"A Bird Came Down the Walk" by Emily Dickinson is the focus text of a narrative poetry-based reading comprehension activity. After reading her poem, young readers respond to seven multiple choice and three short...

What better day to celebrate the US Constitution than on Constitution Day! After reading a short passage about the different understandings of habeas corpus and ex post facto, sixth graders respond to 10 multiple choice and short...

The US Constitution is the beginning of Americans' rights. Use a five-paragraph passage to give a brief history of the US Constitution. A great last minute addition to a lesson on Constitution Day.

Celebrate the season of spring with a poem. After reading a four-stanza poem about the season, sixth grade readers respond to 10 reading comprehension questions that have them thinking about the purpose, imagery, and other types of...

Determining a theme is one of the most difficult and most important standards in the Common Core. Use this plan to help your learners identify the message that an author is sending to the reader. The lesson is based around the book Dogs...

Help youngsters make connections between two different texts. They read two stories about the same character, Ira Sleeps Over and Ira Says Goodbye. They discuss how the character of Ira acts in each of the stories, how he...

Fourth graders read a short story and then answer questions based on what they read. Learners are asked to support their answers with evidence from the text.

What makes someone cry? Little learners read the story,  Why Do You Cry?: Not a Sob Story by Kate Klise to discover a bit about crying and a bit about cause and effect. They'll fill out a cause and effect chart while they...