Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...

From A to Z, learners define, draw, and find examples of specific reading focus skills in an alphabetized reading vocabulary packet. Words include dialogue, theme, text structure, genre, paraphrase, and many more.

Students identify the themes of different books by classifying their genre.  In this genre instructional activity, students examine a specific animal by reading both a nonfiction and fiction book about the species.  Students...

In this biography/autobiography lesson, students read a few biographies and discuss the term and it's characteristics. Students then brainstorm what makes a good biography/autobiography and create an 'All about me' poster. Suggested...

Students identify cause and effect relationships in a short story. After reading a short story, they participate in a discussion of how one event in a story can lead to several others. Students are then paired for a matching task that...

Students examine the role of tone in a comedy play. They also discover how to paraphrase a passage and explain a character's point of view.

Second graders explore Africa. They label the popular places in Africa on a map. Students label the different cities and monuments that are popular in Africa. They discuss the similarities and differences between cities in Africa and...

Students explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...

Students complete a survey that gives their teacher an idea of their reading habits and favorite books. The teacher will use the survey in order to build a classroom library that appeals to all students.

Seventh graders identify story elements utilizing a plot summary organizer. In this story elements lesson, 7th graders discuss the elements of a good story. Students use The Three Little Pigs to practice finding the plot elements....

Tenth graders read the poem "Still I Rise" and discuss the different ways it can be told and read and brought to life. In this poetry lesson plan, 10th graders read aloud and silently, and compare different works of poetry.