Want your class to digest text more thoroughly? Middle schoolers learn about the digestive system in the lesson and reinforce informational text reading skills through a variety of strategies. They engage in a close reading...

Concept muraling helps learners improve their comprehension of a text by giving them a way to organize their understanding of the key concepts in that text. Introduce readers to this process with a carefully scaffolded lesson that models...

Pay attention to details! After completing text-dependent questions about paragraphs 10-12 of "Water is Life," scholars view the video "Why Care about Water. "They view the video three times and use a Main Idea and Details note-catcher...

It is an out-of-body experience. Scholars take a look at the sidebars outside the body of the text in The Exterminator. They discuss the purpose of this type of text feature and work to determine the gist. Learners write unfamiliar...

Give me more details. Scholars complete an end of unit assessment by creating an information text box to go with their field journal entries about howler monkeys. Learners use the class time to work independently.

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

As part of a reading of Elie Wiesel's Night class members engage in a directed reading/thinking activity that includes crafting predictions, verifying these predictions, and interpreting portions of the text.

The Pledge of Allegiance, the Gettysburg Address, the National Anthem, and the Preamble to the Constitution all get close attention in an exercise that asks learners to rewrite these formally-worded documents into informal language....

Conduct a close reading of George G. Toudouze's well-known horror story "Three Skeleton Key." This plan breaks up the reading into several steps and provides text-dependent questions to ask along the way. Learners will have the chance to...

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...

Writing about and in response to what you read can help you process the text and lead to stronger analysis. Included here are four larger topics that students can write about, sentence starters to help pupils get started with their...

Tired of those blank stares after your class reads a particularly complex passage from a Shakespearean play? Help high schoolers untangle that prose with a literature circle activity. Ten different roles prompt class members to focus on...

Should the work of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences be funded by the government? Middle schoolers weigh in on the status of federal funding for programs that protect the environment with three text passages...

An activity promotes reading comprehension. Readers analyze a text of their choice while activating prior knowledge and asking and answering questions. Scholars enforce multiple strategies to improve comprehension.

Look closely, some details are hidden! Scholars learn how to find attributes by first examining characteristics in illustrations and then move to locating details in text with close reading. The teacher models good practices for...

How can we create a more fair world? Chances are, class members have some ideas! After reading a text about fairness, individuals create skits around the ideas of fairness. Extend the learning and make their presentations a...

Be more specific. Scholars take a look at domain-specific vocabulary by discussing an anchor chart. They then look at vocabulary words recorded from paragraphs one through five in Water of Life. After analyzing the vocabulary used in the...

Quench the class's thirst for knowledge while building analytical skills. Scholars listen as the teacher reads excerpt from the book The Big Thirst. They then complete a close read and answer text-dependent questions from pages one...

Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...

Compare new and old versions of the classic story Alice in Wonderland in this comprehensive worksheet packet. Learners read an excerpt from the original, answering several analysis questions. They do the same for a more modern...

Ever wonder why the sky changes color so often? Readers examine an informational excerpt from John Farndon's How the Earth Works. They underline key points as they read and then answer five response questions. Prompts review main...

Each page of a comprehension packet that accompanies James and The Giant Peach requires learners to think, comprehend, focus on characters, make text-to-self and text-to-world connections, and build vocabulary through context....

The second lesson plan in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to...

Track the progress of your fourth graders' reading and writing skills with this practice Common Core assessment. Based on a collection of six reading passages that include narrative stories, poetry, and a series of...