The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...

The tone is easy to hear but more challenging to detect in written texts. Users of this interactive learn how to closely observe the diction and words writers use to convey their feelings about their subject. They examine passages that...

Designed for teachers, this 12-page packet uses passages from Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" to model how to design activities that encourage close reading of complex text.

The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...

Instruct your class on biomimetics while practicing reading comprehension with this worksheet. Learners read a passage that describes the efforts of scientists, starting with Leonardo da Vinci, to emulate nature to solve issues in...

Poetic language is abundant in Natalie Babbitt's beautiful novel, Tuck Everlasting. Learners note the examples of similes, metaphors, and personification they find as they read, and illustrate how the language creates a sensory...

Is the nature of humans inherently good or evil? That is the question scholars consider in the fourth lesson of the Lord of the Flies unit. In a Four Corners activity, they examine statements about human nature and stand by the poster...

Give your class a taste of the Common Core with a practice test that includes both literary and informational reading passages. Pupils respond to related multiple choice questions and longer written response questions. See the...

What is hibernation? Which animals hibernate and which don't? A 40-page packet on hibernation includes graphic organizers, reading passages and pictures about animals that hibernate, task cards, templates for a hibernation booklet,...

Asking questions about a text is an effective way to improve reading comprehension. Apply the Question Answer Response strategy to your unit on William Shakespeare's The Tempest. As kids read each passage, they decide if the answer...

Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....

Sensory details can enhance the reading experience, especially during a guided imagery reading. Young readers close their eyes and listen to a passage from Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons before responding to discussion questions and...

It's hard to beat the beauty of John Steinbeck's prose, so borrow a little of it to form your own found poetry. After kids finish Chapter One of The Pearl, they select the most evocative and vivid words to create found poems.

Similes and metaphors make writing more beautiful and detailed, but can be a little harder to decipher during a first reading. Use a passage from The Man Who Loved Words to show young readers how to think through passages that...

The Battle of Fort Sumter was both the first and the least deadly battle of the American Civil War, with no soldiers lost during the lengthy bombardment. Learn more about the first shots of the Civil War with a short reading passage and...

To demonstrate their ability to comprehend complex text, individuals analyze the details, syntax, and diction John Steinbeck uses in a passage from The Grapes of Wrath to reveal the develop and evolution of Mae's character.

Conduct a lesson that leads into a writing assessment. After reading an excerpt from From Seed to Pumpkin, first graders demonstrate their interpretation of sections of the passage by sketching the details from each part.

Use this poetry analysis worksheet to help your learners understand a poem of their or your choosing. This resource asks class members to summarize the poem and analyze it by looking at voice, word choice, imagery, and theme. The...

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.

Ever wondered what your dog is thinking? Scholars take a close look at two poems written through the eyes of animals and then create essays analyzing each author's technique. Pupils also read a passage to write about the literary...

Young historians watch a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and answer questions that test their knowledge of the event. After discussing the fact sheet, they reread the speech, select a phrase or...

Asking questions about what you're reading is an effective way to connect with the text. After kids read passages from Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter, they identify questions about the passages as Right There, Think and...

As part of their study of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie, class groups examine passages from the story and respond to a series of QAR questions.

What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...