Learning how to deliver good literacy instruction is key to becoming a successful teacher. This resource isn't so much a instructional activity as it is a guide to leading children in an interactive read-aloud session to increase...

As part of a Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) class members are asked to predict events in Patricia Polacco's Pink and Say based on illustrations in the story, on their knowledge of Steven Crane's The Red Badge of Courage,...

An in-class reading of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O introduces class members to the journey motif that forms the basis of The Hobbit.

Scholars listen to a read-aloud of fiction and nonfiction books, The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, and Snow Is Falling, written by Franklyn Branley and illustrated by Holly Keller, then take part in four creative...

A reading adventure pack, featuring a fiction and nonfiction book focuses on the weather. Scholars read Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Seymour Simon and then complete three creative activities. Participants craft...

This short reading comprehension worksheet encourages readers to make self-to text, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections as a way of remembering what they have read.

In order to make evidence-based claims, one must be able to draw explicit information from text. From here, learners take that information, analyze the text to develop a deeper understanding, and connect with the information in order to...

The westward expansion is the focus of a read-aloud anthology. Pupils will listen to and discuss stories about going West, an adventure on the Erie Canal, the Trail of Tears, the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express, and the transcontinental...

Reading is fun! Here, practice making predictions and instill concepts of print including the front of the book's features, the text's message, the connection between text and illustrations, and directionality with these daily reading...

Before diving into the engaging tale of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, conduct this directed reading and thinking activity. Assess your pupils' knowledge of Greek gods and mythology through a knowledge web,...

This pre-reading activity will certainly make your class ponder. With five questions to reflect upon, get insight to the moral dilemma Percy faced in the novel Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. 

After reading and discussing chapter 10 of Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida with a partner, individuals write about a time they had to exhibit real courage.

A Reading Adventure Pack invites scholars to start gardening. Following a reading of two books—fiction and nonfiction—young green thumbs repurpose food containers to grow an herb garden in their kitchen, plant seeds in starter pots out...

A Reading Adventure Pack explores the night sky. Reading Her Seven Brothers by Paul Goble and Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey begin the learning experience. Scholars craft a night sky mobile, go stargazing, and write a mythical story...

Scholars explore the animal kingdom with help from two texts, Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey and A Bed for the Winter by Karen Wallace. The literature and informational text set the learning stage for thoughtful discussion and...

It's time for scholars to be on their own. Individuals work independently reviewing sources to answer their research questions. Learners read "Are Your Clothes Made in Sweatshops?" to help complete the mid-unit assessment. After...

Why is reading a text closely a helpful skill? Using the 13th of 20 lessons from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, scholars continue reading the informational text "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison." They work with...

Prediction as a reading comprehension strategy is the focus of an article attached to a two-part learning exercise. Kids read the article and then use the provided information to respond to the comprehension questions.

Active listening is all about thinking, asking questions, and making connections. That's the take-away from a lesson plan about active listening. Participants learn techniques for identifying important information, including how to ask...

Create a cross-curricular learning experience based on the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat with this collection of learning activities. Starting with a class reading of the story, children go on to learn about the...

Three of Emily Dickinson's poems, "I like to see it," "Because I could not stop for Death," and "We grow accustomed to the Dark," provide instructors with an opportunity to model for class members how to use close reading strategies to...

Does technology affect our intelligence? Stefanie Olsen's article, "Intelligence in the Internet Age," and the thought provoking reading comprehension questions that follow, are sure to generate a lively discussion. 

To generate interest in and enable readers to connect to The Things They Carried, class members write about what they carry—both tangible and intangible things. The class then makes a list of these things and compares the list to...

Making letters out of goop, sight word bingo, tic-tac-toe vowels. Download this packet loaded with activities designed to engage beginning readers. Although designed for adults, many of the activities are appropriate for any...