Language Arts - Reading

Source: https://www.abpischools.org.uk/topics/genes-and-inheritance/dna-and-inheritance/ (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

This resource explains and demonstrates with interactive graphics, what are genes, how they are formed, how they affect inheritance, what are chromosomes, mitosis, meiosis, fertilization, cloning, and studies a few inherited diseases like cystic fibrosis. The ability to see with graphics how genes work makes this biology topic a much more meaningful experience for students.

Source: Infoplease Famous Firsts by African Americans (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

This site presents a vast array of articles and images on a host of subjects .(check Browse tab)  Students can read about African American History,  History and Timelines, Contemporary Issues and Facts, Biographyies and Special Features, Holidays, Education and Awards With the information, students create a timeline of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. In this assignment, students read about Famous Firsts by African Americans.

Source: NPR Technology Entries (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

NPR's "All Things Considered" airs its series called "All Tech Considered" which explores the sometimes daunting—always-changing—world of technology. If you are baffled by your cell phone, or your students are wondering what their kids mean when they say they are tweeting on Twitter, All Tech Considered explores many of these areas and could be of help. Try sending your students here to look up information that interests them. Not all stories have an audio component, so look for ones that have "Listen to the Story" or the word "podcast." Podcasts of many of the archived shows are downloadable and the segments are usually under 10 minutes.

Source: Cleaning Institute Cleaning Tips (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This site offers a world of information about laundry and all types of cleaning tips, understanding products, sustainable cleaning as well as industry priorities. The example website includes a section called Cleaning Tips where you can apply learning to home, school, or work. "Information sheets" found in teacher resources are in a printable format such as PDF. The section on Soaps and Detergents History with a timeline offers another way to organize a lesson.

Source: Illustrated Articles for Car Buyers and Owners (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

For this activity, students will choose between one of two assignments: read and write about buying a used car and figure out what their budget can afford or read through an illustrated checklist of how to inspect a used car and write a summary of what they learn.

The website covers the ins and outs of buying a used car, car maintenance and more. It is an intermediate reading level.

Use ChatGPT to help students understand complex texts within prospositions during upcoming elections. 

Use the citation tool in Google Docs to cite an article from ProCon.

Educators can use Mentimeter to create fun and engaging interactive lessons. In this example, a Mentimeter will be used to introduce a job hunting unit to an Intermediate Low ESL class.

Note: This activity uses Mentimeter: Mentimeter.com

Source: http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/story-epic-proportions-what-makes-poem-epic#sect-introduction (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This lesson will introduce students to the epic poem form and to its roots in oral tradition. Students will learn about the epic hero cycle and will learn how to recognize this pattern of events and elements- even in surprisingly contemporary places. Students will also be introduced to the patterns embedded in these stories that have helped generations of storytellers remember these immense poems.

Source: https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plans/anne-frank-one-hundreds-thousands#sect-thelesson%22_blank%22 (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This lesson invites you to supplement your students' reading of The Diary of a Young Girl by connecting the diary to the study of history and to honor the legacy of Anne Frank, the writer, as she inspires your students to use writing to deepen their insights into their own experiences and the experiences of others.

In the class activity, students look at a series of maps to gain an idea of the territorial changes in Europe after World War I up to the beginning of the defeat of Germany. They complete a map intended to show the speed and reach of Germany's wartime expansion. Then students share information about the German occupation in some European countries, which they then compare to the situation in the Netherlands. Lastly, students analyze a map.

Source: Our Story in 2 Minutes by drivinman687 (License: CC0/Public Domain)

In this activity, students are shown a video called “What in the World… History Compressed” and then later asked to write about it. The emphasis is on critical thinking. The Web site contains videos, political cartoons, and pictures that encourage students to think critically.

Screenshot of Working the Web for Education - Tom March - Critical Thinking

Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

The Occumational Outlook Handbook is created and maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It includes an up-to-date description of occupations, job summaries, entry-level education, median pay, and projected job growth

For this project, using the OOH, students will investigate three jobs of their choice and engage in project based learning activities to delve into various careers and discuss future trends. 

