Encourage kids to think deeply about what they are reading with five thought-provoking questions about one passage. After choosing a passage that is intriguing or confusing to them, learners write a summary, explain what they like or...

Wind turbines, daylight savings time, noise pollution, social problems. To develop close reading skills, high schoolers examine pairs of articles presenting opposing viewpoints of the same topics and respond to questions that...

As part of a close reading activity, individuals respond to three questions and craft two short essays based on a passage about Islam, one of the world most widespread religion.

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth novel in the series by J.K. Rowling, is the focus of a directed reading worksheet that begins by asking readers to examine the book cover and chapter titles and to predict what the story...

A current and engaging informational text with some superb scaffolding activities, this six paragraph article discusses the release of the iPad from Apple, eBooks, and the history of reading and writing materials. After reading the...

What happens next? Learn to make predictions with five short passages. As kids finish reading each passage, they jot down what they think will happen next, as well as the evidence from the text that supports their prediction.

What do a zoo and a farm have in common? Second graders read about each place, and compare and contrast the details using two multiple choice questions.

Three annotated passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on "Nature" provide young philosophers a chance to improve their reading comprehension skills as they gain insight into Emerson's ideas.

Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...

In this cloze activity instructional activity, students use their reading comprehension skills to fill in 22 blanks in a 1-page reading selection regarding the solar system. A word bank is provided.

How can you tell what is going to happen next in a story? Learn to make predictions with five sections of stories. Kids read the beginning, and then write what they believe will happen next. Additionally, they provide evidence for their...

In this greenhouse effect cloze procedure worksheet, students review a brief selection that is missing 16 words and then attempt to fill in each blank with a word they think the author might have used. A word bank is provided.

In this ESL cloze worksheet, students read 8 sentences that contain missing words. For each space, students choose any one word that would make sense in the sentence.

Stimulate discussion with this brief article and series of questions related to reading habits. This resource, from the New York Times' The Learning Network, asks learners to comment on their own reading habits. You could have your class...

The Rainbow Fish, Marcus Pfister's award-winning story about the joys of sharing, is the inspiration for this resource loaded with fun. Suggestions for language and language arts, math, science, and social studies activities are...

This is an absolute must-have resource for early elementary teachers! Here you'll find a collection of activities and worksheets for each day of the month of June, with topics ranging from ordering numbers on a calendar or identifying...

Deep down, everyone is the same. Discuss the similarities and differences between people across cultures with a series of reading activities based on the beautiful story and illustrations in Whoever You Are by Mem Fox.

Five brief readings with questions support practice with various literacy skills. In some cases, learners identify whether underlined words are spelled correctly. Other times, they answer reading comprehension questions about the text or...

Gardening is fun, no matter what you're growing. A reading comprehension activity encourages learners to compare and contrast two gardens that grow different items.

What could be more fun than two birthday parties in one day? Compare and contrast two parties with a short reading passage and a graphic organizer that focuses on character, setting, and events from the story.

Teach your class a thing or two about making educated mathematical guesses. Learners read a passage that explains estimation and approximate and exact answers. They then respond to five questions about and related to the text.

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...

Vietnam War did indeed turn into a quagmire. Students of history will gain much from a close reading of this 1965 prophetic letter from the Secretary of Defense, Clark Clifford to President Lyndon B. Johnson, advising the president...