Text Sets https://www.commonlit.org/text-sets
Short Stories
- 21 Scary Halloween Short Stories
- “The Dinner Party by Mona Gardner“
- “Charles” by Shirley Jackson
- Questions to go with “Charles”
- Collections of Short Stories
- East of the Web Extensive list of full text short stories.
- World English
- American Folklore Funny Short Stories
- D’Aulaires’ Greek Myths
- Full-Text Short Stories for Middle School Students-Click on the Short Stories tab at the top for additional lists.
- 40 Excellent Short Stories for Middle School–full text
- Monsters are Due on Maple Street-telescript
- “Tuesday of the Other June” PDF Tuesday of the Other June web version
- “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
- Text http://dce.oca.org/assets/files/resources/182.pdf
- Sesame Street Version http://youtu.be/o2VFgHGKzx4
- Audio Version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf0gM-fSqqc
- “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
- “The Scarlet Ibis”
- List of Strong Science Fiction Stories for Middle School
- “The Tell Tale Heart”
- “TheVeldt”
- Read by Stephen Colbert
- Ray Bradbury Theater https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOf-CN7xRc
- Read by Leonard Nimoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJAKjpb2eOs
Civil Rights Movement
- Civil Rights Movement Anticipation Guide
- close reading lesson I Have a Dream
- Civil Rights Movement Essay Prompt for Students
- JFK and John Lewis speech constructed and extended response questions
- Little Rock Nine Journal Entry Assignment
- Photo_analysis
- Rosa-Parks-close-reading-16y1du4
- Civil Rights Movement Vocabulary and Terms Test
- Civil Rights Movement Essay Prompt for Students
Paired Texts
- The Vietnam Memorial, fiction and non-fiction
Children’s Books
- Storyline Online videos of famous people reading children’s books
Malala– A great example of perseverance, strength of character, and determination.
- Article Malala Marches Toward the Nobel Peace Prize
- Interview on The Daily Show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpEczLdNM9o
Cool Articles
- The 5 Most Spectacular Landscapes on Earth
- Izzit.org Sign up for a daily email with a high interest article and questions.
- Football Star Shows that You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
- It’s Time for Schools to Ban Redskins Merchandise
- Grocery Story Banning Egg Sales to Minors Leading Up to Halloween
Commencement Speeches–Written texts can often be found online to go along with the videos.
- Steve Jobs–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
- JK Rowling–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHGqp8lz36c
- Oprah Winfrey–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMWFieBGR7c
- Top Commencement Speeches–Link lists top commencement speeches found on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJxmLSjoPYg&list=PL54F08A8E49DBC917
- The Valedictorian Speech that Will Change Your Life–http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCN6FjqDcHg
Essays
Poetry
- Common Core State Standards Text Examples–Lots of links for poems appropriate for different grade levels.
- Reading Poetry in the Middle Grades
- I Never Saw Another Butterfly-poems by children in concentration camps
Nonfiction Texts
- http://biography.jrank.org/
- Newsinlevels.com
- Forbes http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
- THE LEADING SOURCE FOR PROS & CONS OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
- The Washington Post Kids
- Science News for Students
- Reading Like a Historian
- Room for Debate-New York Times
- Academy of Achievement
- One Page Nonfiction Readings–multiple grades levels http://teacher.depaul.edu/Nonfiction_Readings_ALL_GRADES.htm
- Paired Readings-Fiction and Nonfiction http://teacher.depaul.edu/Skill-Focused-Readings/PairedNonfictionandFictionReadings.htm
- One Page Fiction Readings-multiple grade levels http://teacher.depaul.edu/Reading_Passages_FICTION.html
- Smithsonian Tween Tribune http://tweentribune.com/love
Rick Bragg–Articles from Southern Living that provide a great basis for student writing.
- Link to Interviews by Rick Bragg
- For the Love of the Game
- The Porch Article
- Southern Journal The Quill and the Mule
- What Stands in a Storm
A Teacher's Ponderings 