Lesson Plan List for: Reading and Viewing

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Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Analogies - The Baka of Cameroon, West Africa Students complete analogies and connect them to information about the Baka of Cameroon, West Africa.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Analyzing and Comparing Perspectives on Issues - Gorillas Students compare and contrast their perspectives on raising gorillas in captivity with their peers and with scientists. They summarize their perspectives and the perspectives of others.	5-12	Lesson Plan
Analyzing an Issue From Three Perspectives - Smoking in Public Places Students note various perspectives on the debate about smoking in public places in NYC and create an interview to research the perspectives of peers and community members. They write a report to present their findings and opinion on the issue.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Analyzing Information - Can Pigs be Pets? Students identify a main idea as well as analyze, evaluate and interpret new information, personal experiences and prior knowledge to form an opinion which they then write about.	3-5	Lesson Plan
The Buzz about Fact and Opinion Students differentiate between fact and opinion on a handout with statements about bees.	3-5	Lesson Plan
Cause and Effect Relationships - Silence of the Bees Students write an essay that synthesizes the cause and effect relationship the disappearance of bees will cause.	6-8	Lesson Plan
A Character's Perspective - Colonial House Students watch a video segment that shows the reactions of colonists and native people when they encounter one another for the first time during a colony settlement reenactment. Students then select a character and write a letter from that character’s point of view that describes the meeting.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Character Development - Nanavi, A Girl from Benin, West Africa Students use a chart to track character development and write a statement to express the ways in which a particular character from West Africa has changed.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Character Development: Cancer - A New Treatment Students will answer questions about what motivated chemical engineer Mark Davis to search for a better treatment for his wife's cancer. They then complete a journal entry in which they compare his motivations and goals to those they’ve established for themselves.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Character Development - Flora Students create and present a timeline of important events and changes in a character’s development over time.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Character Motivation - Duke Students complete a chart describing Duke Ellington’s motivations for playing the piano and describe how these motivations changed his attitude toward playing the piano.	1-6	Lesson Plan
Compare and Contrast - City Pigeons and City Parrots Students take notes on similarities and differences between two types of city birds using a T-chart and then construct a Venn diagram to compare and contrast them.	4-8	Lesson Plan
Compare and Contrast Information from Multiple Sources - Wolong's Pandas Students compare and contrast information from three sources to determine the reasons that contributed to panda population decline. They draw conclusions from these sources by writing their own paragraphs.	5-7	Lesson Plan
Comparing and Contrasting - Explorers of Yesterday and Today Students write essays that compare and contrast two explorers of Yellowstone National Park, Tom Murphy, a modern day explorer and photographer and John Colter, an explorer who traveled across the same area almost 200 years ago.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Comparing and Contrasting - Grassland, Desert, and Forest Elephants Students use a T-chart to take notes on the similarities and differences among elephants. With partners, they organize their notes and construct a Venn diagram with illustrations.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Comparing Education Around the World Students compare and contrast the circumstances surrounding two boys’ experiences at schools in different countries.	3-5	Lesson Plan
Creating a Hypothesis - The Intelligent Robot Students watch a video segment that discusses developing intelligent robots, and then write paragraphs that provide detailed hypotheses of results that could come from this endeavor.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Describing Characters - Cloud Grows Students learn about characterization by studying and taking notes on the growth of a white stallion.	5-12	Lesson Plan
Determining Main Idea and Supporting Details - Wild in the City Students use a graphic organizer to record important details and determine the main idea of a video segment. They use the organizer to write an informational paragraph about parakeets in the city.	4-7	Lesson Plan
Determining Solutions to a Problem - Fire Cloud Students identify a problem and what measures are taken to solve it as well as identify solutions to the problem.	4-12	Lesson Plan
Developing Supporting Ideas - A Garden Grows in Brooklyn Students design and draw a garden and give reasons to support why their garden is important to the neighborhood.	3-6	Lesson Plan
Drawing Conclusions - Polka Town, U.S.A. Students draw conclusions from basic premises they identify while watching a video. They test each other’s conclusions based on the explicit and implicit information that is available to the reader.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Drawing Conclusions - Is This a Map of the Underground Railroad? After watching a video segment, students complete a graphic organizer to establish evidence regarding the authenticity of a map and whether it is or is not a map of the Underground Railroad.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Drawing Conclusions - Miss Navajo Students watch a video documenting the Navajo language portion of the Miss Navajo Nation beauty contest, determine the main responsibilities of the winner of Miss Navajo Nation and complete graphic organizers to write paragraphs that highlight these details and explain their inferences.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Drawing Conclusions and Comparing/Contrasting - The Everglades Students take notes to determine the most important information given in a video segment and written text. They compare the information and draw written conclusions about the importance of studying the pig frog and the Everglades.	4-8	Lesson Plan
Evaluating the Validity of Information - Did the Chinese Discover America in 1421? Students evaluate evidence regarding the Chinese building a massive fleet for naval exploration then determine whether the evidence presented is valid.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Explicit and Implicit Language – Interpreting the Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment Students watch two video segments about the Fourteenth Amendment and then write an essay addressing where the amendment is explicit or implicit in meaning.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Fact or Opinion - Manatees Students differentiate between facts and opinions about manatees.	5-7	Lesson Plan
Facts or Opinions - Wonderful Worms Students differentiate between facts and opinions using a two-column chart.	3-6	Lesson Plan
Form an Opinion - Cats Students develop an informed opinion about whether cats or dogs make better pets.	4-12	Lesson Plan
How Text and Art Create a Response - The Chalk Sculpture Students answer questions and write an essay about the public response to Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla’s chalk sculpture.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Identify Cultural Influences - Hiawatha Students identify aspects of Native American life represented in the poem Hiawatha.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Identifying Characteristics - Anansi, the Spider Students identify the specific traits of Anansi, a popular character in African folklore, by completing a character web.	2-5	Lesson Plan
