Use the title of a book to determine the main idea. Readers will view the cover of The Wedding and predict what the story will be about. Graphic organizers help chart important information and build new vocabulary. Other stories are...

Are your scholars reading Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee? If so, use this textual analysis packet and activity guide to drive deeper thinking about the characters, create personal connections, and apply historical...

Signal words are one way that authors make the relationships between their ideas clear. Allow your learners the chance to investigate cause and effect in texts by identifying signal words. They locate and analyze cause-and-effect...

Examine the different strategies that could be used to determine what genre something is with upper graders. They will learn that knowing the genre type can sometimes help their comprehension. They will also complete a worksheet to help...

Students explore outlines. In this nonfiction comprehension and study skills lesson, students complete a traditional outline for the book Animal Homes by Ann O. Squire following guided instruction as the teacher models gathering...

Second graders identify nouns and pronouns from a story. In this nouns and pronouns lesson plan, 2nd graders review the definition of these words. Students then locate nouns and pronouns in the book they are reading. Students list these...

Learn how to apply visual and meaning cues to reading unknown words. Readers will explore what to do when they come to a word they do not know as they watch the teacher model the use of these cues and then participate in guided and...

Model for young learners how to determine the theme of a story. Read aloud Aesop’s The Fox and the Stork. Chart the plot and the main idea of the fable, showing class members how these elements support the theme. Fable titles for...

Have your class read the story "The Magic Lake," retold by Liana Romulo, from Filipino Children's Favorite Stories. Guide them to identify the problem, solution, and universal theme. They compare the theme of this story to the theme of...

Practice distinguishing biography from autobiography through point of view. Tell a brief story of your morning. Have a class member retell the story to you (using second person). And have another retell the story to the class (using...

Encourage more pun-derstanding of word play in your literary scholars as they explore Brian P. Cleary's book Rhyme and Punishment: Adventures in Wordplay. Although this isn't suggested, consider beginning this study by simply showing...

Help your class identify story elements. They will discuss character, setting, problem, and solution after reading a story. A graphic organizer will help them to identify various elements with guided practice and independent practice...

Explore the plot structure in biographies. First, read the biography The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball and identify specific events that possibly changed the life of Jackie Robinson. As you guide your listeners, they...

Discover with your class the humorous solution that follows tall tales. Elementary learners will discuss the tall tale Paul Bunyan and give ordinary solutions for the problems in the story. They will read Sally Ann Thunder Ann...

First graders evaluate sequence words. In this order of events lesson plan, 1st graders practice using sequence words to retell a story. They do guided practice with the teacher retelling a story they have read as a class and then try it...

Third graders understand how to find the theme of a fable. In this theme instructional activity, 3rd graders use graphic organizers to record the events of a fable. Students use that information to determine the instructional activity of...

Predict what will happen next in Katherine Paterson's book, Bridge to Terabithia. After discussing the steps used to make a prediction as a class, provide some guided practice and then allow individuals to make predictions based on their...

Sixth graders examine implicit and explicit opinions in a text about Rosa Parks. In this explicit and implicit opinions lesson plan, 6th graders participate in direct teaching, guided practice, and independent practice while reading an...

Teach your class how to identify the protagonist in a story. The plan suggests starting with a protagonist from a tale you have previously read in class. Then, you can read a new story and work together to identify the protagonist,...

Third graders discover how to read sentences in a paragraph and know the main idea. In this main idea lesson plan, 3rd graders read paragraphs, underline the first and last sentences and determine the main idea. Students do guided and...