US Department of Education
A Close Reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...
Curated OER
Reading and Writing Skills Activities
A straightforward and thorough packet of reading exercises would be a solid addition to any reading unit. With worksheets that address various writing and reading skills, including word roots, narrative writing, evaluating text, and...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 6 Close Reading
Look back at the third chapter of The Cay with your class. Pupils will conduct a close reading, taking a second look at a chunk of text and responding to a series of text-dependent questions. Wrap up with an analytical writing prompt...
Forum
A Research Toolkit of 12 Reading Strategies for the Foreign Language Classroom
Learning to read is not a simple task, but there are methods for assisting pupils as they develop literacy skills. The first four pages of this resource include information about language development and reading development, as well as...
Curated OER
Earth Day Reading Comprehension
Here is a really neat Earth Day reading passage that can be used online or printed. The initial passage provides learners with the opportunity to read a poem entitled, "Woodman, Spare That Tree!" It also includes comprehension questions...
Washington Township Public Schools
Using Paired Text
Paired reading passages frequently appear on standardized exams, but finding text sets to use in the classroom is sometimes a challenge. A lesson plan on using paired texts includes a selection of passages and a graphic organizer for...
Novelinks
Touching Spirit Bear: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
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...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: The Lorax
Accompany a reading of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and Tell Me, Tree by Gail Gibbons with an activity packet designed to bring awareness to nature, specifically trees. Scholars take to the outside, draw lines to create trees reminiscent of...
Scholastic
A Reading Guide to Sarah, Plain and Tall
Eliminate the hard work of creating an entire literature unit with this reading guide for the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. From background information about the author and her motivation for writing the story to...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Gaining Understanding and Information from Introductory Material, Headings, and Other Division Markers in Texts (English III Reading)
All teachers are teachers of reading! The 13-part interactive series ends with a lesson that teaches learners (and their instructors) how to approach reading their textbooks. After learning about several strategies, users test their...
Ideas From Suzi
Guided Reading: Beyond the Basics
Elevate children's reading comprehension skills with this collection of guided reading resources. From paper dice with basic comprehension questions printed on them to a system for using sticky notes to identify key...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Allusion (English III Reading)
An interactive lesson introduces readers to allusions, the literary device writers use to add depth to their work. Users record notes on the provided graphic organizer as they identify the allusions in poems by Walt Whitman, Langston...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Archaeology
Readings of fiction and nonfiction texts followed by a series of activities put scholars in an archaeologist's shoes. Learners read two texts, Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke and The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Animals
Scholars explore the animal kingdom with help from two texts, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey and A Bed for the Winter by Karen Wallace. The literature and informational text set the learning stage for thoughtful discussion and...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Comprehension: Expository Text Structure, Text Feature Find
Scholars explore an expository text to answer questions about its structure.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Building
Scholars become architects in an engaging unit on building structures. The Reading Adventure Pack features Roberto: The Insect Architect by Nina Laden and Construction Zone with photographs by Richard Sobol and text by Cheryl Willis...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Bees
A Reading Adventure pack explores the busy life of bees. After reading a fiction and nonfiction text, scholars complete three hands-on activities. Participants invent a robot that can do the work of bees, cheers to hardworking bees with...
Curated OER
Hot Spots
Keep an eye on progress with reading and vocabulary using pink and green sticky notes. This resource describes how to set up the sticky note system so that learners can note difficult passages, and teachers can track ability.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Rocks
A Reading Adventure Pack focuses on rocks. Scholars participate in three activities after reading a fiction and nonfiction text—The Jade Stone, a Chinese folktale adapted by Caryn Yacowitz, and Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst....
Computer Science Unplugged
Twenty Guesses—Information Theory
How do we determine how much information to include and what can be left out? By playing a game of 20 questions, the class generates the best strategies for finding a number. They then move on to guessing the next letter in a short...
Teaching Tolerance
Civil Rights Activity Book
An activity booklet includes a timeline of the movement, a song, and various informational reading passages on leaders, events, and the Civil Rights Memorial in Washington DC. Reading response questions and word puzzles are sure to...
Novelinks
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Concept Analysis
Considering using Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a whole class reading or for book circles? Check out this overview that provides a plot summary, a list of enduring questions raise by and themes addressed by the...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Comprehension: Text Analysis, Persuade, Inform, and Entertain Sort
Why do authors write? Practice determining the author's purpose with a categorizing activity. Learners sort twelve short passages into three categories: persuade, inform, and entertain.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Farms
A Reading Adventure Pack features a fiction and nonfiction text—The Oxcart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Farming by Gail Gibbons. Following the readings, scholars make a collage showcasing foods farmed from...