Empower your students with lessons about teens who are changing the world while helping them practice key comprehension skills with CommonLit’s Target Lessons.
At CommonLit, we are always thinking about new ways to support students and teachers, which is why we are excited to present our Target Lessons about Teens We Can Learn From!
Target Lessons are easy-to-use, highly engaging lessons that teach students key comprehension skills. They include scaffolded Pre-Reading, During Reading, and Post-Reading activities to build students’ engagement and knowledge as they move through the lesson. Check out our primer on Target Lessons here:
Target Lessons are based on high-interest topics that are sure to get your students excited. In this blog post, we’ll look at Target Lessons about Teens We Can Learn From. As students learn about these teens’ accomplishments, they will practice key comprehension skills, including identifying and analyzing Main Idea, Connecting Ideas, and Point of View.
Main Idea
Soccer Speaks Many Languages (5th Grade)
In this Target Lesson, students will read about the life of Innocent Ndayizeye, who spent his early years in a refugee camp before moving to the U.S. As students read, they will identify the main ideas to build their understanding of the impact soccer had on Innocent's life.
A Kenyan Teen’s Discovery: Let There Be Lights to Save Lions (6th Grade)
In this lesson, students will read about endangered lions in Nairobi National Park and the invention Richard Turere created to save them. As they read, students will learn about the risks endangered species face and Turere’s impact.
At the Head of Her Class, and Homeless (7th grade)
In this inspiring lesson, students will learn about Rashema Melson, a high school senior who excelled in school despite experiencing homelessness. As students read, they will uncover the hardships Rashema has gone through and what motivated her.
Girls of the Crescent: Meet the Two Teenagers Fighting for Better Representation in Books (5th Grade)
This lesson will teach about the amazing work two teenagers have done to highlight the importance of Muslim representation in books. Students will identify the main idea of each section to explore the impact Mena and Zena had in their community.
Connecting Ideas
Marley Dias: The 13-Year-Old Author Who Made a Difference (6th Grade)
When Marley Dias was eleven, she noticed a big problem in school – there were no books with Black main characters. In this Target Lesson, students will read about Dias’ work finding books with characters that look like her and the positive impact she has made.
Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions to the World’s Problems (7th Grade)
In this Target Lesson, students will learn about Alexis Lewis, a teen inventor who advocates for introducing inventing to young people. Students will explore the impact inventions can make on the lives of others and why Alexis advocates for more people to invent.
These Teens Have Some Ideas from Stopping Climate Change (7th Grade)
Inspire students to come up with solutions to the climate crisis by reading about teens who are helping save our Earth. In this lesson, students will look at a group of teens' ideas for how to fight climate change. Students will explore the connections between the effects of climate change and the solutions to them.
Teen Girls Organized Nashville’s Largest Protest. They Joined History of Black Women Activists (8th Grade)
In this Target Lesson, students will learn about six teens who organized the largest Black Lives Matter protest in Tennessee. They will dig into how the teens organized the protest and the impact they made.
Point of View
Teens Using Social Media for Good (8th Grade)
In this Target Lesson, students will read inspiring stories of teens using social media to empower, motivate, and better others. As they read, they will analyze the author’s point of view on social media use.
Next Steps
Looking for more engaging lessons to build knowledge and skills? Explore our library of Target Lessons here, featuring high-interest topics like Trailblazers, Human Behavior, and more!
