Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...

Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this instructional activity. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the...

Scholars gain an insight into the relative size of planets and distance between inner and outer planets with the help of informational text, a data table, and a series of four questions.  

High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...

A thorough lesson on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive techniques...

Students create tables in a word processing program which helps them organize their text clues when reading a mystery story. They develop reading comprehension strategies while using a computer based graphic organizer in order to solve...

Organizing information gathered for a research topic can be a challenge. Read aloud notes you have collected on a topic and use suggestions offer by the class to categorize and sort this information. Partners then follow this pattern,...

Organize the characters in Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic according to their shared character traits. After listing character traits as a class, kids note which characters exhibit particular characteristics with a...

Though text heavy, these nine slides present clear instructions for each stage of the research method that students should use to organize information about Saguaro Cacti. A good introduction to organizing research for a writing...

Third graders create a graphic organizer. They draw illustrations that show the beginning, middle and end of a trip they took to visit a friend or a relative. They write age-appropriate text to accompany each drawing. They tell...

What is the best way to compare and contrast viewpoints on the same topic? A persuasive writing unit plan addresses targeted skills, vocabulary, instructional strategies, and suggested resources that would be perfect for developing writers.

Whether or not you are new to using graphic organizers with informational or expository text, the materials in this guide will prove useful. 

Acquaint your class with informational text through a close reading. First, examine a couple of pages together, looking at text features and content. The whole class focuses on marking down a brief summary of each paragraph before...

In many places in the world, people go to great lengths to get books to read. This beginning-of-the-year activity uses pictures of people reading in extraordinary situations to stimulate effective listening and speaking using the...

Here is a fine lesson on reading and understanding expository text designed for 4th graders. With a partner, learners read a passage of text about a machine called a wheelright. This machine was commonly used in the colonial...

What a puzzle! Scholars participate in a Jigsaw discussion within their expert groups, determining the gist of an article about the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As they read and discuss the article, they record thoughts on their note...

Have your middle schoolers participate in numerous activities designed to spark their awareness of literature. They express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions. Next, they view a music...

A useful study tool, learners create decks or download pre-made decks to review. The app tracks your progress and allows you to customize your experience with each deck. Why not try it out and test yourself and your pupils on thousands...

Informative writing is emphasized in the standards. Help your learners reach that goal with the plan for paragraph writing outlined here. After reviewing the work from the day before and adding to their vocabulary notebooks, class...

Shh! No talking during the discussion! Using the resource, scholars engage in a silent discussion called a Chalk Talk activity to analyze the purpose of a newspaper article. Additionally, they read a model newspaper article and try to...

Are you looking for background information on Cervantes and his Don Quixote? How about a study guide and discussion questions or project ideas? Even journal prompts, tests, and quizzes? A 98-page teaching guide simplifies the quest with...

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” Ah, the central question of Lord of the Flies. As part of their study of William Golding's riveting novel, readers complete an anticipation guide and respond to a series of survey...

Let's compare! One pair of scholars adds to the Salva/Nya anchor chart by gathering evidence about the characters from chapters 14 and 15 of A Long Walk to Water. The rest of the class pairs work on adding to the Survival anchor chart....

Transitions are the glue that link paragraphs together. Pupils listen to a mini lesson plan on sentence structure and transitions and use what they learned to revise their informative consumer guides. Next, they self-assess their writing...