Source: Flexi CK-12 AI Tutor (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

Often our students have questions, even after classes. Flexi, an AI tutor, is offered by CK-12 to assist students with any questions they may have 24/7 anywhere, on any device. Flexi uses AI but it also has a large selection of courses in Math and Science to answer questions. Answers can include links to background information  (lesson from CK-12) on the question asked. Students can ask questions in other topic areas from AI.

In this activity, have the class explore a variety of questions and write a reflection on how they see themselves using Flexi.

Source: Flippity homepage showing numerous activities (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this activity, students are given a weekly set of vocabulary words to study. Each day a different activity is introduced to help students learn the vocabulary. The week ends with a Flippity Quiz Show game and quiz.

Flippity is a powerful tool that takes the information you enter on a Google Sheet template and then quickly and easily creates numerous online games to help students with vocabulary and spelling. Games include a Jeopardy-style quiz show, Bingo, Hangman, Crossword Puzzles, Word Search, quizzes that generate a certificate when completed, Memory, and more. Imagine your English as a Second Language (ESL) students practicing vocabulary words with flashcards that speak to them. You can even insert images and videos. Activities can be shared to your Google Classroom, Website, Moodle course, or accessed on the Flippity Website.

Source: 4Tests GED Practice Test page (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

A free online practice test site for the 2014 GED test with the 4 sections of the GED provided by Barrons Educational Series. It includes an explanation for the right answer.

Source: Applied Digital Skills (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this series of video lessons, students learn how to use Google Slides in making a personal introduction presentation to the class. 

Students will learn about the Hero's Journey through a gamified PowerPoint presentation. The students will use media to learn about each stage and apply it to a video of a lesser-known hero. 

Source: copilot generated image of man using AI assistant (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Learners will use AI in their lives. They need to learn how to use it effectively, accurately and ethically. In this lesson, learners will identify when to use AI assistance, how to use it effectively, how to evaluate the accuracy of AI responses and how to use AI ethically.

21Things4Students ins an online learning resource focused on teaching students technology proficiency. The information is presented for students through projects. It is designed for K12 but the interactives, videos and resources are well worth your time. One of their topics is Q7 Intro to Artificial Intelligence (AI): Introduction Vocabulary, What is AI? AI in Real Life, AI Playground, AI Prompt Writing, Training AI, AI Ethics & Privacy

Source: Propaganda: What's the Message? Lesson Plan (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This is a very interactive site that allows for group work (if you have a computer and projector or an interactive whiteboard) or individual work by a student. Students will learn about individual rights, court decisions, presidential responsibilities, how to become a citizen, separation of powers, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, The Judicial Branch, Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Money Management, and Media and Influence.

For this lesson we will focus on Media and Influence: Propaganda, but if another topic meets your needs, feel free to explore and find another lesson.

(License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

Source: Kellogg Foundation (License: Creative Commons 2.0)

 

Students will read about Dolores Huerta and learn how to develop vocabulary by using Visuwords

Source: Intro to Lateral Reading (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Using Civic Online Reasoning we can teach our students the skills to determine if information from the internet is accurate, inaccurate or misleading. In this lesson, you will introduce Lateral Reading, then practice it using posts, news articles or blogs

Source: Classroom Video on Demand Featured Videos (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this activity, you will search Learn360 for at least one resource to share with your students. Consider creating a folder or a playlist.

Learn360 offers more than 370,000 videos, interactives, maps, and experiments to enhance your lessons. Teachers working at California agencies can get their own FREE account through OTAN. Learn360 resources can be used in your classroom, and linked, downloaded, or embedded in Google Classroom, Moodle, Canvas, or on your class Website.

Source:  image by Copilot (License: I am the creator of this asset (doc, image, video, audio))

 

This site offers extensive interactive practice with grammar, reading, vocabulary, and some writing. The site is from Canada, so there may be a few differences between their English and ours, but overall it is a good resource.

The site offers students a choice of level from upper beginner to advanced.

