City Quiz Series

Close reading doesn't mean to literally read text close to your face, but rather to pay attention to particular details in order to develop a deep and purposeful understanding of text. The first part of a five-part resource provides an...

What's the difference between story reading and story telling? Participants in a summer enrichment program learn all about the difference as they listen to famous speeches, engage in dramatic readings, and craft their own short stories...

Use this attitude survey to find out how your class members feel about reading. You can then analyze the responses, and design a unit study of Rowling's novel based on these attitudes.

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...

The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...

After reading and discussing chapter 10 of Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida with a partner, individuals write about a time they had to exhibit real courage.

In order to assess their mastery of the concepts taught in a 12-lesson plan unit study of Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy, individuals read excerpts from President Barack Obama's 2009 Back-to-School Speech and use the strategies...

It's helpful to encourage kids to make predictions when beginning a reading unit. Before reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, have kids read Susan Barlow Broggi's Am I Grown Up When I'm Not Afraid of Spiders in My Shoes? to make...

A straightforward and thorough packet of reading exercises would be a solid addition to any reading unit. With worksheets that address various writing and reading skills, including word roots, narrative writing, evaluating text, and...

Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...