Explore non-fiction comprehension strategies with your class. They will visualize daily activities and label a 4 circle Venn diagram with related phrases. They must identify the overlapping sections as "main ideas," then complete a...

Young readers access prior knowledge of how wheat becomes bread. Using "The Little Red Hen" story, learners make predictions of the events. Extension activities include singing a song about the story and making a list of...

Focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis while reading A Weave of Woods, a colorful picture book by Robert D. San Souci. Young learners use worksheets to preview, predict, practice paraphrasing, and make comparisons. The...

Cement comprehension skills using the strategies in this activity. After reading the story, Juan Verdades by Joe Hays, learners use context clues to answer questions, identify main ideas and details, and sequence events.

This learning experience fosters awareness of representations we see, and don't see, in the media. Learners list TV programs, games, and films they enjoy, identify characters' ethnic, religious, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation...

Sail with Christopher Columbus on a biographical reading adventure. Young explorers learn about the life of Sir Columbus as they hone their comprehension skills through guiding questions, shared reading, and fluency practice. Included in...

“There is no story that is not true, . . .” And uncovering the truths in Things Fall Apart is the focus of a 68-page resource packet designed to provide instructors with a wealth of materials that enhance understanding of Chinua Achebe’s...

What better activity is there for summer than reading? Provide your pupils with 25 book ideas for their summer reading pursuits. A variety of different genres are represented on this list, and each book is paired with publication...

Dig in deeper with Robert Frost's, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Learners will read and discuss poems by Robert Frost and learn the meaning of terms such as narrative and personal. They journal, collaborate, and present poetry...

Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This lesson is extremely...

Have your class react to a number of statements about The Cat in the Hat, then read a news article about a special event honoring the birthday of the popular book. The teacher introduces an article with a discussion and vocabulary...

Talk about technology in the classroom. This plan has all the resources needed to create a non-linear or branching story. Included is a step-by-step tutorial that walks middle schoolers through the project description, a model of a...

Learning to analyze language, symbols, and codes is part of becoming a deep and critical thinker. Young analysts consider their ability to see hidden messages as they analyze the work of Paul Chan. There are two fully developed...

Practice summary writing with informational texts. Young readers create summaries after reading magazine articles, newspaper articles, or other forms of informational texts. Readers use the GRASP strategy (read text, write what you...

After reading the book Jack of All Tails, learners complete vocabulary activities, play charades, consider a list of questions, and complete a list of verbs. There are also several suggestions for how to connect this language...

Who doesn't love a challenge? Provide your class with this word search to reinforce the vocabulary they're learning with the roots nat, tract and sequ.

It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text...

Bring the historical relevance of baseball into the classroom, as pupils discover the lessons learned from the breaking of baseball's color barrier by Jackie Robinson. Learners view video and analyze Robinson’s character, as well as his...

Poems are meant to be heard. Hearing a poem being read enriches one’s understanding of the tone and mood of the piece. Introduce your class to the sounds of poetry with a packet that not only details how to use poetry recordings in the...

“Yea, there thou mak’st me sad and mak’st me sin/In envy that my Lord Northumberland/Should be the father to so blest a son--.” Henry IV, Part I, provides the text for a series of exercises that ask class members to examine the...

When is a staple remover a fanged monster? In your ELA classroom when you're teaching this fun figurative language lesson, of course! Get your young writers using figurative language by making a game of it. Give groups a paper bag full...

One of my favorite things about this resource is that they use a standardized lexile to help you determine who should be reading what book. I also love this great teacher's guide for the book, The Class Election from the Black...

You've hit the second grade Common Core jackpot! Find over 40 pages of curriculum designed specifically for the standards, both math and language arts. Printable versions of each standard can be used as learning displays, and...

Pay special attention to onsets and rimes and initial consonants with this packet of activities designed to provide additional support to youngsters just learning to read and write.