this lesson, students use the INSERT (Interactive Notation to Effective Reading and Thinking) technique to help them monitor their own thinking and make connections between texts and their own experiences. Students begin with an introduction to the strategy and a teacher-directed demonstration of the strategy using a text about mummies. Students are then given an opportunity to practice the strategy in small groups and reflect on the benefits of the INSERT technique. In subsequent sessions, students are divided into three instructional-level groups to practice using the strategy and participate in various writing and reading activities.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used as an introduction to seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson.

This classroom resource provides a teaching video on context clues and offers other skills that kids can work on such as drawing conclusions, facts and opinions, and syllables. This classroom resource also includes a quiz, worksheet, and interactive game to check for understanding.

Learn about the long-held American fascination with Julius Caesar in two videos from Shakespeare Uncovered. Brian Cox states, “Rome is not a place, but an ideal,” and the play continues to resonate because it addresses issues that face any society that tries to uphold democratic principles. The videos and support materials explore the parallels between the play and the American experience. Since Abraham Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth, an actor obsessed with Brutus, the play continues to hold a place in the political and cultural landscape of America.

Be sure to read Julius Caesar and the American Experience | Shakespeare Uncovered - Discussion Questions under the Support Materials for Use with Students section to fully teach the standard.

Comprehension requires more than knowledge of the basic facts in a reading. Instead, readers need to actively engage in their readings to move toward critical thinking. After reading a piece of literature, students explore their text, searching for literary elements such as characters, setting, figures of speech, and themes. They use the alphabet to organize their findings. Finally, they publish their work in ABC books, using the Alphabet Organizer student interactive.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. The students and teacher can interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. The students will answer the questions associated with the article as an assessment. This learning activity can be used to introduce students to the varying habitats of living things, serve as reinforcement after students have already learned this concept, or be used as an assessment at the conclusion of a lesson.

In this classroom resource, students will learn how to distinguish between attributive adjectives and predicative adjectives. Attributive adjectives come before a noun and tell the qualities or attributes of nouns. Predicative adjectives go after the verb, in the second position. They often function as the object of the verb. Since the verb and the object are the predicates of the sentence, we use the term "predicative." This resource offers videos, games, and worksheets to help further understand the concept.

Using this media collection, students explore the theme of loss within Shakespeare's plays, particularly focusing on Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and Richard II. Whether it is the loss of a loved one, loss of power, or loss of identity, students examine how Shakespeare’s characters cope with loss. Students also question whether or not Shakespeare’s own life (and loss) influenced his writing.

Be sure to read the Discussion Questions, along with the other materials under the Support Materials for Use with Students section to fully teach the standard.

Engage middle school students in a meaningful study of the lives of students from across the globe through the use of contemporary nonfiction and fiction. Students create personal autobiographies, sequence story events, and prepare well-crafted summaries while learning to use higher-level comprehension strategies such as Question-Answer Relationships and the Bio-Cube. Additionally, students conduct a critical study of the NCSS Notable Tradebook Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story From Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter, comparing and contrasting their own lives to Nasreen's and expanding their geographical knowledge of the Middle East.

The teacher will present an informational text from the website, ReadWorks. Students will interact with this non-fiction text by annotating the text digitally. This article will explain how the moon creates tides on Earth by exerting the force of gravity on Earth's oceans, even though the two celestial objects are not in contact. Students could use this informational material to construct their own argument explaining how fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other. 

A subject can be a person or an object. To figure out who or what is the subject, first find the verb of the sentence. Then ask yourself who or what is doing that action. This resource will help students find the subject of a sentence. It also offers videos, games, and worksheets to help further understand the concept taught in this lesson.

After watching a video about garden spiders, students will read a chart that reflects the information in the segment. They will then answer a series of questions using the information from the chart.

Why is this an important concept?
It is important for students to learn how to read the information in formats other than narrative texts. Learning to read charts and tables is another way for students to understand how information is collected and organized. It also helps students become skilled in gathering information quickly as well as categorizing information to develop their own charts and tables in a variety of subject areas.

This lesson is a research-based activity designed for high school students. In this lesson, students will research and investigate a historical landmark case provided by the PBS series, History Detectives. This lesson intends to help students master the practice of conducting a research project. The lesson includes a reproducible, a graphic organizer, and related videos.