Readers of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner assume the voice of one of the characters from the novel and draft eight reflective journal entries and a one-page collage that depicts the character's interests, personal beliefs, etc.

Young scholars complete QAR activities for Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literary analysis lesson, students read chapters 2 and 3 and complete reading check questions. Young scholars discuss chapter highlights...

Fourth graders practice making inferences and forming opinions. In this reading strategy lesson, 4th graders listen to the book Woodsong by Gary Pauisen. They make predictions about the story before beginning and discuss the story...

Students create story webs to aid comprehension of ecosystems. In this reading strategies lesson, students discover the importance of organizing information while reading a nonfiction text. Students produce story webs to communicate...

Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Legend of the Blue Bonnet. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer...

Young scholars study the novel A River Runs Through It. In this language arts lesson, students apply a pre-reading strategy to help them better comprehend the text. Young scholars use guided imagery and write down what they saw. Students...

Students practice visualization as a strategy to increase reading comprehension. They practice while the teacher reads a poem to them before reading a poem silently to themselves. Next, they practice making mental images while reading a...

Learners analyze the rhetorical strategies Frances Watkins Harper used, such as tone, emotional appeal and descriptive language

Students examine a KWL chart as a tool to generate questions about reading texts. They fill in a KWL chart for the beginning, middle, and end of a book before reading portions of the book. Next, they finish the book, complete the KWL,...

What will happen next? Leave readers at a cliffhanger as they practice prediction strategies while listening to a story. Pupils start by making guesses based on the book's cover and title, discussing the techniques they use to make these...

When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...

Primary readers predict and check for understanding by using comprehension strategies. Prepare readers the first day by frontloading vocabulary and using pictures to visualize the words. On the second day, read the story The Old Woman...

Although labeled an anticipation guide, this plan is designed to be used about 22 pages into Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. A guide is provided with 10 statements. As they read each one, they mark whether or not they agree and whether...

Encourage your class to use a variety of strategies to learn and retain vocabulary words. The plan suggests that near the beginning of your reading of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead pupils should find words in the text that are...

What exactly does make life worth living? In preparation for a fishbowl discussion of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, readers of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel highlight sections that show a character grieving, coping, or suffering...

Build counting fluency in your kindergartners with this counting and grouping timed learning game. Provide various groups of objects to count such as a clear plastic bag filled with 7 beans or a cup with 5 pennies. There are many other...

The African plains come alive as scholars learn vocabulary in context through Verna Aardema's story Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (tip: this strategy can be applied to any book). Precede reading by...

If you are reading Jane Yolen's fun story How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, use these strategies to enhance the experience for budding readers. What new words will they learn? Find detailed comprehension questions for these...

Young readers practice getting information from both the text and the illustrations found in books they are reading. They see that quite often, authors use pictures to help them get their writing process started. Youngsters are invited...

Discuss strategies for defining word your young readers don't know. They read sentences with key words covered by sticky notes and guess from the context what the word might be. They peek at the first letter and guess again.

Need a prereading activity in line with the Common Core Standards for Language? Although designed for grades 11 and 12, the procedure detailed in this resource could be used with most grade levels. Prior to reading, select 20 – 25 words...

After reading through Act II of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, take some time to discuss the references to death in the play. For this fishbowl discussion, learners prepare questions, practice answering individually and with...

Examine the key strategies to proofreading a piece of writing for errors in sentence structure, usage, mechanics and spelling. Eighth graders practice putting into correct passage commonly confused words (too, two, to) when writing to a...

Although this lesson is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content and style used by...