National Park Service
Hibernation-Migration-Fascination
What's the difference between hibernation and a good nap? Find out with an engaging life science activity that compares the hibernation habits of grizzly bears and marmots. After learners read an informational passage about each mammal,...
Curated OER
Mini-Lesson Planning for Inferences
Making inferences and drawing conclusions is a key component to successful active reading. Encourage your class to use context clues and prior knowledge to infer different elements of a story, including the setting, plot, and character...
California Education Partners
Grapes of Wrath
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.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension
Whether you're looking to prepare your class for upcoming state testing or if you're looking to build reading comprehension, consider this resource! There's a short reading passage provided, followed by a list of five comprehension...
K5 Learning
The Fishhawk
Read about why the osprey is also known as the fishhawk in a short reading passage that describes where they live, what they eat, and what they look like. After reading, individuals respond to four short answer questions based on...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Monroe Doctrine: A Close Reading
Students identify specific passages in the Monroe Doctrine to events in early U.S. diplomacy.
Curated OER
The Period of Discovery: The Boy Columbus
Learners increase their reading comprehension skills with a reading passage describing the early life of Christopher Columbus. They read the passage and then answer each of the five comprehension questions.
Curated OER
¿Por qué es importante el Servicio Comunitario?
Why is it important to do community service? Read these paragraphs to discover Barack Obama and Joe Biden's stance on community service. After reading the difficult text, high schoolers must identify the principal idea and decide their...
Curated OER
The Blues in the Arkansas Delta
Oh I love the blues! Here is a wonderful four page reading passage that focuses on the Delta Blues. It covers topics such as, the music's cultural influences, origin, form, terminology, and significance. A great way to integrate...
Curated OER
17 - Cells
The first of three pages in this handout provides a brief history of our understanding of the cell. It also differentiates between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The second is a collection of true and false, multiple choice, and short...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Election of 1912
The Election of 1912: an election with four competitive opponents. Pupils get to know the candidates with informative reading passages that provide context to the election. Then, the class engages in a debate and answers questions as one...
Polk Bros Foundation
Meet the Nonfiction Main Idea Challenge
Help your class develop the ability to determine a main idea with a packet of materials that you can introduce and use over a period of time. The packet includes some information for the teacher and rationale for the exercises. There are...
Curated OER
Reading Aloud
Reading aloud is a great way to engage learners in pacing and pronunciation! They practice using voice, pitch and intonation correctly. The teacher introduces the lesson by example, correctly stressing punctuation and using appropriate...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 2: Level 8
Need a quick assessment of your middle schoolers' reading comprehension skills? The four questions on this quiz ask readers to identify the likely source of the article, define words based on context, and identify the main idea of the...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 6: Funding
Although the first question and answer are a little far-fetched, this resource provides a quick assessment of one's reading comprehension. The reading selection is very short, and there are only seven questions given.
Curated OER
Georgia CRCT Online: 7th Grade Reading Quiz
Designed to prepare seventh graders for the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, this activity can be used for any type of standardized test, as well as reinforcement of reading comprehension skills. Eleven questions about two...
Curated OER
China's Three Gorges Dam
A very well-done resource includes an informational reading passage describing the controversy and impact of China's Three Gorges Dam. It also includes eight guided reading questions, a pros/cons arguments chart, and a creative writing...
Lakeshorelearning
Read and Write about It
Reading informational text is a skill that transcends subjects and grade levels. Practice reading about different topics in various formats with a language arts lesson that includes opportunities for writing and research as well.
Scholastic
Marijuana: Breaking Down the Buzz
Teenagers get the real information about marijuana use based on the history of tobacco legislation and research. As they read an educational passage about marijuana laws, science, and changing attitudes, they address their preconceptions...
K12 Reader
Classifying Triangles
Bring math and reading informational text together with a reading comprehension lesson. After kids read about isosceles, scalene, and equilateral triangles, they answer five comprehension questions to demonstrate how they can use context...
K12 Reader
United States Geography
Encourage reading for information with a text about United States geography. Kids read a short passage about the landforms in the United States, including mountain ranges and natural resources, and answer five reading comprehension...
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: August 2017
Reading and comprehending a poem is a lot different than doing the same for a piece of fiction or an informational text. As part of a sample English language arts examination, readers put their skills to the test by reading passages in...
K12 Reader
The Product-Quotient Connection
How are multiplication and division connected? Read a passage about inverse operations to find out how you can use products and quotients to check your work when completing an equation from the opposite operation.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: June 2017
Plants prefer classical music to rock and roll. That's one of the claims in an informational passage that makes up part of a set of standardized assessment questions. The set is part of a larger collection of English language arts tests...