Scholars work in pairs to analyze the characters, plot, and setting of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. Next, they apply what they learned about the characters' feelings and motivation to perform a mini reader's theater. 

After listening to a story learners engage in a kinesthetic activity to answer comprehension and critical thinking questions. Finally, the students identify three main facts about the story. Extensions include a fact and opinion...

Utilize your learners' spare time by having a "password" that learners must recite before they enter or leave the classroom. As suggested here, provide an irregular word that your first graders are trying to develop. How efficient! 

As your youngsters begin to recognize the letters of the alphabet and their correponsding sounds, there are some they will be more familiar with than others. Cement their letter associations using this quick strategy, shown here with the...

How fast can you go? Test scholars' letter sound recognition with a timed game. Using letter cards of all the letters you've learned so far, learners take turns flipping cards and correctly saying the letter sound. Model this first,...

Learners find ways to share their favorite books. In this reading strategies lesson, students advertise books, create a top ten countdown, give a video book talk, simmer story stew, make book medals, play name that book, design a...

Strategy-based programs that are executed with consistency are the best for achieving growth in any learner with a learning disability. Here is a seven-step lesson plan that is highly structured and is intended to help learners with...

In the second lesson plan in a series that revolves around the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker, learners practice the skill of answering direct questions from the text while using complete sentences. After a teacher-led review of how to...

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.

Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...

Third graders answer text-dependent questions of the story Nasreen's Secret School both independently and then collaboratively through using the carousel of questions strategy. This plan is the seventh instructional activity in a...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

What should readers do to prepare for reading an informational text? What should they do during their reading? What should they do after completing such a text? Introduce your pupils to reading strategies and techniques to gain meaning...

Readers are presented with a list of three questions and asked to actively listen to a story or article to answer them. They verbally answer the questions to learn the strategy. Next, read a story to them or have them silently read a...

Discover the science behind astronomy. After reading the book Maria's Comet, which is about a young woman who breaks new ground by becoming a female astronomer, young learners practice reading comprehension with...

Follow this instructional activity, which is written more like a script, to practice reading a poem with your class. Pupils read "The Road Not Taken" and respond to five multiple choice questions on a provided worksheet. The plan leads...

A review of decoding words is incorporated in a discussion on reading with expression in order to increase fluency. The teacher gives several book options for readers to practice smooth and inflected reading, giving a short book talk on...

Can you imagine living in a totalitarian country? Learners will read several primary source memoirs to gain a deeper understanding of what life is like under a controlled government. They'll discuss each piece in pairs, research...

Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...

Reading and understanding informational text is a key element to understanding every discipline. Elementary learners read three different articles focused on various animals and habitats in the Hudson River. They answer comprehension...

Although the article that launches this lesson is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one essay....

As part of a reading of Elie Wiesel's Night class members engage in a directed reading/thinking activity that includes crafting predictions, verifying these predictions, and interpreting portions of the text.

Combine informational reading skills with fictional text in an innovative historical fiction lessons. After reading a fictional text related to diseases, class members read non-fictional text to gain knowledge about specific infectious...

Children with dyslexia may have issues with their eye tracking ability and this may cause problems when they read. Here is a set of three easy steps you can use to improve a learner's eye tracking. The idea is that some kids need help in...