Shoo fly. Scholars read DDT Spray Scares Mosquitoes Away, Study Finds and You Think You Have It Tough? to complete a mid-unit assessment. The learners compare and contrast author presentation and conduct a credibility check on each...

As a summative assessment for this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders listen to and read informational texts in order to demonstrate their ability to take notes, write summaries, and draw connections. Young scholars first listen as...

Teach learners how to interact with both fiction and non-fiction text with a packet of activities and worksheets. After looking over text structure and the difference in text features between different types of writing,...

Explore plot structure by analyzing text samples with writers. They define terms such as problem and solution, cause and effect, and story arc. They also identify the sequences used in modern stories by reading samples and determining...

Readers draw connections between Bud, Not Buddy and Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford University commencement address and cite evidence from the two texts to support their analysis.

Readers learn how to choose specific details drawn from a primary source (Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford University commencement address) to support an analysis of informative text.

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

Although the article that launches this lesson is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one essay....

To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This lesson focuses on what to do...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

Lend a helping hand. Pupils read two informational articles about international aid organizations and how they help areas affected by natural disasters. Scholars attempt to uncover the gist of each text, discussing their thoughts in...

Everything you need to know about informational text features can be found in this resource. Recognizing these types of text features and how they are used in text allows readers to better understand information. Teachers...

Boost reading comprehension skills with a lesson all about freaky frogs. A poem hooks scholars and takes them into a reading of an informational text followed by peer discussions. A three-page worksheet focuses on text features and...

Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...

Let's race to the finish line. Scholars read an informational text about a chosen athlete. While reading, they add evidence and reasons to a graphic organizer to support their opinions about how their athlete broke barriers. 

This is a disaster. Scholars look through the book Eight Days: A Story of Haiti and discuss their wonderings about the text and natural disasters. They then complete a first read to determine gist and second read to answer...

Freaky frogs are the focus of a lesson plan designed to boost reading comprehension skills using text features and asking and answering questions. Informational text and a poem supply scholars with animal-related vocabulary and facts. A...

Pupils consider the varying perspectives of people in different cultural groups as they read an informational text about the Dinka tribe of Southern Sudan and complete graphic organizers. They also respond to a constructed-response...

Letters ... a lost art or good resource? Scholars add letter writing to their informational text chart and describe the features of a letter. They then look at page 38 in Promises to Keep and complete a Perspectives Venn...

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...

Get young writers thinking about how to write a great beginning for their narratives. After examining examples of solid beginnings in literary text, young writers discuss the criteria for a compelling introduction. Then, independently,...

Take a trip to Mardi Gras with a festive reading packet! After class members read an informational article about the history and celebration of Mardi Gras, they think about the structure of the passage...

No, not literally. Scholars read Hugo, the Lord’s Nephew to compare figurative and literal language. Readers learn about simile, metaphor, personification, and idioms with a graphic organizer. Pupils then answer text-dependent...

Put it together piece by piece. Scholars read pages 13-16 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by dividing it into chunks. They analyze each chunk for gist and word meaning. Individuals then create a matching game by writing...