Source: Money Management International (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Money Management International has a dedicated site for Financial Literacy month (April), encouraging sound use of one’s finances throughout the year with Thirty Steps to Financial Wellness, which includes resources and worksheets to get organized and make a financial plan. The steps include:

1. Commit to Change
2. Assess Your Finances
3. Clear out the Financial Clutter
4. Set yourself up for Success
5. Get copies of your Credit Reports
6. Clean up your Credit Report
7. Make your Money Count
8. Identify your Starting Point
9. Review your Debt Situation
10. Set your Priorities
11. Set SMART Financial Goals
12. Set short-, mid-, and long-term Goals
13. Pay down your Debt
14. Expect the Unexpected
15. Secure your Financial Future
16. Make a Committment
17. Save for your Goals
18. Follow where the Money Goes
19. Identify and Document Fixed Monthly Expenses
20. Identify and Plan for Periodic Expenses
21. Document your Spending
22. Indentify ways to Reduce Spending
23. Save Money on Groceeries
24. Start an Open Dialogue
25. Document your Desired Spending
26. Protect yourself by Performing Financial Check-ups
27. Understand the Cost of Credit
28. Assemble a Financial Team
29. Appreciate the Benefits
30. Keep Moving Forward

For this activity determine how much time and how many steps you want to include, divide the class into pairs/groups to investigate each step, write a summary/report and present to the class.

Source: Newsela homepage (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Newsela is a personalized reading service designed to help students master non-fiction literacy by providing daily news articles at multiple reading levels. Newsela makes it easy for an entire class to read the same article at their own reading level.

The teacher assigns an article(s) to the class. Many of the articles have quizzes available. "Write" is a feature that allows students to answer open-ended questions. The teacher can customize the prompt.

Newsela offers a free version and a premium for pay program called Newsela Pro. Pro includes many additional features including student tracking, annotation on articles, etc. June 30, 2023 Newsela offers Newsela Lite. Articles will still be available at multiple reading levels but each week four articles will be available to select from. The articles will be available for four weeks. Each week one will be replaced. When an article is selected the teacher will be able to see student actions and quiz results. It is free to any teacher. Review the new features. 

Source: Unsplash by Handiwork NYC (License: Creative Commons 1.0)

 

In this activity, students will use online classified ads to investigate job openings and find housing where they live for someone they know who is hypothetically relocating to their city. Students create a PowerPoint slideshow about the job and salary, the housing and cost, and create a monthly budget.

Source: Trello Quarter Project (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

This is a Project Based Learning Assignment, titled Quarter Project. Students select an interesting question they want to research. They use Trello to organize their projects. The Quarter Project Trello board presents the instructions for students to move their projects from one step to the next. As a teacher, it helps you see the class move through the project. It is also a great place for students to assemble their research, images, presentation etc. Trello makes it easy for students to collaborate on their projects.

Trello is a visual collaboration tool that can be used for lesson planning, class organization, student research, organizing writing assignments, project-based learning and more. It is free.

Source: https://quizizz.com/ (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Quizizz can be used as a prediction activity to find out what students already know about a topic or it can be used as a review to find out what was learned. You can create and play quizzes live or for homework. They can be accessed by the students using any device with a Web browser including a laptop, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android, Chromebook, or desktop computer. An app is NOT necessary to participate in a Quizizz activity.

As of August 2022, there is only a limited free version. To use all the bells and whistles, you will need to use the Super Version which costs $96.00 annually. As long as you don't need many games, you can get away with using the free basic version.

Source: Quizlet Live by Quizlet Live (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

Quizlet Live is a collaborative, high-energy review game. It's based on Quizlet, the online flashcards platform that's been around for years. Students are sorted into groups and work together to answer all 12 questions correctly in a row to win.

Source: Quizlet (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Students use teacher-created flashcard sets for review and reinforcement of vocabulary words.

This is a good unit on consumerism. The lesson is complete with video, note-taking and practice.

