Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...

Encourage readers to compare and contrast the information that they find in informational text with a variety of reading passages and worksheets. Learners read all about subjects in science, social studies, and literature...

Young scholars explore themes in fiction with this literacy comprehension lesson. They generate ideas for possible themes developed in the fairy tale of The Ant and the Cricket. Next, they examine the plot of The Great Gilly Hopkins and...

The SQ3R strategy is a useful tool for students to increase their reading comprehension. This activity provides students with a template to fill out the title, survey, question, read, and retell sections of SQ3R. This is a useful tool...

In this inference skills worksheet, students read a short passage, then pick two words that describe the passage. Next they explain why they chose that word. Students choose another word related to the passage and write it on a 3x5 note...

Being able to identify the main idea in a text is an essential comprehension skill. After the term is defined, viewers examine a series of paragraphs and are asked to identify the main idea and the supporting details.

Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...

An excerpt from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea provides learners with an opportunity to practice their ability to identify the main idea and supporting details in a passage. The beautifully illustrated worksheet also has an...

Readers use an "Idea Tree" graphic organizer to discern the main idea and supporting details of several passages included in this presentation. The three passages offer opportunities for guided and independent practice.

It can be difficult to begin a novel when you don't know what it's about. Take the opportunity to begin S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders slowly, making predictions and answering questions about the book's first nine pages.

Scholars read a short information text about the French and Indian War, then answer 10 multiple-choice questions. A score sheet appears when all the questions have been answered.

Asking questions about the text is an important way for kids to become critical readers. Use a QAR activity based on The Devil's Arithmetic to help learners decipher between questions that are right there, between the author and the...

Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one lesson intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read a nonfiction...

To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This instructional activity...

With the end of the year quickly approaching it's time to find out exactly how much your sixth graders have learned. Specifically designed for the Common Core ELA standards, this practice test gives students five reading passages,...

What happens first in Tuck Everlasting? What happens after that? Prompt readers to create a timeline of the events in Natalie Babbitt's novel, detailing both story sequence and character relationships.

Fill in the blanks with a Cloze activity based on Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. After listening to a passage read out loud, kids complete the worksheet by using their memories and context clues.

Scholars obtain a brief background of the Mayflower Compact, read its contents, and answer two questions that look at the passage's context to enhance reading comprehension.     

Bloom's Taxonomy is a great way to address the many levels of comprehension. With explanations and examples of each level, you can create questions that focus on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida is used in an activity that models how to develop questions to aid in comprehension of a text.

Determine if the reading level of Running Out of Time is too easy, to difficult, or just right for your pupils with a cloze reading exercise. After listening to the teacher read the passage, learners fill in the blanks on the cloze...

Encourage good reading habits with an activity that asks class members to examine the title and cover of Out of the Dust, and then make predictions about the setting of and events in the tale.  

If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...