A Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy for Great Expectations scaffolds and guides readers as they begin Dicken's novel. Step-by-step directions are provided, as are chapter one pair-share questions, a prediction worksheet,...

"What are Henry's options?" "What do you think Henry will do?" To better understand the central conflict for the main character in Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members engage in a compare-and-contrast activity that...

Teach your readers how to engage with a text by using the request strategy. As kids read Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince, they choose a passage of text and formulate questions to stump their partners or their...

Questioning a text is a very effective way for kids to develop their reading comprehension skills. Designed to engage all class members, a reading activity prompts pairs to develop and share their own questions about the ending of Neil...

Readers of Tennessee Williams' award winning memory play, The Grass Menagerie, will be neither disappointed nor discouraged by this prereading strategy that asks learners to consider what they know about Williams and his play, what they...

Look deeper into the text with a reading strategy based on asking critical thinking questions. While reading Reading the Fountain by Kate Klise, learners think of questions that help them describe, compare, associate, analyze,...

The success of any lesson based on a complex text relies heavily on what instructors do before beginning the reading. Before reading Othello, scholars engage in a series of pre-reading activities, including completing an anticipation...

The biggest balloon wins! Pupils play a balloon race game, answering questions about careers in business and marketing while blowing air into balloons. Additionally, scholars research two similar companies to study their marketing...

Designed as a postreading activity for Act II of Cyrano de Bergerac, this resource uses the QAR strategy to get readers thinking deeper about the texts they're reading. Explicit directions for the teacher are included, so don't fret if...

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...

Do your class members’ questions lack depth? “Sigh no more . . .sigh no more.” Use a questioning strategy based on Bloom’s taxonomy to encourage readers to create questions that probe the themes of any text. The model discussion...

The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...

Beneficial for beginning readers, struggling readers, and those in need of review, a set of language arts activities is a great addition to any foundational reading unit. Focusing on phonological awareness, fluency, instructional...

Help class members become savvy consumers with a series of activities that has them analyzing marketing strategies, comparing the value of brand name versus off-brand clothing, and considering the advantages and...

Readers of Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry are introduced to the Question Answer Response Strategy (QAR) as a way to increase their engagement in and comprehension of the novel.

Respond rather than react—that's the big idea behind a lesson on conflict resolution strategies. A richly detailed plan teaches high schoolers strategies for resolving conflicts. Pupils play charades, engage in verbal and non-verbal...

Challenge readers to read closer in an activity based on the Socratic questioning strategy. As kids read Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince, they use sentence starters to ask deeper questions about the text, and...

Readers of Mississippi Trial, 1955 engage in a desktop teaching activity and teach other class members the meaning of a word from Christopher Crowe's novel using an embellished illustration of their word.

Build a culture of attendance with the help of this 7-page toolkit loaded with suggestions for specific things you and parents can do to improve attendance, and in turn, raise the achievement of learners. Included are suggestions for...

But for a fluke, 1862 could have gone differently during the Civil War. When Union troops found Robert E. Lee's battle plans for critical engagements in Maryland wrapped around cigars and tossed aside, history changed forever. Class...

The final lesson in the First Days of School series focuses on how to build a classroom community where all class members can feel safe, heard, and valued. The resource includes step-by-step directions for engaging pupils in developing...

Ah, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! Before your class reads this classic novel, encourage them to activate prior knowledge and build interest in the book with the KWHL strategy. Directions for walking your class through this strategy are...

J.K. Rowling's world of wizards and magic focuses on some topics that relate to our own society, especially in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Have kids complete a KWHL chart (what they know, what they want to know, how...

Offer young scholars strategies for dealing with bullies with help from BrainPop Jr.'s favorite characters, Annie and Moby. Youngsters watch a video, take part in a grand conversation, and play a game designed to reinforce...