Students watch a video which explains advertising strategies. Then, using a note-taking chart, they will practice identifying advertising strategies while watching various commercials. They can also use the form at home while watching TV commercials for further practice. Then as a final activity, students can make a team presentation using PowerPoint.

 

Source: ReadWorks (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

In this activity, students are assigned a reading passage and shown the different tools they can use during the reading. They are then introduced to a Question Set and asked to complete the activity. When the students finish the activity, it is projected so they can see the article and as a class, responses are reviewed.

Readworks is a free, non-profit site focused on improving teacher effectiveness and student achievement in reading comprehension by providing free standards-aligned content, curriculum, and tools based on the highest quality cognitive scientific research on how to learn to read.

Source: The Free Dictionary (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Use the online dictionary, The Free Dictionary as a stepping off point for developing research skills and expanding students' vocabulary and knowledge base through exploration of word of the day, today's birthday, this day in history, today's holiday and article of the day.

TheFreeDictionary.com site has many features including Word of the Day, Daily Grammar Lesson, Article of the Day,  This Day in History, Today's Birthday, Quotation of the Day, Today's Holiday, Idiom of the Day and Grammar Quiz. Word games include Hangman, Spelling Bee, Match Up and WordHub.

Source: Snappywords (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

 

Students will use the Snappy Words Web site to help them define a term in the form of a paragraph.

Source: Snopes.com (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

While learning about urban legends, students practice reading skills, summarizing and paragraphing in speaking and writing, and hone their abilities to view media critically. Students use Snopes, a site dedicated to fact-checking news stories, past events and urban legends, to read and take notes on an urban legends. 

Source: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success (License: Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])

"Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success," is a curriculum focused on teaching "soft" or workforce readiness skills to youth (and can be useful for anyone seeking employment). Created for teachers as an introduction to workplace interpersonal and professional skills, the curriculum is targeted for youth ages 14 to 21 in both in-school and out-of-school environments. The basic structure of the program is comprised of modular, hands-on, engaging activities that focus on six key skill areas: communication, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, networking, problem solving and critical thinking, and professionalism. Accompanying videos [www] help with material presentation.

Communication Skills is the focus of this activity.

Screenshot of the U.S. Dept of Labor's Soft Skills to Pay the Bills

Developed by the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Dept of Labor

Source: The Free Dictionary (License: CC0/Public Domain)

Using this site, students will practice vocabulary by learning and using the word of the day, playing the spelling bee, and looking up two idioms and one acronym. Students can customize their page to include as many features as they like. Other features included in the side menu include a thesaurus, medical legal and financial dictionaries, acronyms, idioms, and encyclopedias.

This Web site is rich in possibilities. Beyond vocabulary practice the site offers a variety of dictionaries in various languages (Spanish, German, French, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian, Greek, Russian and Turkish). There are games to play: Hangman, Spelling Bee, Words Within Words, Matching. There are also great sources of information: Article of the Day; In the News; This Day in History; Today's Holiday; Today's Birthday; and Quotation of the Day.

                                                        

Source: magicschool.ai (License: CC0/Public Domain)    

 

 

Use an AI enhanced program such as magicschool.ai or web.diffit.me to level text to match the reading levels of your students

Source: Diffit for Teachers (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 Use the same AI enhanced software to select other tools to assist in teaching students reading comprehension skills.

Source: Image Created by CoPilot of Woman Creating a Mind Map Using a Computer (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

Canva helps students create mind maps online. They can then share them with others and add them to presentations. This tool is great for brainstorming collaboratively. In this activity students use mind maps to organize or scaffold information for getting a job. 

For this activity, students make a mind map, create a presentation of the mind map, and present it to the class.

Source: Visuwords (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

In this activity, students will work individually or in pairs or small groups to create synonym charts using the Web site Visuwords.

Source: WebMD (License: CC0/Public Domain)

 

WebMD has a vast database useful in presenting/accessing accurate information on health issues. It is important to get students used to finding the site, navigating the site, and using the information. This can be done through assigning students/groups to investigate health issues. Assign students with lower reading levels to work in mixed groups so they can participate. By working together collaboration and presentation skills can be practiced.