While this focuses on Ancient Rome, the objectives are improved research and information evaluation skills. In one class period, class members narrow their topic, research it, select the best information, log useful sources, and discuss...

The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...

Students study scanning and skimming techniques. In this research skills lesson, students use the research techniques on print literature about the Mississippi River. Students prepare book talks on the literature they read.

Students examine how to skim textual material. They read an article, and identify the main ideas by reading first and last paragraphs, topic sentences, and other organizational clues.

Explore newspapers as a form of print media. They examine headlines from newspapers and infer meanings of the headlines. They skim articles for information and exchange articles between groups. They complete charts while skimming the...

Bring writing to life with this lesson in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...

Students practice skimming and scanning an article to determine its main points. They develop their own questions about the article and shares them with the class. They complete a worksheet about the article to end the instructional...

Eighth graders follow along with a teacher lead instructional activity to find information by skimming and scanning a resource booklet. They examine different types of resources that are available in a library. They practice skimming...

Students identify cause and effect relationships in a short story. After reading a short story, they participate in a discussion of how one event in a story can lead to several others. Students are then paired for a matching task that...

Learners discuss cause and effect relationships and the chain reaction involved before listening to the story "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears". Students create flow charts to show the chain reactions of causes and effects in the...

Ninth graders explore how the environment affects health. In this infectious disease lesson, 9th graders investigate what environmental situations cause infections diseases. Students study the symptoms, treatments, prevention, and...

Students use scanning as a comprehension skill when reading certain types of publications. They compare the reading technique used when reading in their mother language to those used when reading English.

Fourth graders read and take quizzes over the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...

Students discuss ways the stories were alike and different. The teacher demonstrate how to draw a Venn diagram using Microsoft Word. They label the two circles and enter the likenesses and differences on the diagram.

Fourth graders work independently or in a small group to (1) read a nonfiction selection, (2) identify the author's purpose, (3) distinguish informational text from narrative text, (4) skim and scan for facts, and (5) complete a graphic...

Students debate the Federalist and Anti-federal Papers after using the Internet as a research tool.

Students examine the settlement patterns and land use in Minnesota. In groups, they practice reading immigration graphs and charts and discuss why immigrants settled where they did. They are also introduced to new vocabulary related to...

Twelfth graders explore the connection between poetry and the "real world". They are reminded of the elements used in poetic interpretation, and use them to analyze various texts.

As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...

Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...

Here’s a reading strategy that can be used with any text. Class members examine portions of a novel, and make predictions about the theme or subject matter of the book. Although designed for Christopher Paul Curtis’s Newbery Medal...

How do you decide what sources are credible when researching online? Evaluate sources with a focus on researching health issues. After brainstorming common health concerns and how they would try to diagnose these problems, class members...

Discover, document and share the knowledge of family food and ways special occasions are treated. Your class will explore the context in which food traditions are created and adapted in their families and communities. Each student also...