"Transportation Workers" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the various jobs of transportation workers. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes determining the main...

"Natural Gas: An Energy Resource" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how natural gas is located, drilled for, and sent through pipelines throughout the country to people's homes. It is followed by questions which require...

Determining the theme is not easy; you have to use the clues the author leaves to figure it out yourself. The author implies information about the story through plot points, setting, and characters. You infer and draw conclusions based...

For this lesson, 5th graders analyze two nonfiction passages on Christopher Columbus to determine facts and author's bias and its influence on the readers.

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] You will learn how to summarize main ideas, supporting details, and relationships among ideas within expository text.

"Seasons on the Prairie/Questions" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the different seasons in the prairie. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining...

"The Ants and the Grasshopper" is a one page, fable about grasshoppers who played all summer while the ants worked gathering food for winter. When winter came, the grasshoppers were hungry. It is followed by questions which require...

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is a one page, fairy tale about elves who worked all night making shoes to help the poor shoemaker. The shoemaker and his wife made clothes for the elves to thank them. It is followed by constructed-response...

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is a one page, fairy tale about elves who worked all night making shoes to help the poor shoemaker. The shoemaker and his wife made clothes for the elves to thank them. It is followed by constructed-response...

"The Food Change" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a girl who went to the doctor because she was tired. The doctor told her to eat healthy foods and not candy or cookies. It is followed by constructed-response questions...

"The Lion and the Spider" is a one page fable about a lion who tried to get a spider to make a web for him big enough to catch his food. The spider said that was not possible, the lion tore down its web, and the spider bit him on the...

Learn how to determine a theme of a story on this site. Click on model at the bottom right and continue through lesson.

"What is a Fable?" is a one page, nonfiction passage about what a fable is including animals that talk and a lesson learned. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...

"Plants and Places" is a one page, nonfiction passage about how plants fit the types of environment they live in such as cactus like hot, dry weather and live in Arizona. The state flowers fit the climate of the states. It is followed by...

Summarizing teaches students how to take a large selection of text and reduce it to the main points for a more concise understanding. Upon reading a passage, summarizing helps students learn to determine essential ideas and consolidate...

"Lexington" is a one page, historical fiction, reading passage about soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War. A soldier describes the feeling of being an American. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...

"Transportation Changes" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of transportation across both land and sea. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes:...

"Transportation Changes" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of transportation by land and by sea. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining...

"Chicago Changes" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how Chicago changed from a small town to a large city. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining...

"Natural Gas: An Energy Resource" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about natural gas, its uses, and how it gets to homes. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...

"Today's Telephone" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of telephones from the telegraph, to land-lines, to cell phones. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...

"Traveling West" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the difficult journey west for pioneers traveling in wagon trains and how the railroad made traveling west much easier and faster. It is followed by questions which...

"Today's Telephone" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of the telephone from the telegraph to land-lines, to cell phones. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...

Contains plans for two lessons on locating supporting details that are part of a larger unit on researching a state symbol. It works on skills like determining the most important information, using key words to identify relevant...