Check out the view! Scholars complete a graphic organizer to analyze how Laurence Yep develops a character's point of view in Dragonwings. Additionally, pupils re-read parts of the novel and annotate the text on sticky notes, looking for...

Lights, camera, action! Viewers discuss a video about the Great Bear Rainforest Remote Camera Project. As they watch, they find the gist, determine the meaning of unknown words, and analyze the features of a documentary as an...

Put on a happy face. Using an interesting resource, pupils read an informational text about Hawaii's endangered Happy Face Spider. Next, they participate in a jigsaw discussion to find the gist of the article. 

It's time to slow down and learn about sloths! Scholars read the first few questions of an interview with a sloth canopy researcher, looking for the gist. Next, they create a glossary in the back of their journals to add new scientific...

Pupils read informational texts about the Mary River Project, searching for the gist. As they read the expert texts, they complete a graphic organizer to identify and analyze point of view.

Some things are beyond comprehension. Scholars read an excerpt from "Comprehending the Calamity," a primary source text about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. After identifying the gist, pupils complete anchor charts to analyze how the...

How easy is it to live off the land? Scholars read Minerals and Metals in Your Life and discuss how Canada's natural resources meet the needs of the people. Pupils watch a brief video and discuss the gist of the text and video. They...

High schoolers synthesize the information they've learned from each chapter of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a creative summarizing activity. With a graphic organizer for all of the book's chapters, readers title...

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.

Learners develop their listening strategies, by raising their awareness of intonation at discourse level, particularly pitch level.

Students, who are not native English speakers, determine how idioms are used in speaking and writing. For this idiom lesson, students listen to tapes of non-native speakers, and work on vocabulary exercises aimed at increasing their use...

In this career learning exercise, students practice the real life application of reading skills. They specifically cover the tasks of skimming and scanning a text.

Eighth graders explore the effect of the Fourteenth Amendment.  In this US History lesson, 8th graders read and analyze primary source documents.  Students write a three minute paper demonstrating their understanding of the...

Students examine the 1st and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. In this U.S. government lesson, students read the Amendments and interpret them in order to respond to essential questions regarding constitutional rights.

Students provide input on listening tasks and provide practice in listening for specific information in an exam type format.

A three-part standards-based lesson in which young scholars will use collaborative strategic reading to apply four reading strategies: preview, click and clunk, get the gist, and wrap-up. They will work in cooperative groups while...

This is a teachers' guide to teaching students how to use keywords and visualization as tools to help them remember important facts. This PDF file provides a list of materials necessary for the lesson, as well as a script and tips for...

A five-part standards-based lesson in which students learn to write a 20 word summary of an informational text by focusing on answering the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how. This strategy can be applied to any content area,...

In this article, the Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) technique is explained, along with research to support the use. The technique teaches students to use comprehension strategies, while working cooperatively, as they engage in the...