The success of any lesson based on a complex text relies heavily on what instructors do before beginning the reading. Before reading Othello, scholars engage in a series of pre-reading activities, including completing an anticipation...

The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...

Use this resource to support your class practicing inference with poetry and visual art. The plan calls for an examination of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and the "Mona Lisa" to promote speculation about artist's intent. From there, it...

Use picture cues as a tool in order to create meaning along with text. With a wordless comic, young illustrators discuss the main idea and character traits, and independently write a summary for a page of a wordless comic. This strategy...

What did medicine look like a hundred years ago? Two hundred years ago? Invite small groups to conduct research on the history of a chosen medical advancement before reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science....

Students practice their reading skills. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read articles about fast food topics using the wordstorming strategy described to prepare for reading the text.

Students create a KWHL chart as a pre-reading strategy. In this graphic organizer lesson, students communicate their background knowledge before reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Students continue to construct their KWHL chart as they...

Students explore pre-reading activities. Through looking at titles, and observing pictures, students predict what will happen in a story. They listen to a part of the story and then write their own conclusion. Students complete the story...

Students use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Students complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the...

Fourth graders focus on fluency by reading the book Charlotte's Web. In this reading strategies lesson, 4th graders partner read, do guided reading, and independent reading to increase fluency. Students use Venn Diagrams, discuss...

Although the article that launches this lesson is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one essay....

In this story structure lesson, young scholars read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and identify the characters, setting and main themes of the book. They answer a list of study questions about the book.

Students create tables in a word processing program which helps them organize their text clues when reading a mystery story. They develop reading comprehension strategies while using a computer based graphic organizer in order to solve...

Students participate in pre-reading activities, journal keeping, vocabulary lists and other reading comprehension boosters. These activities can be applied to many genres.

Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...

Learners develop vocabulary using pre -reading strategies. In this language arts lesson plan, students discuss the intended message from observing a picture. Additionally, learners explore guessing the covered word within a text.

"Eneke the bird says since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching." As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Paul Hernadi and Francis Steen's essay, "The Tropical Landscapes...

Students, while reading a novel together in class, jot in their journals any connections to their own lives they can make between the text and self, text to text or text to the world. Various themes are connected to open more doors to...

Students read and view information sent from seven high school students who travel to China. The daily reports that they send back to the weblog section of the site should be of high interest to students in Minnesota.

Explore children's literature by researching a book and it's author. Youngsters read the story The Mitten by Jan Brett and discuss the animals and characters mentioned in the story. Then, they practice retelling their favorite portion of...

Students apply reading strategies to improve understanding and fluency. They use their imagination and create their own short stories. They identify words as various parts of the story - including setting, character, problem, solution...

Students apply reading strategies to improve comprehension and fluency. They establish a purpose for reading. Students read the The Shoemaker and the Elves by Esop. They go over the setting, characters, problem, solution and ending of a...

Students create a story about an unknown planet invaded by humans as a pre-reading activity for the novel, A Wrinkle In Time. They discuss good versus evil, and identify examples of the theme good vs. evil in books, film, and their own...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes nineteen lessons, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response activities are included for each lesson as well as extension and...