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Simple Preparation Can Improve Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is key to success in nearly every subject in school, but how do you improve comprehension in a pupil with dyslexia? Here are several tips that define ways in which educators can provide strategies to improve overall...
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Let's Get it Together! Reading to Learn
Let’s learn about frogs! Young readers are led through “Freaky Frogs,” a non-fiction article. Teach learners how to edit an article so there are fewer details to sift through. After talking through the article, they learn the six steps...
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Inspector Readers: The 002 Book Club
This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...
For the Teachers
Main Idea Outline
Find the main idea in an informational text with a versatile lesson. Three levels of differentiation help you implement the strategy in any age or class level, based on the ability and objectives of your learners.
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"Flying to Fluency"
Pupils become fluent readers by decoding words and practicing mastery of phoneme correspondences. They also practice repeated readings of texts along with timed readings of the book, "Pat's Jam." Each student interacts with a bulletin...
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Improving Elementary Reading Literacy
Students enhance their literary skills through phonemic awareness. In this reading development lesson plan, students read several storybooks and analyze the phonetics, vocabulary, and overall story. The students then rewrite what they...
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Zoom Broom
Learners explore comprehension strategies as they listen to Zoom Broom by Margie Palatini. As the story is read, teacher and pupils will stop occasionally to make text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world connections. They also...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Happy Birthday, Moon (Asch)
Can you wish the moon a happy birthday? Beginning readers contemplate this as they listen to Frank Asch's book Happy Birthday, Moon, the context for a vocabulary study. There are three words outlined here: chat,...
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Introduce: Main Idea
Begin exploring main idea in a text by telling the class an interesting story. Can they recall the main idea after you finish? What clues told them this was it? Explain that you will apply this concept as you read a nonfiction book....
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Art Around the World
The non-fiction book Art Around the World by Heather Leonard serves as inspiration for learning how art reflects cultures and values. New vocabulary and background knowledge are fleshed out before reading the story. Afterward, the class...
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To Be Or Not To Be: Reading With Expression
Students observe and demonstrate a variety of strategies for reading with expression. They listen to the teacher read "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carrol with and without expression, and discuss the differences. In small groups they...
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Author Study: Eric Carle
Dive into an author study of one of the most beloved children’s book authors, Eric Carle. After reading some of his stories, including Papa Get me the Moon, A House for Hermit Crab, The Grouchy Ladybug, and The Very Busy...
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Up, Up and Away With Fluency
Students practice their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they complete a timed assessment of their...
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Fly Away Into Reading
Students complete repeated readings of the same passage in order to increase their reading fluency and comprehension. They listen as the teacher reads both with and without fluency to hear the difference. Working in small groups, they...
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Get on the Fluency Boat
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking, decoding, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed...
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I Can Answer That!
Enhance reader comprehension! Examine different comprehension strategies with your second, third, and fourth graders. They discuss the strategy of questioning by developing their own comprehension questions to help improve their memory...
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Comprehending Through Questioning
Elementary schoolers observe and apply a variety of reading comprehension strategies. They silently read a passage out of their science textbook, and discuss answering the who, what, where, when, and how of the text. In small groups they...
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Mapping Out the Story
Discuss the reading comprehension strategy of summarization with your elementary schoolers! They read a chapter from their social studies textbook, Regions Near and Far, and create a map, or word web, for the chapter. They identify...
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Icky Insect Is In Icky Sticky Ink
Practice the strategy of letter-sound correspondence when identifying the short vowel /i/ sound in written and spoken words. The teacher recites the tongue twister "Icky insect is in icky sticky ink," while listeners repeat. Letter boxes...
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Two Greedy Bears
Improving listening comprehension skills is the goal of this language arts activity. Young readers listen to the story Two Greedy Bears, stopping to have discussions with a partner. They predict outcomes and make inferences based on...
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The Miracle of the First Poinsettia
Connecting to literature and learning how to infer are two great reading strategies everyone needs to know. Here, the class will read along with the story The Miracle of the First Poinsettia, review folktales as a genre, and make...
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Just the Facts, Ma'am
Elementary learners identify the main elements of story structure and form questions to summarize their reading. They listen as the teacher reads a story and then write questions to determine (1) main characters, (2) setting, (3)...
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Let's Summarize!
Students, after brainstorming what summarization is, practice the strategy of summarization to help pick out the important parts of text each time they read. They read and summarize the article, "10 Cool Things About Dolphins," from the...
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Why?
Learners discuss the concept of asking questions while reading. They discuss the types of questions to ask that will improve their comprehension. Students read from a textbook and practice creating questions to ask themselves while...