English Language Arts

Math Isn't Just for Boys by Rachel Crowell

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In this resource offered by CommonLit, Raachel Crowell discusses the disproportionately large number of boys who participate in math competitions and pursue math-related careers. Where are all the girls? That is the question. In this informational text, Crowell discusses researchers' attempt to answer this question. To support student's understanding of the text, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts and pair with other informational texts also offered by CommonLit.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

"The Gift of The Magi" by O. Henry

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This resource from CommonLit offers this lesson based on the work of American author O. Henry. To support student's understanding of the themes in the story, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

Dreams by Langston Hughes

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This resource provided by CommonLit support 5th graders in understanding Langston Hughes' poem "Dreams." To support student's understanding of the themes, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style. The lesson can be paired with Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem."

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell

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This resource from CommonLit support the short story by American author and Journalist Richard Connell. To support student's understanding of the themes in the story, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

"Home" by Gwendolyn Brooks

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This resource from CommonLit offers resources based on the work of Pulitzer Prize for Poetry honoree Gwendolyn Brooks from the short story "Home." To support student's understanding of the themes in the story, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as additional texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

Harlem by Langston Hughes Poem: PDF and Questions

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What happens to a dream deferred? That is the question posed by Langston Hughes in his poem "Harlem." This resource provided by CommonLit support 5th graders in addressing this question. To support student's understanding of the themes, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

"Hope" is the Thing with Feathers - (254) by Emily Dickinson

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This resource from CommonLit offers a lesson plan based on the poetry of American poet Emily Dickinson: "Hope" is the Thing with Feathers - (254 To support student's understanding of the themes in the poem, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as poems with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

Let's See What You're Made Of by BirdBrain Science

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This 5th grade informational, scientific text from CommonLit explains how cells, the smallest unit of a living organism, make up every living thing in the world. To support student's understanding of the informational text, teachers have access to the annotation tool and they can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as other informational texts for comparison.

Material Type: Lesson, Unit of Study

Author: CommonLit

Poetry Means the World to Me by Tony Medina

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This resource from CommonLit features American poet Tony Medina who celebrates Langston Hughes in his book Love to Langston. Medina uses poetry to tell the story of Langston Hughes' life and the importance of poetry as he imagines Hughes would have told it. To support student's understanding of the themes, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

The Danger of a Single Story

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In this lesson from CommonLit, the TED talk "The Danger of a Single Story" by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is used to show how experiences shape our view of the world. The lesson offers teachers a number of activities to include guiding questions, assessment questions, and discussion prompts. Teachers are able to access additional texts based on similar themes, literary devices, topics and/or writing style. The lesson also supports Culturally Relevant Teaching.

Material Type: Lesson, Lesson Plan, Primary Source

Author: CommonLit

Excerpt from A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

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This lesson from CommonLit features English writer Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) "A Room of One's Own." In this piece, Woolf discusses how the experiences of women pursuing artistic passions have differed from those of men. Through this lesson, students will explore word choice, tone, and figurative language and how these elements contribute to Woolf's point of view. A number of paired texts on similar themes, writing style, and point of view are provided to give students options to compare and contrast various texts.

Material Type: Assessment, Lesson

Author: CommonLit

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid

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CommonLit provides this resource which features Caribbean American writer Jamaica Kincaid well-known for her essays, stories, and novels. Her writing often includes personal portrayals of family relationships set in her native Antigua. In "Girl," a mother lectures her daughter on society's expectations for women. To support student's understanding of the themes in the story, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style. This text can be paired with "Math Isn't Just for Boys," by Rachel Crowell.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit

Move to the Beat by Colin Hickey

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In this informational text, provided by CommonLit, Colin Hickey describes Jordan Messan Benissan, a musician from West Africa, and how he gets school-aged children excited about music. To support student's understanding of the themes, teachers can access guiding questions, assessment questions and discussion prompts as well as texts with similar themes literary devices, topics and writing style. This text can be paired with another informational text "Poetry Means the World to Me," by Tony Medina.

Material Type: Lesson

Author: CommonLit