LAFS.8.RI.1.1

The student will read the informational text “The Golden Age of Sound Effects,” analyze what the text says explicitly, and draw inferences from the text. The student will cite evidence from the text that supports this analysis.

Type: Formative Assessment

The student will read the informational passage “Ray Bradbury: A Futurist Who Chose the Past” and use different colors to mark important explicit details and important implied ideas. The student will take notes in the margins regarding the explicit and implicit information and inferences drawn.

Type: Formative Assessment

The student will read an informational passage and use different color highlighters to mark important explicit details and important implied ideas. The student will take notes in the margins regarding the explicit and implicit information and inferences drawn.

Type: Formative Assessment

The student will use a graphic organizer to cite textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Type: Formative Assessment

Students will be able to:

• Describe three ecosystem services provided by the Everglades
• Explain how these three ecosystem services contribute to the social and economic quality of life for people living in South Florida 
• Describe five specific threats to the ecological health of the Everglades incorporating relevant evidence of the impacts of each of these threats 
• Present findings on threats to the Everglades based on information derived from various texts/websites

Type: Lesson Plan

The Purpose of the lesson is to teach the students about five major atomic theories using inquiry-based learning. By allowing the students to be introduced to the historical backgrounds and having each group to create a three dimensional figure and a poster, it allows the learning process to be student-driven, inductive and interactive.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn about a subject as they read and analyze multiple text types before writing a business letter explaining a decision they will be asked to make. This lesson incorporates poetry, authentic non-fiction, photography, and writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read and analyze two nonfiction articles and watch a short video about work at NASA--information includes the retiring of the space shuttle program and possible goals and missions in the future, including ideas for space shuttle replacements and capturing asteroids. Text-dependent questions and answer keys are provided for both articles. At the end of the lesson, students will make a written claim regarding NASA's future plans for space exploration and research, citing evidence from both articles and the video to support their claim. A rubric for the writing assessment is also included. 

Type: Lesson Plan

This web resource from the Civil War Trust will engage students through an analysis of primary source documents as they work to discuss the meaning and significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is intended to help students identify and discuss the effects of the American Civil War, with an emphasis on helping students summarize the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments, examine John Wilkes Booth's assassination of President Lincoln, and understand the terms reconstruction and reunification.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is based on Letter XII: Distresses of a Frontier Man by J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur. This "letter" is one of a collection of essays in an epistolary format from the collection, Letters from an American Farmer (1782). In this lesson, students will focus on using various vocabulary strategies to decode challenging vocabulary words from the text. To assist in comprehension, students will read and analyze the text through a chunking strategy where they will participate in text-marking, summarizing, and answering text-dependent questions. The culminating assignment will allow students to develop an argumentative written response that is supported by the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will conduct an investigation on the effect of laundry detergent on water temperature, use technology to graph their data, and determine whether a physical or chemical change occurred. Students will also read articles to gather evidence to write an evidence-based claim using the CLEVER method.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this close reading lesson, students will be asked to use multiple strategies to respond to informational text in way that is aligned to the state standards, requiring that they respond with explicit details drawn from the passage. With this short, free-standing article, teachers can incorporate this mini-lesson into their already set curriculum to reinforce the standards and skills being taught. This lesson would also make an excellent small group resource. Attachments needed for this lesson are all provided and include text-dependent questions, graphic organizers, and an objective summary writing prompt with rubric.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is a close reading lesson based on the article "Remembering the D-Day Invasion with Salutes, Tears and Friendship." This article focuses on the anniversary of D-Day and the effect it had on soldiers and civilians who experienced the attack. This lesson provides an opportunity for close reading, vocabulary acquisition, and writing a summary. A vocabulary organizer and key, text-dependent questions and keys, and a writing rubric have been included.

Type: Lesson Plan

This CIS lesson is a deep reading lesson intended to be completed with 8th grade students. The article presents research regarding the impact obesity has not only on physical health, but on cognition as well. Students return to the article looking for information three times. Students present the evidence they collect while reading in a short writing assignment that is re-visited and shaped throughout the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This CIS lesson is a deep reading lesson intended to be completed with 8th grade students. The article presents science on the sleep patterns of adolescents and asks students to determine how the information should impact school start times. Students return to the article looking for information three times. Students present their claim and text-based evidence in a short writing assignment that is revisited and shaped throughout the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

The goal of this one to two day exemplar from Student Achievement Partner web resources is to give students the opportunity to observe the dynamic nature of the Constitution through the practice of close reading and writing habits. By reading and re-reading the passage closely, and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will explore the questions Monk raises and perhaps even pursue additional avenues of inquiry. When combined with writing about the passage, not only will students form a deeper appreciation of Monk’s argument and the value of struggling with complex text, but of the Preamble of the Constitution itself.

Type: Lesson Plan

Based on a student-focused scenario encouraging healthier lifestyles, students will perform a close and careful reading of an article encouraging active and healthy lifestyles. During the lesson, students will analyze data from Consumer Reports comparing and contrasting treadmills and elliptical exercisers. Using information gathered, students will compile data and persuade administrators to buy equipment that will align with the provided budget and fit in the given space.

Type: Lesson Plan

The goal of this lesson is to give students the opportunity to explore the connotations and denotations of the word "normal" and its various meanings. Through the use of "Us and Them," a personal essay by David Sedaris, students will explore the various beliefs and points of view of "normal" based on the picture painted by Sedaris. Students will need to consider the emotional context of words and how diction reveals an author's tone and message, as well as how the use of irony can impact the tone of a piece. Students will also read and analyze a Time article, "An In-Depth View of America by the Numbers," by Nancy Gibbs. For the summative assessment, students will write an explanatory essay (several prompts are provided) about normality using evidence from the texts studied in the lesson for support.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read chapters 1-7 of Ismael Beah's memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier while learning how to analyze the chapters using a reader response journal, create an oral argument through a Seed Discussion, and in writing a central idea statement.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will independently read, outside of class, chapters 8-14 of Ismael Beah's memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. In class, students will learn how to create position statements as they read several informational articles and speeches about a variety of topics. Students will also participate in a Philosophical Chairs discussion and use a SOAPTone strategy to help them with their creation of position statements. 

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson (part 3 of 3 in a unit), students will read chapters 15-21 of Ismael Beah's memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier while learning how to create an argumentation essay using a Socratic Seminar discussion, a SOAPTone Strategy, Opinion/Proof Two Column Notes, reading articles and graphics.

Type: Lesson Plan

The goal of this two to three day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to explore the point of view of a man who survived slavery. By reading and rereading the passage closely, combined with classroom discussion about it, students will explore the various beliefs and points of view Douglass experienced as he became increasingly aware of the unfairness of his life. Students will need to consider the emotional context of words and how diction (word choice) affects an author's message. When combined with writing about the passage and teacher feedback, students will form a deeper understanding of how slavery affected those involved.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze a rich literary nonfiction text illustrating the rescue of British soldiers at Dunkirk in 1940. Through use of repeated readings, text dependent questions, class discussion, and two writing tasks, students will examine the miraculous nature of what happened at Dunkirk and how shared human values played a part in the outcome of this event. This lesson was designed originally for use in a middle school Social Studies curriculum, where teaching students to go beneath a surface understanding of historical events is at a premium. Although this exemplar was designed to be used in a middle school Social Studies curriculum, it is appropriate for use in an ELA class as well.

Type: Lesson Plan

Cite text evidence and make inferences about the "real" history of Halloween in this spooky interactive tutorial. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Practice citing evidence and drawing inferences using an informational text about hacking and cyberwarfare in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial