As a former teacher, I recall the struggles of lesson-planning for higher-order reading standards like comparing and evaluating texts. Meeting these standards takes a lot of prep: carefully selecting texts that juxtapose well, prepping questions that prompt readers to contrast and analyze, and more. Shoelace takes that work off your plate with our collection of 80+ Perspectives Assignments.
Who is this for?
Perspectives assignments are for elementary and middle school students learning to “wrestle with what they read.” The assignments are designed to scaffold students’ development of the skills associated with literary analysis:
• distinguishing between fact versus opinion
• identifying authors’ purposes, points of view, and/or biases
• identifying the strengths and holes in authors’ arguments
Why the UN SDGs?
The UN SDGs cover topics that are ideal to build problem-solving skills. The passages center far-reaching, ill-structured problems. Students may read about how others have addressed issues or about unsolved problems for the purposes of brainstorming solutions. In both situations, they’ll build upon their reading comprehension skills to also develop critical thinking and innovation skills.
The UN SDG framework brings current events to classrooms. The UN SDGs are topics around which world leaders dialogue. Educators of knowledge-building curricula usePerspectives assignments to provide grade-appropriate exposure to world issues. The assignments also provide ample opportunity for educators to segue into discussions of ongoing events about the same topics.
How do I access the assignments?
Educators will find the assignments within the Assignments Library in their Education Dashboard. Once assigned, the content will appear to students within Shoelace games, including Dreamscape.