Identifying Cultural and Ethnic Values - Dance Theatre of Harlem Students compose an historical landmark dedication to the Dance Theatre of Harlem which includes some of the cultural and ethnic values of the school.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Identifying Different Perspectives - Camilo's Drums Students complete a graphic organizer that illustrates the multiple perspectives presented in the video segments.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Identifying Important and Unimportant Details - An Ornithologist's Job Students distinguish between important and unimportant details and, acting as news reporters, write an article about the job of an ornithologist.	4-8	Lesson Plan
Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details - The Stonecutter's Wish Students identify which details support the main idea or theme of a story that they watch.	2-4	Lesson Plan
Identifying Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives - Dogs That Changed the World Students identify social, cultural, and historical perspectives regarding the importance of dogs in the past and present. They write and illustrate list poems that incorporate each perspective.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Identifying Supporting Evidence from a Text - What is a Hero? Using evidence found in a story, students identify what characteristics make a hero.	1-4	Lesson Plan
Identifying the Social and Cultural Context of a Period - The New Negro and the Harlem Renaissance Students write an essay summarizing the social and cultural changes in African American life and attitudes during the Harlem Renaissance.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Identifying the Social and Cultural Contexts of a Time Period - The Journey of the Jewish Americans Students watch a video segment that presents the immigration of Jews to America during the 19th century. They answer questions related to the events of the video and compare these events to those they observe in society today.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Incorporating Flashbacks in Narrative Text - The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis Students watch a video segment that shows an interview with one of the survivors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis who recalls the sinking of the ship and his survival. Students then create an original narrative that utilizes flashback to tell the survivor’s story.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Interpreting Characters, Setting, Plot, and Theme - The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Disaster Students will watch a video segment chronicling the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Using a story elements graphic organizer, students will determine the various elements of the story and arrange them in the correct order on the organizer.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Interpreting Data, Facts and Ideas from Informational Texts - A Different Kind of Fuel Students watch a video about the world’s need to find a replacement for fossil fuels and scientists' attempts to produce energy. Students then answer questions by using their understanding of the text and details from the segment to support their answers.	6-12	Lesson Plan
Main Idea and Details - Cloud Students practice distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant ideas by identifying relevant details in a story and using them to draft a main idea statement. They double check the details as relevant or irrelevant in a two-column chart.	5-12	Lesson Plan
Main Ideas and Supporting Details on Two Topics - Neeraj and Moths Students construct and defend a main-idea statement using relevant supporting details they identify in two separate video segments.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Making and Monitoring Predictions - Pet Advice and Jamaica Bay Students respond to prompts that help them make and monitor predictions about two video segments. They reflect on whether predicting influenced their comprehension of the texts.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Making Predictions - The Injured Otter Students watch a video segment that shows a young injured otter’s attempts to locate his missing family. Then they predict what happens next and then write a narrative account of these events from three possible points of view: the injured otter, the filmmaker or an animal behaviorist.	6-10	Lesson Plan
Paraphrasing - Timbuktu in Your Own Words Students paraphrase passages from a video with assistance.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Persuasive Presentation - Pigeons and Gardens Students assess a video segment using a rubric they construct that identifies the components of effective persuasive presentations.	5-7	Lesson Plan
Point of View - Sharing a Perspective on Music Students share their opinions on music and write two critiques of a band playing the “St. Louis Blues,” one from their own point of view and one from that of a music critic. They reflect upon how their point of view influenced their opinion.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Point of View - Rhinoceros Students write a journal entry in which they imagine themselves as the rhinoceros and describe its journey to a new preserve.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Prior Knowledge - What Do You Know About Dogs? Students reflect, in notes, classroom discussion and writing, on how they use prior knowledge about dogs to help them comprehend new information.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Recognizing that One Text Can Generate Multiple Interpretations - The Double V Students describe in an essay the multiple meanings of the Double V campaign mounted by the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper during World War II.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Recurring Themes - The Lives of Nanavi and Neeraj Students practice identifying themes using questions from varying perspectives (their own, the author’s and the main character’s).	4-7	Lesson Plan
Techniques of Persuasive Presentations - Ebony, the Elephant Calf Students identify the techniques used to persuade listeners to feel certain ways about what they see.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Understanding Story Elements - Who, What, Where Students identify story elements (who, what, and where), record significant details and create a rap.	3-5	Lesson Plan
Use of Symbolism to Convey the Author's Message - The Negro Speaks of Rivers Students identify and interpret literary devices, symbolism and first-person narration as well as answer critical thinking questions and write a paragraph about a Langston Hughes poem.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Using Descriptive Language - Inventing Your Own Bug! Students use descriptive language to describe a bug they have invented.	3-5	Lesson Plan
Using Literary Devices Students learn about literary devices by identifying examples of personification and hyperbole.	4-6	Lesson Plan
Using Prior Knowledge from Personal Experiences - Understanding Duke Ellington Students use prior knowledge to compare their own experiences to those of Duke Ellington.	1-6	Lesson Plan
Using Story Elements to Write a Rap Students use story elements (who, what, and where) to write and then perform their own raps.	1-4	Lesson Plan
Using Supporting Evidence to Interpret Meaning - A Native American Folktale Students give meaning to oral and written texts using supporting evidence from a Native American folktale.	1-4	Lesson Plan
What's the Author's Purpose? Animal Shelter Using a 2-column chart, students scaffold their thinking and draw conclusions about the author’s purpose.	4-8	Lesson Plan
What Do You Infer? Animal Shelter Students identify which statements made in a video segment are inferences.	4-6	Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan List for: Reading and Viewing