As part of their study of Elie Wiesel's Night, individuals assume the voice of an Auschwitz survivor and craft a letter to a former SS officer who worked at the camp and claims he is not guilty of any crime. 

Primary graders develop strategies to assist them with addition and subtraction. They discover number combinations and numerical facts which enable them to add and subtract more effectively. Students use these techniques to complete...

Candide is a dense text. To assist in analyzing Voltaire's satire, groups employ a cubing strategy based on Bloom's taxonomy. Complete directions for the strategy, a template for the cube, a worksheet, and a topic list are included. 

Model for emergent readers how to write a story by interpreting picture clues. For guided practice a second book is used, and then pupils work independently or with an adult to write their own stories based on illustrations.

Elementary schoolers observe and demonstrate a variety of strategies for reading with expression. They listen to the teacher read A Fine, Fine School with and without expression and discuss the differences. Then in pairs, read the...

As a class, read different sentences prepared by the teacher, identifying the punctuation that is needed for the appropriate expression. In small groups, have each child assume the role of one or more character in The Grouchy Ladybug by...

If forced to move and give away almost everything you own, what five non-essential things would you take with you?  Prior to reading about Mrs. Bentley in chapter 15 of Dandelion Wine, individuals are asked to respond to this...

A good story is a great way to support skills that are necessary for encouraging strong reading skills. Here is a class I do, You do, We do style lesson that stars the tale, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain. Included are two fun pre-reading...

Use the well-known KWHL chart as a tool for building up to a research project and oral presentation related to Willa Cather's My Antonia. Starting with a class brainstorm, pupils research and gradually narrow down topics relating to...

Learn new words as you read Marc Brown's story, Arthur's New Puppy. This is focused as a vocabulary-in-context activity (though this strategy could be used with any book and set of words). Introduce the new words you will focus on:...

Clifford the Big Red Dog is here to introduce some new vocabulary terms in context to young readers. Although this activity is designed around Norman Bridwell's picture book, the strategies are applicable for any text. Introduce the new...

What word is it? Build fluency with sight words using this sounding out strategy which enforces silent reading techniques. There are more than enough words included here on index card templates, but you can use this idea with any set...

Does the Internet negatively affect peoples' brains? Scholars complete a Tracing an Argument note catcher to evaluate the question as they read the text "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Exploring both sides of the issue, they add their...

Sound out sight words using these word cards and word-form recognition strategies. As you point to each word, scholars sound out the letters silently instead of segmenting the sounds aloud. Show them how you do this by mouthing the...

Encourage your readers to make connections between texts with this resource. After compiling notes for each text read (you choose the texts), groups craft skits in which major characters from each text meet. There is a rubric for the...

Practice the strategy of decoding to become fluent readers with young scholars. They interact with the correspondence ee=/E/ as it deals with speech and text. The tongue twister, "Why did Lee and the bee flee to the tree?," is also...

Help your pupils discover the power of context clues by teaching the this vocabulary strategy. Designed to go with words from Willa Cather's My Antonia, this exercise focuses on having individuals use their own words to define new...

Bookend your study of Peter and the Starcatchers with a KWHL centered around treasure and power. Pupils work in small groups to compile knowledge and questions and then revisit this chart after reading and research.

Everyone can be an expert! After finishing Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped, divide your class into small groups. Then, assign each group a topic to become experts on. The resource suggests topics such as characters, themes, setting,...

More of a worksheet than a complete lesson plan, this resource includes several pre-reading and post-reading discussion prompts for The Bernstein Bears and Too Much Teasing. The prompts on this worksheet are designed to help...

First graders use question words to answer comprehension questions.  In this reading strategies lesson, 1st graders use picture cues and predict events in a story. Students use context clues to understand unfamiliar words....

A short video introduces place value in addition and subtraction. As a class, your young scholars identify all even numbers up to one hundred and explain the pattern. They use addition strategies to fill in the missing numbers on the...

Students define the term "meta-cognitive" and explain its significance to reading strategy. They speak aloud the thoughts that pass through their minds as they are reading and write down thoughts that come to their minds while reading.

Whether new to the KWHL strategy or not readers of Briar Rose will benefit from the detailed procedures and templates designed for Jane Yolen’s novel. Links are provided for research into the Holocaust and activities reveal the many...