Good literature can be much like an iceberg requiring readers to presume that the bulk of the meaning may be inferred to be found below the surface. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to conduct a close reading of passages from The...

Emerging statisticians develop the ability to make inferences from sample data while also working on proportional relationships in general. Here, young learners examine samples for bias, and then use random samples to make...

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...

Using the paintings On to Liberty and A Ride for Liberty, 10th graders analyze historical perspectives on life after the Civil War. They attempt to determine what the Civil War meant for free slaves, then read a paragraph highlighting...

To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...

To develop their skill at drawing inferences from observations, sixth graders rotate through six stations, conduct a series of experiments, make observations, and draw inference from what they observe.

Model for young readers how to use illustrations, chapter titles, and events in a story to draw inferences and make predictions. Learners then practice these essential comprehension strategies by drawing inferences for another section of...

Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" engages adolescents with its theme about the dangers of complete societal equality. Learners complete a graphic organizer to track literary elements in the story, as well as an inference...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be lessoned by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “My...

After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...

Young readers take part in a meaningful discussion following a reading of Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Stork." Five questions focus on the characters' actions and offering apologies. 

Greed is the theme of the West African folktale, Anansi Goes to Lunch and this multidisciplinary collection of lessons. First, scholars listen to a read aloud and participate in a grand conversation about the book's key details and...

Making inferences can be a tricky proposition for middle schoolers. In the activity presented here, pupils practice the skill of drawing a conclusion and making a judgment - which are what making an inference is all about! There are five...

Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...

Delve into Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan with close reading and evidence-based, text-dependent questions. Part of a unit series, this well-sequenced, Common Core designed instructional activity draws on material from the...

The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unit is a golden ticket for teachers looking for nicely written plans. Elementary and middle schoolers draw their impressions of characters, design and market their own candy creations, and use...

Who is telling the story? Readers take a look at the text Eight Days to determine if the story is told in first or third person. They then discuss in groups and complete a shared writing activity to describe how the narrator's point of...

What, where, how? Readers hone their analysis skills as they determine the narrator's point of view in Eight Days. They complete a literary analysis chart and essay to describe what and where events take place. Individuals then discuss...

Students explore the overall strategies pursued by the Japanese and the Allies in the initial months of World War II. What each side hoped to accomplish what what actually happened forms the basis of a comparison made in this...

After completing the first five chapters of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle By Avi, use direct quotes to make inferences about how Charlotte feels about certain characters. Later, when the novel has concluded, revisit...

Elie Wiesel's "Hope, Despair and Memory" provides ninth graders an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyze complex text. Individuals craft an essay that draws evidence from the text of the speech to show how Wiesel develops...

A three-part assessment tests scholars' reading and writing capabilities. Young readers listen to and read an excerpt from Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel. After drawing pictures of what is memorable, learners discuss...

Students discuss times they predict what will happen next. They compare this to using the information given in a piece of literature to predict what will happen next in the story. Students listen as the teacher reads an excerpt from The...