Making Predictions Teacher Resources

Your learners are just starting to read books on their own, so this resource is perfect! Cut out the bookmark-size slips of paper for learners to utilize while reading Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book. Each of the five bookmark pages...

Encourage close reading for young learners with a lesson based on Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting. The first part of the resource guides readers through a Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA), prompting them to make...

To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This lesson focuses on what to do...

It's helpful to encourage kids to make predictions when beginning a reading unit. Before reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, have kids read Susan Barlow Broggi's Am I Grown Up When I'm Not Afraid of Spiders in My Shoes? to make...

Foster critical thinking skills by using the DR-TA Strategy with Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.” Class members read portions of the essay, stop and discuss what is happening, make predictions based on evidence from the text, and...

Walk your pupils through the beginning of My Antonia by Willa Cather with a read-aloud-style activity. The goal is to make predictions and back them up with textual evidence.

To generate interest in reading Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel Unwind, class members engage in a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) that asks them to examine the front and back covers, the blurbs, and "The...

Your readers will “get to wanting” and will want to know things about Nightjohn with a DRTA activity based on Gary Paulsen’s novel. Introduce the book by asking class members to examine the cover and to make predictions about the subject...

Here’s a reading strategy that can be used with any text. Class members examine portions of a novel, and make predictions about the theme or subject matter of the book. Although designed for Christopher Paul Curtis’s Newbery Medal...

How can you tell what is going to happen next in a story? Learn to make predictions with five sections of stories. Kids read the beginning, and then write what they believe will happen next. Additionally, they provide evidence for their...

What happens next? Learn to make predictions with five short passages. As kids finish reading each passage, they jot down what they think will happen next, as well as the evidence from the text that supports their prediction.

An in-class reading of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O introduces class members to the journey motif that forms the basis of The Hobbit.

How do you make a prediction? Practice active reading comprehension strategies, like making predictions, with your readers. Learners make predictions during the independent reading of Dogs Don't Tell Jokes by Louis Sacher. They observe...

Do you have a lot of different reading levels in your class? Pair kids up by level and have them choose a book to read independently. They will make predictions, ask questions, make connections, etc. Consider creating a general reading...

Before diving into the engaging tale of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, conduct this directed reading and thinking activity. Assess your pupils' knowledge of Greek gods and mythology through a knowledge web,...

The second lesson in a two-part series that prepares high schoolers for a study of Othello focuses on additional pre-reading strategies. Pupils reflect on what they have learned and consider what they would like to learn about the play....

Direct readers' thinking with a DRTA activity that asks them to make predictions about The Book Thief based on an examination of the cover of Markus Zusak's novel and a reading of the prologue.

Enhance a class read-aloud of the children's story Hi! Fly Guy with this reading comprehension lesson. Children first listen as the teacher reads the story, stopping along the way to discuss any unfamiliar vocabulary. The book...

Can you find the themes from Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea in other books? What about picture books? Compare the novel to a picture book with a instructional activity about making predictions and finding textual evidence.

Encourage good reading habits with an activity that asks class members to examine the title and cover of Out of the Dust, and then make predictions about the setting of and events in the tale.  

What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...

Explore emotions associated with moving to a new home with young learners. First they listen to the books Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki and Going Home by Eve Bunting. Then they are invited to share their experiences as well as...

A good story is a great way to support skills that are necessary for encouraging strong reading skills. Here is a class I do, You do, We do style lesson that stars the tale, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain. Included are two fun pre-reading...

Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.