Guide your class through a reading of the popular children's book, Frindle, with this comprehensive literature unit. Starting with a brief introduction to the guided reading process, the class goes on to read the story two chapters...

Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...

As a final assignment in a unit study of Edward Bloor's Tangerine, individuals assume the voice of Paul Fisher and craft the witness report Paul mentions in the final pages of the novel. A great way to assess the...

Avoid the horror of readers straining to recall details of Joseph Conrad's complex Heart of Darkness. Instead provide scholars with a frame for their note taking. As they read, class members record evidence to support their responses to...

Silly journal and essay prompts may be fun to write, but they don't model the kind of writing needed for college papers and standardized tests. The 15th part in a series of 24 covers the concept of reading to write—during and after...

Thanksgiving doesn't occur only once a year for the Haudenosaunee. Weave an instructional activity about reading closely with an inspiring message about eternal gratitude for all of the elements of creation into a unit on Native American...

Time for a good old fashioned match game! Readers complete an initial, second, and third read of Plantation Life to gain a deep understanding. After close reading the text, scholars practice identifying paraphrasing by...

Ready to integrate technology into your ELL instruction? Check out this reading lesson that has language learners using the Internet and apps, joining online book clubs, and creating blogs. A fine model of what can be done.

The last read-aloud anthology in the series showcases frontier explorers. First graders listen to texts about Daniel Boone, crossing the Appalacian Mountains, Lewis and Clark, dangers on the prairie, and more. After reading, pupils...

A read-aloud anthology explores the ancient greek civilization. Over four weeks, second graders explore Mount Olympus, Sparta, Athens, the olympic games, philosophers, and Alexander the Great. Scholars listen to and discuss a reading,...

Walk your pupils through the beginning of My Antonia by Willa Cather with a read-aloud-style activity. The goal is to make predictions and back them up with textual evidence.

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...

As a culminating assignment for a unit study of heroes that uses The Hobbit as the core text, class members engage in a multi-genre writing project.

Eighteen lessons make a read-aloud anthology all about early Asian civilizations. Scholars listen to and discuss stories about the Indus River Valley, Hinduism, Silk, Buddhism, the Great Wall of China, Diwali, and more, alongside stories...

Now what? Class members continue their close reading of Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” focusing on Hundert's feelings about his retirement, and consider what these feelings reveal about his character.

Did Bernie Madoff fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer because, as Diana Henrique contends in an excerpt from her The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death, he “did not fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer”? Huh? Groups begin their...

Want to boost your readers' comprehension skills and strategies? Look to these five pages, each with a short story and questions to answer covering main idea, facts, sequence of events, context clues, conclusions, and making...

How does one's experience reading a poem's text differ from listening to its audio version? Delve into the insightful question with the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, as pupils compare and contrast their experience using a note-taking...

As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a close reading of a section of Chinua Achebe's essay, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness." Jigsaw groups then compare the voice in the essay...

With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...

One of the big challenges of assigning independent reading is helping class members find a book to read. Another is encouraging readers to read a variety of genres. Never fear, help is here in the form of a quest that asks individuals to...

Show what you know! Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment using text evidence from Frederick Douglass. The teacher then presents expectations for independent reading assignment. Leaving the class, pupils turn in an exit ticket...

The second interactive in a series of 10 introduces young scholars to character archetypes, archetypal plot patterns, and archetypal motifs, including the use of color. Learners read passages explaining the term and study examples from...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.