Third graders investigate "How To" books by watching a "How To" video and looking at books in the media center. They make a class "How To" book with a title page, table of contents, individual student pages, and graphics which they make...

Students read a number of books by a given author and input information into a database. They e-mail information about their favorite author to other students. They focus on story elements and ask questions or make suggestions for future...

Fourth graders listen to the teacher discuss the definition of "Summary." They read a story aloud with their classmates. After finishing the story, 4th graders are asked to choose the best summary statement.

Take a trip to Whoville with a lesson focused on the works of Dr. Seuss. Using listening and responding worksheets, first graders listen to six Dr. Seuss books at a listening center, rate the books, and summarize and...

Pupils create multimedia speeches of introduction which focus on women and Hispanics. They introduce their famous person and, using a video camera, video tape their speeches. 

Here is a reading strategies instructional activity in which learners use post it notes to create a bulletin board. They post their new questions on the bulletin board and look back at questions they have already learned the answer to. A...

Readers of Orson Scott Card's award-winning science fiction novel, Ender's Game use the provided KWL worksheet to list what they already know about war, what they think they will learn in reading the book, the new information they...

Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...

Considering using Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a whole class reading or for book circles? Check out this overview that provides a plot summary, a list of enduring questions raise by and themes addressed by the...

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...

Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...

What does your class know about the 1960s? Introduce your unit on S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders with a K-W-H-L chart, which encourages kids to list what they already know about the time period, what they would like to know, how they...

Have you ever heard someone say the movie is not like the book? Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment to compare scenes from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to the movie version. The assessment contains short answers, multiple choice,...

Walk through the pictures to understand the text. Scholars analyze The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by taking a book walk and looking at the pictures. They then do a first read of Life before Philo to...

Fifth graders read a book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder to examine the hardships that were endured by pioneers traveling during the Westward Expansion of the US. They predict, summarize and participate in literature circles. They visit...

Students summarize a book which they have read. A slide show depicting an action scene in their chosen book is created and three main characters described using a web.

Guide your class through a text with resources for before and after reading. Learners ask questions, discuss characters and plot points, point out elements of the reading that stood out, and compose brief summaries.

Tell a story visually using this resource. Learners design a storybook theater by creating a book and painting watercolor pictures describing scenes from the story. This is a creative means to have your class practice summarizing skills.

Identify literary elements in fiction. In this reading comprehension lesson, learners read the book Pigsty and record literary elements onto a graphic organizer. They specifically discuss the main characters and events in the text.

As learners read each chapter of Eric Schwartz's Crossing the Seas, they analyze the actions of United States in Venezuela, Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the intent of the Monroe Doctrine. They then compare...

First graders practice summarizing with the book Sheila Rae the Brave by Kevin Henkes. In this summarizing lesson, 1st graders read the story over 3 days and answer comprehension questions. They write a summary about what they book was...

Students practice summarizing things they have read. After reviewing the steps for reading silently and summarization, they read a chapter in the book Tuck Everlasting. Working in groups, they summarize what they have read and present...

Learners explore how to summarize a text while reading. They discuss what it means to summarize. Students read a non-fiction text and practice summarizing the pages they read. They highlight the main ideas and important details within...

Students examine the process of summarizing text. They participate in a class discussion, and read an assigned passage from their textbook, highlighting the main points of the text. Students then write a short summary of their...