Young readers explore the five senses with a read-aloud anthology. Each lesson follows the routine of introducing the reading, listening to a read-aloud, answering comprehension questions, then practicing a skill. Modification and...

A 10-lesson unit explores the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Over the course of two weeks, scholars read nonfiction excerpts, discuss their findings, and complete activities. An assessment equipped with multiple choice and matching...

Looking to improve your classes literacy program? Then look no further. This comprehensive collection of resources includes worksheets and activities covering everything from r-controlled vowels and consonant digraphs, to the different...

With What Do You See at the Pond?, young readers explore pond life and practice reading strategies. Learners first make predictions and then read the simple story independently. After a second read-through with a partner, kids come...

Readers learn how to summarize scientific text and evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges in writing summaries. They select science-related articles you've pulled and collected from the New York Times and, with a partner,...

Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured note-taking...

As young consumers of media, it is important for high schoolers to explore concepts of bias and prejudice, and how they may be present in media. After discussing ideological messages that media can contain, individuals complete a warm-up...

Elementary schoolers examine the components of reading nonfiction. They use think-alouds to help them complete reading the selected sections. They also identify text features as they read.

Learners brainstorm a list of potential uses for micro-video technologies. After reading an article, they analyze the development of a new pill-sized camera. In groups, they create a children's book that shows them the various systems of...

Young scholars examine the difference between nonfiction and fictional writing. They identify the characteristics of nonfiction literature and examine how a nonfiction textbook organizes information.

Investigate a "table of contents" with your students! They read the table of contents in Deserts by Darlene R. Stille and predict where the answers to specific questions might be found. Learners complete a worksheet in which they find...

Conduct a shared reading activity with a non-fiction animal book. Young researchers identify the various text features in informational texts, complete a graphic organizer to compare and contrast text feature purposes, and finally choose...

New ReviewOpen the library for young readers by introducing them to the main genres and sub-genres. A podcast and two presentations identify the characteristics of the different genres. Groups then sort through a box of books and, using evidence...

New ReviewYoung historians analyze a letter 17-year-old Abigail Adams wrote to her cousin and identify the aphorism Adams used. Participants select a line from the letter and create an illustration of the aphorism.

New ReviewThe fourth instructional activity in the series of 16 asks researchers to analyze an exchange of letters between John and Abigail Adams for what they each valued in letter writing.

New ReviewThe second lesson in the series asks groups to analyze an exchange of love letters between Abigail and John Adams. Scholars identify the many allusions and references in the letters and consider what they can infer about the writers.

New ReviewArt can enhance the understanding of history. That's the big idea in a lesson that has young scholars read Randall Jarrell's poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" and an excerpt from John Hersey's Hiroshima, which provide a...

S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders allows middle schoolers to reflect on mob mentality. After reading an article and watching a video about herd mentality, class members find examples in the novel of when characters go along with the crowd and...

A read-aloud anthology focuses on colonial towns and townspeople. Over three weeks, young scholars listen to stories, participate in discussions about town life, practice word work, and complete an extension activity with each lesson.  

After reading The Mitten by Jan Brett, scholars discuss the author's purpose. Small groups compare and contrast a book written to entertain and a book to inform, then create a T-Chart detailing the characteristics of each. Learners...

John Hughes' The Breakfast Club takes center stage in a lesson about annotating nonfiction texts to keep track of evidence that may be used later in discussions and writings. Scholars consider the stereotypes and conflicts presented in...

"Three Stones Back," a passage from Matt de la Pena's best-seller, Ball Don't Lie, allows readers to practice their close reading skills as they compare the passage to an information text about wealth inequality. 

Money is the topic of a reading adventure pack. Third graders read two books—one fiction, one non-fiction—and complete a series of activities. Learners draw an item they wish to save money for, examine coins to start a collection, and...

A Reading Adventure Pack invites scholars to start gardening. Following a reading of two books—fiction and nonfiction—young green thumbs repurpose food containers to grow an herb garden in their kitchen, plant seeds in starter pots out...