Use the title of a book to determine the main idea. Readers will view the cover of The Wedding and predict what the story will be about. Graphic organizers help chart important information and build new vocabulary. Other stories are...

Sixth graders find clues. In this mystery lesson students search for clues within Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett to solve the mystery in the story. Students record the details they find.

Sixth graders identify clues to solve a mystery. In this details lesson, 6th graders read from Sammy Keyes and The Hollywood Mummy and consider key details or items that would provide a clue to solve the mystery. Students write...

In this reading comprehension lesson, 6th graders read the novel, The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin. Students practice exploring the process of drawing conclusions from details to solve a mystery. Students interact with a Clue...

Help readers identify new words. Learners will use illustrations in the story From Head to Toe by Eric Carle to help them with unknown words. As they read new vocabulary words, they will use pictures on the imbedded worksheet...

Examine the different strategies that could be used to determine what genre something is with upper graders. They will learn that knowing the genre type can sometimes help their comprehension. They will also complete a worksheet to help...

Use the pictures from Knuffle Bunny to determine setting with your class. Model your visualization and thinking process, asking questions to help your listeners determine time and place. After reading this story, go through other...

Introduce your class to the concept of comparing and contrasting with this lesson. After modeling a Venn diagram, help your students find the similarities and differences between two pictures. They can then work on their own Venn...

Help young readers find the setting in the story. They will review what a setting is with a modeled example by the teacher. After reading The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down by Paul Brett Johnson and completing a practice sheet,...

Before sending your third graders to the library, help them build a solid foundation for their research with this plan. Following the "I do, we do, you do" method, the teacher starts by modeling how to create a research question and...

Determining a theme is one of the most difficult and most important standards in the Common Core. Use this plan to help your learners identify the message that an author is sending to the reader. The lesson is based around the book Dogs...

Start kids thinking about point of view and autobiographies by telling them a short story about your morning (first person), and then asking a volunteer to re-tell the story to you (second person). There are tips to help you tie this...

Help your class identify story elements. They will discuss character, setting, problem, and solution after reading a story. A graphic organizer will help them to identify various elements with guided practice and independent practice...

Help young learners practice drawing conclusions and using reasoning through this simple game idea. The teacher places a mystery object in a bag and  learners must ask yes/no questions until they guess what it is correctly. As...

Learners explore prefixes, and how they help us decipher unknown words. Decode and define the meaning of  boldface words with prefixes used in context on a classroom chart. Writers complete a worksheet practicing the same skill.

Students investigate clues in mystery novels. For this genre study lesson, students read the book Sammy Keyes and The Hotel Thief and use the 5 W's to answer questions about the mystery. Students draw conclusions using the details from...

Scholars read a brief informational text about the famous inventor, Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone, then show what they know by way of eight questions—six multiple choice and two short answer. 

What makes a book fiction or nonfiction? Kindergartners discover ways to find out if a book is real or made up. They examine a fictional picture book as a group and decide what clues help them decide. There is an independent worksheet...

Things usually don't happen without a reason; usually any event has a cause that got the ball rolling. The book, If You Give a Mouse a Muffin is used to help learners understand the concept of causes in literature. Examples from the...

Remember that boy David from the David, No! books? He's back, and youngsters draw a picture of him from a scene in the book David Goes to School. They write a sentence describing his appearance, actions, and feelings...

Young scholars read the story Ira Sleeps Over and write something about the end of the story that they have a connection with in their own life. In this text to self lesson plan, students look for something that helps them relate to the...

Help youngsters make connections between two different texts. They read two stories about the same character, Ira Sleeps Over and Ira Says Goodbye. They discuss how the character of Ira acts in each of the stories, how he...

Sometimes all you need is a good heading to determine the main idea in a block of text. Young readers learn how to use headings to guild them to determining the main idea. They practice as a class, in pairs, and then on their own. The...

Students explore author's voice. In this literary elements and reading comprehension lesson, students listen to two poems about snakes (included) and identify adjectives and other descriptive words and phrases that help them determine...