A three-part assessment promotes reading comprehension skills. Class members read literary texts and take notes to discuss their findings, answer comprehension questions, write summaries, and complete charts. 

Could you go without your cell phone for 48 hours? Pose this question to your class and then read the article provided here. Pupils mark the text and and complete a graphic organizer that requires the use of textual evidence.

Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...

Two informational texts feature community gardens of the past and present and how seeds grow. Scholars read, discuss what they have read, complete a timeline, define words, and compose a brief essay about the texts' main idea.

A three-part assessment challenges scholars to read informational texts in order to complete three tasks. Following a brief reading, class members take part in grand conversations, complete charts, and work in small groups to research...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...

Students practice reading for the gist of a text, improving reading speed, and fostering interest in reading authentic texts. They explore the use of figurative language.

William Shakespeare penned some of the richest and most fascinating works of literature—or did he? Middle schoolers read three brief informative passages and conduct additional research to evaluate the claim that Shakespeare did not...

A three-part assessment challenges scholars to write opinion essays covering the topic of the student council. After reading three passages, writers complete a chart, work with peers to complete a mini-research project, answer...

Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...

Set young readers on the path toward fluency with this phonemic awareness resource. Based on the award-winning children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, this lesson allows beginning readers to practice isolating...

Three options offer young writers the opportunity to read a short story, answer questions, and write a response. A handy language arts resource focuses on reading comprehension and analyziing the story's lesson: look before you leap. 

Does pride really goeth before the fall, or can it be essential to one's development? Second graders read two of Aesop's fables that refer to pride in their morals, and write a short essay about whether pride is good or bad, based on...

Sixth graders identify information from texts by working in pairs using Wikki Stix or highlighting tape to locate, mark, and read items on preview checklist. Students then compare what they marked with what another pair marked.

Explore newspapers as a form of print media. They examine headlines from newspapers and infer meanings of the headlines. They skim articles for information and exchange articles between groups. They complete charts while skimming the...

Sixth graders discover how to turn book titles into questions in order to locate the information during their reading. Using t-charts, they list titles and subtitles with the questions they suggest. Gradually, 6th graders progress from...

Pupils identify the main ideas from expository text. In this main ideas lesson, students read a piece of text and practice identifying what is most important. Pupils complete another sample reading with a group then discuss as a class.

Jack London's heart for adventure has come to define the spirit of America and its frontier. Selected passages from the foreword The Cruise of the Snark take eighth graders through London's construction and voyage of his ship before...

Students apply the reading technique of scanning to real world texts. They look for specific information (time, date, place/location, etc.) from a bus schedule in order to communicate the necessary information to someone else.

Using everything they have learned about writing paragraphs over the past few lessons of the unit, class members compose an informative paragraph independently. This is an authentic assessment of their ability, since learners have...

Enter the world of Harry Potter and learn new vocabulary at the same time. A high-interest reading passage provides insight into the history of Harry Potter. Follow-up activities incorporate key vocabulary strategies, such as using...

English language learners examine advertisements for pets and pet shelters. Students read advertisements about pets who are living in shelters. They answer comprehension questions based on the reading before writing an original...

Students read short texts and discover people's likes and dislikes. In this likes and dislikes lesson plan, after reading the texts, students sort these people according to their interests.

Students identify and write short sentences with likes and dislikes, frequency, and location. In this short sentences lesson plan, students read the sentences, identify what is asked, orally practice saying sentences, and then write...