Teach youngsters how to evaluate background knowledge, pictures, and context clues to draw a reasonable conclusion about a story. They practice using the discussed clues as they read the story, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,...

Reading comprehension is the name of the game! After listening to the teacher model and share personal prior knowledge about small children and what they do with food, the class discusses how they too can use prior knowledge to...

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is a classic novel that readers have enjoyed for years. Resources within the study guide such as discussion and guided reading questions, extension activities, and graphic organizers aid...

Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...

How can we heal our hearts through forgiveness?  The third activity in a series of six prompts readers to answer questions about Words by Heart by Ouida Sebestyen. Not only does it activate background knowledge on the...

The anticipation guide for Words by Heart is the first of a series of six, contains lesson plans for the activity as well as a handout to be completed individually, in pairs, or as a class. It sparks interest for the text...

Expand on prior knowledge of place value to teach your class how to round whole numbers. This essential skill is explained with the help of a number line before introducing the explicit rules for rounding numbers up and down. Work...

Everything you need to know about informational text features can be found in this resource. Recognizing these types of text features and how they are used in text allows readers to better understand information. Teachers...

Both Athens and Sparta made choices to survive in ancient Greece. Those choices were, in essence, economic ones about how to direct resources. A Venn diagram activity and reading ask class members to examine the connection between...

Ninth graders illustrate words from their vocabulary logs. In this vocabulary lesson, 9th graders illustrate their vocabulary words and use them in a sentence. Students are encouraged to read their sentences aloud to the class and use...

What can quesadillas teach your class about fractions? More than you might think. AJ and Zoe from the StudyJams! crew use this Mexican cuisine to explain how fractions are just equal parts of a whole, defining the key terms numerator and...

Encourage young readers to use their prior knowledge, as well as text clues, to draw inferences from text. Provide them with this worksheet that asks them to record a passage, the background information they already have, the text clues...

Celebrate fall with four pumpkin themed hands-on activities! After learning about pumpkins, scholars complete two activity sheets that reinforce estimation and word problems. They then plant pumpkin seeds and bake a pie in...

Work out your core, Common Core State Standards, through the first workshop in a series of 15 designed for educators. Inquiry-based activities designed for all content areas and grade levels explore the shifts to new standards,...

High schoolers apply prior knowledge to various articles, topics, and situations.

First graders build comprehension skills. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, 1st graders activate prior knowledge and create text to self connection in preparation for reading. Students read Story of a Bluebird and complete a...

Young architects are prompted to design a playground in assigned groups. Using a 10 x 10 grid. Your fifth graders will apply their knowledge of fractions, percents, and decimals to the real-world task of designing a playground....

Students examine the historical background of Supreme Court decisions and the basic principles behind legislation. As part of the lesson, students discover legal concepts and terms and write sentences using the vocabulary they have...

Students make an accordion book to show information that is associated with a particular learning event. In this accordion book lesson, students follow paper-folding directions to make the book. They fill the book with key facts and...

Dive into animation creation using Dreamworks® animated films. Compare and contrast characters, wonder and ponder why the plot is so important, and think of background and themes as your creativity unrolls onto paper.

A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...

Have your class explore active reading strategies! In this guided reading lesson, learners make personal connections to characters having a bad day as a prior knowledge activation discussion. After reading Gettin' Through Thursday, class...

Zounds! Image an American president closing all ports and prohibiting exports. As part of an exercise designed to strengthen primary source comprehension skills, readers examine Thomas Jefferson's 1808 message to Congress urging such an...

Bridge to Terabithia is a story about friendship that brings magic into ordinary life. Study guides may not be magical, but the guided questions, graphic organizers, extension activities, vocabulary, and discussion questions help...