After reading a text, one way to find out how much your class comprehended is to ask your pupils to summarize. This worksheet helps class members prepare for writing a summary of a nonfiction text. They note down the topic, up to eight...

Designed for third graders but appropriate for older learners as well, this packet of materials underscores the necessity of teaching kids how to summarize, how to identify main ideas and supporting details, and how to ask questions...

Ready to integrate technology into your ELL instruction? Check out this reading lesson that has language learners using the Internet and apps, joining online book clubs, and creating blogs. A fine model of what can be done.

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

One skill essential to reading comprehension, is learning how to summarize a text. After reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln, readers demonstrate this ability by crafting a brief summary of Lincoln's life.

Guide your class through a reading of the popular children's book, Frindle, with this comprehensive literature unit. Starting with a brief introduction to the guided reading process, the class goes on to read the story two chapters...

Go green! Scholars survey their classmates to determine how green they are and then write a report to summarize their findings. Finally, pupils agree on five changes they can make in their lives to help the environment. 

Phrenology, the belief that parts of your brain control certain aspects of your personality, is described in Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. While we now know much more about the brain, learners use this...

What are the effects of one's life experiences? Class members view a slam poetry reading, a speech by President Obama, and read a short story by John Steinbeck about responding to tragedies. They summarize these events and then craft a...

As Theodore Roosevelt reminded Congress in 1908, corporation one is not corporation two. Readers of this excerpt from Roosevelt's Message to Congress have an opportunity to sharpen their comprehension skills as they study this primary...

How did Theodore Roosevelt stress the importance of conservation during his time as president of the United States? Take a closer look at the language Roosevelt used himself in a 1907 address to Congress, and have your young...

Middle schoolers demonstrate their ability to summarize by crafting a summary of a passage from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oh that Dickens should be so laconic.

Clichéd and repetitive introductions got you down? Try this lesson plan on for size! Start off by instructing your class members on techniques for writing introductions and what types of introductions they should avoid. Several general...

If you have a favorite author, you probably recognize their style. Conduct a close read of the text, marking it up as they go. Collaborative sharing time and a summary writing prompt follow the main activity.

If you're looking to set your class up for writing effective arguments, try out this idea. While originally created with freedom as a guiding idea, the activity could easily be adapted for other themes. As a class, create a chart of...

The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...

Provide this packet for your pupils as they pour over The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The study guide includes graphic organziers and comprehension as well as higher-level questions. Class members briefly summarize each chapter, compare...

A confidential message written by Thomas Jefferson provides readers with an opportunity to practice their reading comprehension skills. The resource, part of a series, includes questions that require a close reading of the message and a...

Breaking barriers is not an easy thing to do. Scholars read a section in Promises to Keep and summarize how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. They write the gist of the passage in their journals and then complete...

What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...

Only one character receives a name in William H. Armstrong's novel, Sounder—the dog! With the novel study, scholars explore the author's purpose in the unusual decision. They also write similes, answer comprehension and analysis...

As a mid-unit assessment, class members demonstrate their understanding of the concepts covered so far by crafting a formal, multi-paragraph essay in which they analyze how Rainer Maria Rilke's word choices develop the meaning and tone...

Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer...