• ELA / Literacy Lessons

    Lessons designed to highlight the ELA/literacy Shifts and expectations of college- and career-ready standards

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    Lessons specifically designed to highlight the ELA/literacy Shifts and expectations of college- and career-ready standards

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  • Results (47)

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    • 02/17/16
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Fly Eagle Fly

    After a stormy night, a farmer searching for his lost calf finds a baby eagle that has been blown out of its nest. He takes it home and…

    Grade 3

    • 02/17/16
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Elena's Serenade

    Who ever heard of a girl glassblower? In Mexico, where the sun is called el sol and the moon is called la luna, a little girl called El…

    Grade 3

    • 02/17/16
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Did a Dino Drink This Water?

    The author explains the complete water cycle and also discusses ocean currents, ocean and lake habitats, and hydroelectricity. He also …

    Grade 3

    • 11/18/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Talk with an Astronaut

    A group of fifth grade students interview the first Hispanic American astronaut, Ellen Ochoa.  The interview is a question and ans…

    Grade 5

    • 11/18/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Jalapeño Bagels

    "Jalapeño Bagels" is a story about a young bi-cultural boy named Pablo on a search to find a dish to bring to school for Interna…

    Grade 3

    • 11/18/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Seeker of Knowledge

    The author describes the life of Jean-Francois Champollion. This selection uses text and graphics together as a vehicle to deepen the r…

    Grade 4

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Houdini's Box

    Victor, a 10-year-old boy, is fascinated with Harry Houdini’s magic tricks. On the date of the visit, Mrs. Houdini tells Victor t…

    Grade 4

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Suki's Kimono

    Suki's favorite possession is her blue cotton kimono. A gift from her obachan (grandmother), it holds special memories of her grandmoth…

    Grade 3

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    American Slave, American Hero

    The Lewis and Clark expedition explored unmapped territory from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean from 1804-1806. The expedition …

    Grade 5

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Navajo Code Talkers

    This lesson was initially created through the Basal Alignment Project and was then further developed by the 4th grade team from Pleasan…

    Grade 4

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The Skunk Ladder

    This story is about two boys, “Crazy” Eddie and the narrator, the imaginative contraptions they create, and their wacky adv…

    Grade 5

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Exploding Ants

    Exploding Ants is an expository non-fiction text that explains how animals adapt to survive in their environment. (Pearson Reading Stre…

    Grade 5

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The Gymnast

    Gary Soto writes an autobiography about a time when he was eleven years old, wanting to be a gymnast like his cousin.  He thinks i…

    Grade 5

    • 10/23/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    I Love Saturdays y Domingos

    Saturdays and Sundays are very special days for the young girl in this story. On Saturdays, she visits Grandma and Grandpa, who come fr…

    Grade 3

    • 09/14/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Red Kayak

    In this excerpt, Brady and his friends don’t demonstrate good judgment when they choose not to warn Mrs. DiAngelo early that morn…

    Grade 5

    • 09/10/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Good-bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong

    In this story, Jangmi moves from her home in Korea to a new home in the United States. At first she is sad about leaving behind her fri…

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Tops and Bottoms

    In this trickster tale, Bear and Hare are involved in a gardening partnership. Industrious, clever Hare makes a deal with Bear— H…

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    What About Me?

    This fable is about a boy’s search for knowledge. To achieve his goal, the boy barters with characters ranging from a carpet make…

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Gertrude Ederle

    In this story Gertrude Ederle overcomes obstacles, both physical and social, in order to prevail at her lifelong dream of being the fir…

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Two Bad Ants

    Two ants, along with others from their nest, set out to gather crystals for their queen. Initially staying and keeping crystals for the…

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    If You Made a Million

    This text explains the nuts and bolts of how different types of coins, bills, and checks; how they are connected; and how your dollars …

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    A Symphony of Whales

    Glashka uses her innate connection and intuition with nature to help bring together the community in hopes of trying to save the lives …

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Rocks In His Head

    As a child, the author’s father was fascinated by rocks.This interest consumed the young boy as he collected them in all of his s…

    Grade 3

    • 09/06/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    My Rows and Piles of Coins

    This is a story about Saruni, a young boy, and his family, who are both consumers and sellers in a market in Tanzania. There are many e…

    Grade 3

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Mahalia Jackson

    Mahalia Jackson begins with the grandfather sharing the historical underpinnings of the blues, including a brief history of the African…

    Grade 5

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Grandfather's Journey

    As a young man tells the story of his grandfather’s journey from Japan to the United States he reveals that the two actually have…

    Grade 4

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    My Brother Martin

    In the memoir, Martin’s big sister Christine tells how they grew up during a time when blacks and whites lived separately. Martin…

    Grade 4

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Shutting Out the Sky

    This excerpt focuses on a sixteen year old boy, Marcus Ravage, who travels to America (New York) from Romania. He hopes to become rich …

    Grade 5

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Satchel Paige

    An African American named Leroy ʺSatchelʺ Paige was one of the greatest baseball pitchers that ever lived, but baseball was a segregate…

    Grade 5

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Inside Out

    In this story, Francisco comes from Mexico to a new school, and he has difficulty understanding the English language and communicating …

    Grade 5

    • 08/22/13
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Passage to Freedom

    The family of a Japanese diplomat, Mr. Sugihara, living in Lithuania in 1940, is confronted by Jewish refugees asking for Japanese visa…

    Grade 5