• 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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    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Elizabeth I

    Elizabeth I is the biography of Queen Elizabeth who reigned in England for 45 years from 1558 to 1603. Milton Meltzer chronologically h…

    Grade 7

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Broken Chain

    In “Broken Chain,” Alfonso, a seventh grader, dislikes his appearance.  He meets a girl named Sandra, whom he admires,…

    Grade 8

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Charles

    As the narrator sends her son Laurie off to kindergarten, she fears that her sweet child has become a “swaggering character.&rdqu…

    Grade 7

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Echo and Narcissus

    Echo is a nymph that likes to gossips so a spell is cast upon her to only reiterate things that she has heard. Her spell became the cau…

    Grade 7

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Heart and Hands

    Two men are handcuffed together board a train.  Miss Fairchild, a young and elegant woman, recognizes the younger of the two men, …

    Grade 7

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The Highwayman

    The highwayman is an eighteenth century thief, who promises to return to his love Bess, the landlord’s daughter.  Tim is a s…

    Grade 7

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The Secret

    “The Secret” tells the story of Henry Cooper, a reporter, returning for the second time to report on the colonies now exist…

    Grade 8

    • 09/29/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Paul Revere's Ride

    A narrator recounts the story of Paul Revere’s ride, which took place in Massachusetts on April 18, 1775.  On that night, Re…

    Grade 8

    • 09/27/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Ta-Na-E-Ka

    Mary Whitebird is about to turn eleven and take part in the Sioux coming of age tradition of Ta-Na-E-Ka. Literally translated as, &ldqu…

    Grade 6

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    A Day's Wait

    The story’s narrator notices one morning that his nine-year-old son is ill. A doctor visits the home and notes that the boy&rsquo…

    Grade 7

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Raymond's Run

    The story “Raymond’s Run” is told through the eyes of Hazel ‘Squeaky” Parker, who is the fastest runner i…

    Grade 8

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Mrs. Flowers

    In Mrs. Flowers, an excerpt from the autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the author, Maya Angelou, describes a significant e…

    Grade 8

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Long Walk to Freedom

    In this essay, Mandela explains his shifting understandings of freedom based on different stages in his life. Mandela explain how his p…

    Grade 7

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Everyday Use

    In this story, set in the 1960s, a mother tells about a visit from her daughter Dee, to the family’s rural Southern home. Dee has…

    Grades 9–10

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Old Man at the Bridge

    War is happening in Spain and the civilians are asked to leave the war zone.  At the side of the road, the narrator, presumably a …

    Grades 9–10

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    A Christmas Memory

    This semi-autobiographical text is set in the rural South during the Depression. The text focuses on Buddy’s recollection of the …

    Grades 9–10

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Beware of the Dog

    Squadron Leader Peter Williamson, an English fighter pilot in World War II, has been injured and had to bail out over the English Chann…

    Grades 9–10

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    An American Story

    An American Story details the trials and perseverance of the Dinh Family’s immigration to the United States as refugees from war-…

    Grades 9–10

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Address to Congress

    Two days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president.  In this s…

    Grades 9–10

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The Ransom of Red Chief

    Bill and Sam decide that the best way to finance their upcoming land swindle is to kidnap the child of a wealthy citizen and hold him f…

    Grade 8

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    In Trouble

    In this autobiographical text, Gary Paulson narrates experiences he had in the bitter cold of the North which taught him to respect all…

    Grade 8

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    Oranges

    The poem “Oranges” by Gary Soto is about the bittersweet experience of a first date. They walk together to the drug store a…

    Grade 8

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The Monkey's Paw

    Using the supernatural powers of “The Monkey’s Paw”, the Whites make a wish for money, receive the money after their …

    Grade 8

    • 09/13/14
    • 1 FILE  icon-file

    The First Americans

    This speech, presented as an address in 1927 to the mayor of Chicago, William Hale Thompson, sought to reform the stereotypical image o…

    Grade 8

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

    Harriet Tubman

    Harriet Tubman’s first journey to Canada on the Underground Railroad is fraught with danger, harsh conditions, and uncertainty. I…

    Grade 8

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

    Flowers For Algernon

    A mentally challenged man is presented with an opportunity to have an operation that will triple his intelligence. The story chronicles…

    Grade 8

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

    The Fog Horn

    Johnny, the narrator, and McDunn, the lighthouse keeper (Johnny’s boss), are working in a lighthouse on a November evening. McDun…

    Grade 8

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

    The Landlady

    In this short story, a boy named Billy Weaver needs to find lodging in Bath, England. He goes to a boardinghouse. The landlady is an od…

    Grade 8

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

    Treasure of Lemon Brown

    Fourteen year-old Greg Ridley gets into an argument with his father over his bad grades and his father forbids him to play basketball. …

    Grade 7

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

    Names/Nombres

    Julia Alvarez recalls her family’s early years as Dominican immigrants in America. She describes her reactions to the mispronunci…

    Grade 7

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

    Weapons Of The Spirit

    This lesson consists of four short works by Albert Einstein. The works regard pre- and post-war topics. (Holt Elements of Literature, 2…

    Grades 9–10

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

    O Captain My Captain

    The poem describes the victorious homecoming of a ship. The Captain responsible for the safe return of his ship and crew has died befor…

    Grade 8

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

    Amigo Brothers

    Seventeen-year-old best friends dream of becoming light-weight boxing champions of the world. They train together until they find out t…

    Grade 7

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

    Rice Sandwich

    The main character, Esperanza, desperately wants to eat in the lunchroom at school, with the other boys and girls who do not go home fo…

    Grade 7

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

    Three Skeleton Keys

    This horror story begins when three lighthouse keepers realize that a derelict ship heading for their tiny island is filled with thousa…

    Grade 7