Polk Bros Foundation
Illustration Planner
One way to help your pupils more fully understand an idea from the text they are reading is to require them to draw or sketch the concept. This page provides some space to plan the details your students want to include in their...
Polk Bros Foundation
Science Learning Summary Guide
Apply reading standards to your science curriculum by asking pupils to complete this guide. Individuals note down important vocabulary as well as two ideas they learned and two supporting facts for each idea. They then take this...
Polk Bros Foundation
Collect Evidence to Support an Idea
In order to support an idea, writers must use evidence. Your class members can prepare their evidence with this basic instructional activity. Writers note down the topic they are learning about and their own idea. Next, they come up with...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Comprehend a Paragraph, then a Page/Section in a Text
Help your class tackle chunks of text with a simple graphic organizer. Pupils read three paragraphs and, as they read, draw pictures in the provided boxes that demonstrate what each paragraph says. There are three boxes on the page and...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 1
Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...
Achievement Strategies
Fishbone for Main Ideas and Details
A key reading comprehension skill is the ability to identify the main idea and supporting details used in a passage of informational text. Here's a template that encourages young readers to practice this skill. They list the who, what,...
Curated OER
What a Relief!
How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Analyze a Story or History Completely and Carefully
Start off analysis of a text with a worksheet that asks pupils to complete several tasks. Class members note down a couple of characters or people and their distinguishing traits, describe the most important event, summarize the text...
Curriculum Corner
Informational Text Graphic Organizers
Scholars delve into an informational text with the help of four pages that focus on the author's purpose, vocabulary words, summarization, and main idea.
Curated OER
Researching the Past
Learners research the western movement in order to learn note taking strategies with nonfiction texts. They use the Internet to search for important information about the western movement using the Cornell Notes note-taking system. They...
EngageNY
Introducing World without Fish
One fish, two fish, red fish, no fish. Scholars analyze World without Fish to determine the gist, identify vocabulary, and answer text-dependent questions. As learners read, they use sticky notes to annotate the text. They also work in...
EngageNY
Tracing the Idea of Fish Depletion: Chapter 2
Scholars read chapter two of World without Fish to learn more about the fishing industry. Learners discuss in triads what it means for fishing to become an industry. They then write the gist of pages 28-33 on sticky notes and answer...
Curated OER
Outstanding Women
Research the lives of famous women in this social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use various sources to research a famous woman and create a presentation about the accomplishments of the woman. They can find the central idea throughout...
K12 Reader
Coyote: The Survivor of North America
Coyotes in Chicago? Yip. Middle schoolers demonstrate their ability to identify details that support the idea that coyotes are adaptable creatures.
EngageNY
Reading for Gist and Answering Text-Dependent Questions: Chapter 5 of World without Fish
Discover the rules of fishing. Pupils read chapter five of World without Fish to discover ideas about the rules and laws of fishing. They use sticky notes to annotate text as they read about fishing in other countries. They focus on the...
Library of Congress
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was the greatest, as he'd tell you himself. A set of reading comprehension worksheets walks through parts of Ali's life and promotes individuals to become good readers and writers.
EngageNY
Introduction: The Ideas of Charles Darwin
Piece by piece ... Scholars read the text World without Fish by breaking the text into pieces. They identify challenging words and determine the gist of each section as they read. They then work together in triads to answer...
Teacher Printables
Just the Facts
Show your class how fascinating a text can be by asking them to focus on interesting facts they learned while reading. There are boxes for six facts as well as one large box where pupils can record the most important fact from their...
EngageNY
Writing a Summary: “Middle Ages” Excerpt 2
What is the big idea? Scholars use Middle Ages Excerpt 2 to complete a summary graphic organizer. They then use the information from the organizer to write a summary of the text on lined paper. Learners share summaries with the class.
K12 Reader
Galileo and His Telescope
Readers are asked to identify how a key detail reveals the main idea of a paragraph about Galileo.
EngageNY
Reading Closely to Build Background Knowledge: “Myths and Legends”
That is a myth! Scholars take a look at Greek myths referenced in The Lightning Thief. As learners listen to stories in Myths and Legends, they imagine the sights and sounds described. Pupils then talk with partners about specific words...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Music and the Brain
Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...
EngageNY
Researching Part 2: Reading for Gist and Gathering Evidence Using the Researcher’s Notebook
The gist should be short and sweet! Pupils practice finding the gist of an informational text and then write a summary of the text. Next, they gather with their research teams to discuss a focus question based on the novel Bud, Not Buddy...
Pearson Longman
Back Talk: A Summarizing Activity
Here's resource that presents step-by-step directions for three different activities that ask kids to read a short passage, listen for the main points, and then to summarize the passage in their own words.
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