Fourth graders read "Starting a Business" and answer the question: "How could you design an ad to let the community know about the business described in the story?" Then, they illustrate a written ad that could be posted in the...

Practice makes perfect. A practice test designed for the ELA MCAS Assessment gives seventh grade learners the opportunity to answer reading comprehension questions and respond to essay prompts. Questions involve general fiction and...

Improve readers' comprehension with a pair of visualization opportunities. First they listen, eyes closed, as you read a description from Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, and discuss ideas about what they "see." After you read...

A unit plan uses short texts to teach literary elements such as theme and characterization. Included are passages by authors such as Walter Dean Myers and Sandra Cisneros. Activities include quick writes, filling in graphic organizers,...

Students compare versions of Cinderella and draw conclusions based on the story elements identified. In this literacy comprehension and story elements lesson, students read several versions of Cinderella, complete a "Comparing Folklore"...

What do wizards smell like? A novel study for Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy walks readers through chapter one to help them answer the question. Scholars also practice vocabulary from the chapter and invent original similes.

In this RNA worksheet, students compare and contrast RNA from DNA. Students complete 1 multiple choice and 8 true or false questions.

A car crash, a murder, a hurricane. With such a plot, why is the title of Sheila Turnage's novel Three Times Lucky? After making a prediction about the plot, scholars use the novel study to research and record facts...

A quintessential resource for teaching an elementary unit on the first Thanksgiving addresses a variety of skills, including informational reading, critical thinking, comparing and contrasting facts, technology tools, and historical...

Learners practice the habits of good readers in the content area of science. While reading a brief article about leeches, they compare and contrast the material read with other information they have encountered.

Engage in an activity that focuses on the concepts of formal and informal language use. Middle and high schoolers compare and contrast each style by using a Venn diagram that includes some examples. They read and hear a passage of lyrics...

Learners explore the patterns of text structure to anticipate the kind of information that a reading might present. The lesson examines some of the components of reading writing and using nonfiction.

 The narrative works of Frederick Douglass engage learners in the topic of slavery. They will experience American history in a new way, a Douglass expresses his thoughts in his own words. Pupils then interpret this literary...

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a passage from an essay by George Orwell and a passage from an essay by T.H. Huxley.  Students have 12 minutes to answer 8 reading comprehension questions in this SAT practice...

Fourth graders research Ellis Island and Angel Island. In this library media lesson, 4th graders use resources from the library to locate facts about Ellis Island and Angel Island. Students construct a Venn diagram to compare and...

Seventh graders examine music examples to investigate a conflict in history about Hitler's invasions during WWII. In this music analysis lesson plan, 7th graders discuss vocabulary and the history for the Holocaust and Hitler's...

Reader's Theater is a great way to build fluency, intonation, and dramatic flare. The class reads the theater piece, "The New Friends" paying attention to how they express emotion and feeling as they read. They discuss the use of plot,...

This discussion guide accompanies the fiction book Midnight Magic written by Avi, enforces story elements, inferences, and theme/plot. Have the class work on it over time, it will engage even your reluctant readers. 

In this identifying graphic organizers and their texts worksheet, students observe chronological, compare & contrast, sequence, cause & effect, and problem & solution graphic organizers, read short passages, and match them....

Students examine the resistance to the birth control movement. They compare and contrast the reasons for and against birth control and examine the social agendas of the supporters of birth control.

As Flora from Flora and Ulysses drowns in her misery, she discovers a squirrel with bigger problems than her own. She saves him from the vacuum cleaner and finds out that his brush with death gave him superpowers. Scholars match...

Students compare and contrast the visions of W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington. For this African American history lesson, students read biographies about both men and create a Venn diagram about the men.

Many turtle species can retreat their heads into their shells when threatened by predators. With the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing novel study, pupils conduct research to uncover other interesting turtle facts. As they explore Judy...

Has everyone heard the news about the herd of antelope? Scholars explore homonyms with the novel study for Superfudge by beloved children's author Judy Blume. Additionally, they answer text questions and engage in language activities....