Thirty-six pages familiarize scholars with the story and vocabulary of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After reading and listening to an abbreviated version of the holiday tale learners show what they know about the sequence of...

Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...

Eliminate the hard work of creating an entire literature unit with this reading guide for the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. From background information about the author and her motivation for writing the story to reading comprehension...

Teach young readers how to compare two texts and select passages that exemplify a specific theme with Lesson 6 from Unit 3. Begin by modeling how an expert reader selects examples from a text, performing a think aloud on how Article 2 of...

New ReviewNikki Wallschlaeger's Violin is the featured poem in a lesson that uses music and multiple readings to delve deep into its analysis. After a writing warm-up, learners watch and listen to a video that showcases Regina Carter Quintet's...

Read, revise, refine! Scholars refine their readers theater scripts by rephrasing some of the lines. Next, they write drafts of their narrator introductions and share their work with peers to give and receive feedback. 

Let's focus. Working in small groups, writers narrow text selections to produce a narrative script based on the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Next, pupils begin planning their readers theater scripts based on the text.

How are novels and scripts alike and different? As part of the mid-unit assessment, scholars complete a Venn diagram to compare two types of writing: a novel and a script. Next, they respond to short-answer questions, evaluating passages...

Calling all thespians! Working in small groups, pupils practice reading and performing a readers theater script for the novel Esperanza Rising. Next, they read aloud passages from the novel and use an anchor chart to compare the script...

After reading the novel, Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, scholars review poetic devices such as metaphor and onomatopoeia. As a class, then small groups, pupils compare and contrast two poems from different authors, discuss how one...

Scholars use their knowledge of plot and sequencing of events to compose a narrative story using a comic strip. To begin, learners look at and listen to a comic strip then write a summary. The class brainstorms ideas for a comic strip...

Annabelle, a young character in Wolf Hollow, discovers one bully can ruin everything when Betty walkes into her classroom. Betty bullies others and targets a war veteran. Individuals read how one person changed Annabelle's life. They...

Is it true that people are guilty by association? Kit, in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, finds that might be true. When exposed for her friendship with a lady accused of witchcraft, she too is accused of being a witch. Scholars use the...

Does good fortune lie within the man in the moon? Minli, a young girl in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, sure hopes it does, so she sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon for answers. Along the way, Minli meets several magical...

What doesn't break you makes you stronger. Katy, in What Katy Did, learns this lesson the hard way. After a terrible accident and a long recovery, Katy becomes what she always wanted to be—good and kind. Scholars learn about Katy's...

A legacy lives on. Even though Samuel Will Westing, a character in the The Westing Game, has passed away, his love for games lives on through the unusual selection in his will. Scholars read of the mystery, learn 10 new vocabulary words,...

Many English teachers dream of a classroom full of readers silently enjoying their books. A useful guide helps make that dream become a reality by providing book recommendations for a range of readers. Each suggestion includes the...

Ever known the feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place? Jody, a character in The Yearling, knows this feeling all too well. Nature forces Jody to choose between his beloved pet and his family's food supply. Readers...

Fathers and daughters often create a bond of great strength. Is Meg's bond strong enough to save her father? A Wrinkle In Time follows Meg and her friends as they find themselves in a supernatural world; Meg just hopes she finds her...

Some traditions should be broken—or at least Palmer thinks so. Palmer, a character in Wringer, dreads the tradition that goes along with turning 10 so much that he even dreads his birthday. Scholars learn how Palmer solves his troubles...

There's no place like home. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz wonders if she will ever make it back to Kansas after a tornado drops her in a magical land. Scholars learn about the friends she meets along the way, and they have fun of their own...

Beauty is more than skin deep. Auggie, the main character in Wonder, has a facial defect, but his inner beauty shines. Taking a cue from Auggie, scholars learn how a person is more than outer appearance. To finish the resource, they...