Secondary
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Pittsburgh Hill District Learning Tool
Learning modules highlighting 1920-1957 and the intersections of journalism, jazz, activism, and playwright August Wilson.
Teaching Materials
These research-based resources and lesson plans are designed for a variety of audiences to contribute to Pennsylvania and national core curriculum in support of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book's mission to promote books and literacy to the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Lesson Plans
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Alphabet
Connect letters to sounds through playful ABC activities, alliteration, and vocabulary-building fun.
Parent/Caregiver
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The Balanced Plate
Discover the essentials of nutrition and learn about food groups by creating a balanced plate.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Building Blocks
Families explore how block play supports literacy, problem-solving, and meaningful connection.
Parent/Caregiver
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Building a Growth Mindset
Caregivers will learn about growth mindset and how to use growth-oriented language to support their children’s resilience and learning.
Secondary
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Community as Character
Students explore Fences and the “August Wilson’s Hill” Module to connect community history to personal identity.
Adult
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Comparing Comfort
Explore how two texts use tone and imagery to convey comfort and resilience, then apply these techniques to create an original haiku.
Adult
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Context Clues
Determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases by using sentence-level context clues and knowledge of root words.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Counting
Build early math skills with counting books and playful number-based activities.
Secondary
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Cultural Tour of Pennsylvania
Students design a regional tour of Pennsylvania in which they direct travelers to landmarks, features, and important cultural figures of the area.
Early Childhood
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Dinosaur Hokey Pokey
Enjoy a fun game of dinosaur hokey pokey using phrases from the story.
Adult
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Explicit vs. Implicit Meaning
Learners analyze explicit and implicit meaning in a poem and apply these skills to revise workplace communication.
Early Childhood
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Exploring Perspective through Observation
Explore how the same object can look different by observing, discussing, and drawing.
Early Childhood
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Exploring Shapes
Build a block structure, while identifying, describing, and comparing shapes based on how they look and support construction.
Adult
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Fetching the Central Idea
Adult learners identify the central idea or theme of a text with two essential questions.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Friendship
Friendship-themed books foster empathy, cooperation, and social-emotional growth.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Growth Mindset Takes Flight
Caregivers and children will use hands-on building activities to reinforce growth mindset strategies and positive modeling.
Early Childhood
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Humpty's Big Feelings
Help preschoolers to identify emotions, understand resilience, and connect personal experiences to Humpty Dumpty’s journey.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Imaginative Play
Get the whole family involved in a game of hide and seek using phrases from the book, Catch Me If You Can!
Parent/Caregiver
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"Just Right" Text
Explore Geisel Award books to learn the "Five-Finger Rule" for selecting appropriately challenging reads.
Parent/Caregiver
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Listen First
Learn to support emotional growth through stories, listening, and breathing strategies.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Looking for Clues
Engage in shared reading as parents/caregivers demonstrate the "five-finger rule" and context clues.
Adult
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Mid-Autumn Festival
Ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions to identify key details in nonfiction texts.
Secondary
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Missing Voices: Biography
Explore the Cultural Heritage Map, research a figure, and compose a biographical essay.
Early Childhood
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Moon Phases
Science exploration of moon phases through observation, art, and movement.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Notice, Think, and Wonder
Caregivers will read They All Saw a Cat with their children, practicing explicit and implicit questions to build observation skills, reasoning, and perspective-taking.
Parent/Caregiver
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PEER Strategy
Use the PEER strategy to ask open-ended questions that boost children's comprehension.
Secondary
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Perspectives in Primary Sources
Examine several photographs from ca. 1938 to initiate discussion of perspective, meaning making, and understanding.
Parent/Caregiver
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The Power of Predictability
Introduce parents/caregivers to the concept of predictable texts and use the beloved story Move Over, Rover!
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Prehistoric
From towering T. rexes to ancient mammoths, young readers explore prehistoric worlds while building vocabulary, storytelling, and early science connections.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Questions to Build Comprehension
Families explore who, what, where, when, why, and how questions to build children's comprehension.
Parent/Caregiver
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Question Techniques
Learn how asking explicit and implicit questions during reading helps children think deeply and understand different perspectives.
Parent/Caregiver
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Repetitive Reading
Learn the importance of repetition and recall for early readers.
Adult
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Research and Notetaking
Develop notetaking skills by researching dinosaurs in this engaging lesson for adults.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Retelling with Puppets
Encourage collaborative storytelling and foster creativity by using puppets to retell Move Over, Rover!
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Rhythm Shakers
Experience the rhythm of A Tree for Me through a DIY shaker creation activity.
Parent/Caregiver
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Rooted in Rhyme and Rhythm
Discover the power of rhyme and rhythm in early reading through identifying patterns in A Tree for Me.
Early Childhood
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Sequencing
Encourage preschool-aged children to practice sequencing steps using the words first, next, and last.
Adult
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Shop Smarter
Empower participants to sort, organize, and create their own efficient grocery lists with ease.
Adult
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SOLVE Framework
Use After the Fall to explore problem-solving strategies and resilience in personal, professional, and community contexts.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Sorting Food
Parents/caregivers use their foundation in nutrition and a balanced plate to help their children sort food into categories
Early Childhood
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Story Strip Sequence
Retell the sequence of a story and connect illustrations with the corresponding text.
Secondary
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Timeline Unit
Exploring connections between Pennsylvania writers, historical events, and place through collaborative timeline work.
Early Childhood
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A Tree for Me, A Tree for You
Learners will be able to use different media to create a tree on construction paper.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Vehicles
From fire trucks to race cars, young readers engage in hands-on learning and literacy-rich pretend play with their favorite vehicles.
Adult
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Venn Diagrams
Build compare and contrast skills by creating a graphic organizer to illustrate the similarities and difference in two texts about trees.
Early Childhood
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Vocabulary Game
Learn and practice new words from King & Kayla’s mystery adventure.
Interactive Literacy Activity
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Wordless
Wordless books inspire storytelling, vocabulary growth, and multilingual family engagement.