Read Works
Read Works: Theme 3rd Grade Unit
[Free Registration/Login Required] This site provides a series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to identify and support the theme of a fable and a fiction selection based on main idea and supporting details. Lessons are...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Like Plants [Pdf]
"I Like Plants" is a one page, realistic fiction, reading passage about a person who loves plants and became a botanist; now she teaches her college students about plants and ecology. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Nonfiction Pyramid
A printable pyramid for use with nonfiction texts while students identify the main ideas and supporting details within a text. Students also determine author's purpose and key vocabulary words. Directions on how to use this type of...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Power Notes
A printable note-taking format where students create an outline by assigning powers to the main idea and supporting details. Directions on how to use this type of rubric as well as lists of teaching ideas and related resources are also...
University of South Florida
Fcat Express: Selective Underlining Worksheet (Pdf) [Pdf]
Printable PDF file of a Selective Underlining Worksheet. Students underline the main idea and supporting details in three paragraphs. It is provided by a standardized test preparation site intended for fourth grade.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Closing Up Our Writing by Summing Up the Main Ideas
In this lesson, 5th graders will write a strong concluding paragraph that summarizes the main ideas of a research essay.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Identify the Main Topic and Key Details
This is a practice exercise to help teach how to find the main topic of a passage by looking at key details. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Wet Pennies
Students conduct a simple test to determine how many drops of each of three liquids can be placed on a penny before spilling over. The three liquids are water, rubbing alcohol, and vegetable oil; because of their different surface...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books
Need help planning ways to creatively teach your students chronological order? Here's a great place to start. While the site is specifically geared toward the middle school student, it is a teaching idea which could easily be adapted for...
Other
Reading Quest: Strategies for Reading Comp.: History Frames: Story Maps
This activity will help you teach students chronological order as well as identifying key people and events. Printable worksheets.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Draw a Story: Stepping From Pictures to Writing
Help young young scholars move from drawing pictures into writing simple stories. Good plan for having students put pictures in sequential order and teaching them about sequential order.
Scholastic
Scholastic Teaching Resources: Informational Reading Response [Pdf]
This graphic organizer can be used with students when they read informational text. Students will write three facts they learned, two questions they still have after reading, and one interesting fact that they want to share.
US Department of Education
U.s. Dept. Of Education: Teaching Approaches: Text Comprehension Instruction
What is text comprehension? How does comprehension improve our reading ability? Check out this site to learn more about reading comprehension instruction. There are some wonderful suggestions for teachers to implement in their classrooms.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Writing a Topic & Concluding Paragraph for the Essay
This lesson is a final step towards supporting young scholars to practice writing an informative/explanatory paragraph conveying complex ideas and presenting information clearly and accurately. Second-grade students can usually write a...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Classroom Strategies: Seed Discussion
A Seed Discussion is a two-part strategy used to teach students how to engage in discussions about assigned readings. In the first part, students read selected text and identify "seeds" or key concepts of a passage which may need...
Read Works
Read Works: Grade 2: Two Lesson Unit: Theme
[Free Registration/Login Required] A set of two lesson plans designed to teach students to use story elements to identify theme and to match a given theme to a story. Lessons are based on the book Aesop's Fables by Jerry Pinkney....
Read Works
Read Works: Grade 2: Three Lesson Unit: Author's Purpose
[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach learners to identify author's purpose including to entertain, to inform, and to persuade. Lessons are based on the books The Adventures of Taxi Dog by...
Read Works
Read Works: Marathon Kids
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about a program called Marathon Kids that is designed to teach children to be physically active. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Reading Informational Text: Grades K 1
This learning resource will show teachers how to model how to teach students to describe connections between pieces of information in a text.
Other
Reading Quest: Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Power Thinking
Looking for an alternative to formal outline instruction? Power Thinking teaches the concept of outlining but on a somewhat simplified level. The site is good for basic note-taking from a text.
TES Global
Tes: Romeo & Juliet Rsc Themes Reference
[Free Registration/Login Required] This is a printable reference guide for teachers listing the major themes and motifs in Romeo and Juliet and providing examples of scenes and quotes where you can find them. W.9-10.9a Analysis
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: From Seed to Plant
Students will use the illustrations and details in the text to describe how plants grow. This lesson uses a complex text to allow students to analyze the pictures in From Seed to Plant and From Seed to Pumpkin. Included are videos and...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: There Is Something in Common: Finding Common Themes
Students will synthesize information from multiple historical fiction books to find common themes and support them with evidence from the text. Working with a partner who has read a different book, they will share their theme from their...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Exploring the Power of Allusion
Something seems familiar here: Students learn how allusion invites more into a text. Using "The House On Mango Street" students will learn about allusion by paralleling events from both the Bible and from Greek mythology.