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Reading comprehension and English language learners

Teaching reading comprehension and helping English language learners are the responsibility of every teacher, but they are also within the abilities of every teacher. These articles provide strategies for building content-area reading comprehension before, during, and after reading that can help English language learners — and all learners.

Format: series (multiple pages)

Habitat happenings (Lesson five)

This is lesson five in the series. During this lesson students will put the things they have learned from previous lessons into a creative writing assignment. The students will choose an animal to be and will describe themselves and their living environment.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)

By Kelly Stewart.

Preparing English language learners for reading comprehension

In Reading comprehension and English language learners, page 1

Use KWL charts, circle maps and brainstorming webs, and concept maps to prepare English language learners, content-area learners, and all students for reading comprehension.

By Ellen Douglas.

Mystery: Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective

This is a three part lesson on mysteries using the novel Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald Sobol.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts)

By Christine Weaver.

Kid-created biographies

In this lesson plan, the students will create biographies on the people they know best-- their teachers! The students will use various skills to collect information, organize details, publish the biographies and present the information.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, and Information Skills)

By Gregg Farr, Lynn Beatty, and Tricia Freeze.

Jump start your creativity: question yourself!

A short webliography of tools to help you ask good questions.

Format: article

By Bobby Hobgood.

Real-world learning in a virtual environment

Want to try project-based learning to get your students involved in real-world issues? A former North Carolina Technology & Learning Teacher of the Year talks about how she worked with the North Carolina Zoo to get students excited about learning.

By David Walbert.

Intrigue of the Past

Lesson plans and essays for teachers and students explore North Carolina's past before European contact. Designed for grades four through eight, the web edition of this book covers fundamental concepts, processes, and issues of archaeology, and describes the peoples and cultures of the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods.

Format: book (multiple pages)

North Carolina regions

Working in cooperative groups, the students will learn about their assigned regions of North Carolina. A list of questions will be generated. When the research is completed, the students will design a way to orally present the information to the class. This also will integrate Visual Arts and Informational Skills.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Information Skills and Social Studies)

By Patricia Britt.

Grouping skills for mastery

In Math for multiple intelligences, page 4

Thematic planning helps relate mathematics to students' lives.

By Gretchen Buher.

Alternative discussion formats: A public relations campaign

In Alternative discussion formats, page 4

By creating a PR campaign for a historial or literary figure, students can practice a wide range of thinking skills.

By Kathryn Walbert.

The mountains of Nepal: Scientific investigations

This lesson for grade five introduces students to the mountain ecosystems of Nepal. Activities include a brainstorming activity, in which students think about ecosystems and biodiversity; a research activity, in which students use a variety of sources to gather information about the mountain ecosystems of Nepal; and a journal activity, in which students create journal entries based on the information gathered in their research.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Information Skills and Science)

By Robin Bartoletti.

Asian, African, or Australian inventors & inventions

The lesson integrates both Social Studies and Language Arts in a research and a creative writing component. The student will further understand inventors or inventions from Asia, Africa, and Australia, the focused continents in the 7th grade Social Studies curriculum, as well as have the opportunity to develop his/her writing, reading, and oral communication skills. The project also incorporates mathematics with an emphasis on percentages and graphing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts, Information Skills, Mathematics, and Social Studies)

By Jeff Rachlin and Melissa Reid.

“Der Handschuh” by Friedrich Schiller

Students will have the opportunity to explore the poem, “Der Handschuh,” through shared reading, shared writing, and phonemic strategies that lead to fluency and comprehension.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Second Languages)

By Thomas Skinner.

Teaching about slavery through newspaper advertisements

In this lesson for grades 8 and 11, students will analyze a selection of advertisements related to slavery from an 1837 newspaper in order to enhance their understanding of antebellum North Carolina, U.S. history, and the history of American slavery.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 and 11 Social Studies)

By Kathryn Walbert.

An integrated poetry unit

My students have always disliked poetry. The different ways in which this lesson approaches poetry and the connection it makes to their "March Madness" studies seems to make poetry more enjoyable, fun, and relevant for my students. In order to integrate with the sixth grade math and social studies teachers, I teach this unit during the ACC tournament to coincide with the "March Madness" unit that is covered in the math classes.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)

By Nancy Guthrie.

Real-world approaches to reading

Techniques for providing children with the literacy-rich environment that is crucial to both reading and writing success.

By Alta Allen.

"For What Is a Mother Responsible?" -- Idealized motherhood vs. the realities of motherhood in antebellum North Carolina

In this lesson for grade 8, students analyze a newspaper article about motherhood from a North Carolina newspaper in 1845 and compare it to descriptions of motherhood from other contemporary sources. Students will also compare these antebellum descriptions to the modern debates over mothers' roles in American society.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Kathryn Walbert.

Resources on the web

WriteDesign Online Graphic Organizers

These graphic organizers help students to organize their thought processes, show different aspects of an issue or problem, and use short words or phrases which can be helpful for all types of learners. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Melissa McKinstry and Douglas Kipperman

Shape poems: Writing extraordinary poems about ordinary objects

Students write shape poems using their content knowledge and sensory awareness of a familiar object in this lesson. After modeling the poetry activity by having students explore the senses and images that the subject conjures, the teacher shows students... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink