Constitutional Rights Foundation
Refugees: International Law and U.S. Policy
Discover the ways America has opened its borders to international refugees, and the ways other countries have been more or less welcoming, with an informational passage about United States and international policies on refugees....
Curated OER
Reading and Responding: Lesson 3
Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one lesson intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read a nonfiction...
Student Handouts
A Society in Transition
Cover the 1980s in your class with a brief informational text and seven related questions. The one-page reading passage includes general information about jobs and skills, population patterns, and the AIDS epidemic.
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Guinness Book of World Records
If your learners are curious about human achievement, superlatives, or esoteric trivia, the Guinness Book of Records is a way to tap into instrinsic motivation and relevance. Here's an informational reading that will grab their attention...
Curated OER
Where in the World is Mrs. Waffenschmidt? #9
Mrs. Waffenschmidt is off on another adventure, but where has she gone this time? After reading the informational passage, learners should be able to determine the man-made canal she's visiting. A wonderful way to introduce a little...
National Constitution Center
Town Hall Wall: Coming to America
Everyone seems to have an opinion on the status and rights of illegal immigrants. Help secondary learners research each perspective and arrive at their own conclusions with a collaborative exercise. As they read an informative passage...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Is Electronic Communication Helpful or Harmful?
Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...
Have Fun Teaching
Identifying Author's Purpose
The multi-lesson, 47-page packet contains everything you need to ensure kids can recognize the clues provided to identify the type of text, the intended audience, and the author's purpose in writing the passage.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cyberbullying—Alternate Lesson Plan
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,...
American Chemical Society
The Periodic Table and Energy-Level Models
Teach your class to think of electrons as tiny packets of energy that travel in waves. Through a short video and diagram, participants see how electrons are located around the nucleus of an atom. They then get into groups and try to...
Teach Engineering
See the Genes
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein. The sixth installment of a seven-part series teaches young scientists about the importance of being able to communicate scientific research and...
Curated OER
Classifying Information About Main Idea
In this reading for understanding lesson, students underline information in a text that is important in identifying the main idea. This lesson provides good practice for students who usually have difficulty in finding the main idea in...
Curated OER
Mosquitoes
In these reading comprehension worksheets, students read the informational passage about mosquitoes. Students then answer 5 reading comprehension questions and 7 vocabulary questions about the text.
Curated OER
Freedom of Information Day
In this Freedom of Information Day worksheet, students complete activities such as reading a passage, phrase matching, fill in the blanks, correct words, multiple choice, spelling sequencing, scrambled sentences, asking questions,...
Curated OER
Space Exploration- Voyagers 1 and 2
Everyone loves to learn about outer space. This space exploration passage has 10 questions relating to Voyager 1 and 2. There are both comprehension and vocabulary questions. The activity could be used with upper elementary or ESL students.
Curated OER
Frogs
Young learners are more motivated to practice skills when they are motivated. This reading passage about frogs provides a quick and easy way for students to practice comprehension and vocabulary skills by answering the 10 questions.
Curated OER
Helicopters
Using this reading passage relating to helicopters, students can practice comprehension and vocabulary skills. Because of the novel aspect of the topic, learners should enjoy reading the story and answering the 10 questions that...
Curated OER
Fish
This short activity, with a reading passage and questions, could be part of a test preparation activity. Through answering the 10 questions students practice comprehension and vocabulary skills.
Curated OER
Lesson 1: Explicit Information versus drawing conclusions
Second graders look at the difference between explicit information and drawing conclusions. In this drawing conclusions lesson, 2nd graders read a passage and find areas where information is given and others where they have to think to...
Curated OER
Explicit Information versus Drawing Conclusions
Fourth graders read a comprehension passage and answer short answer questions and then identify their answers as explicit information or drawing conclusions. In this comprehension lesson plan, 4th graders do this as a whole and individuals.
K12 Reader
Identifying Geometric Solids
After reading a short passage that identifies different types of geometric solids, kids answer a series of questions using information found in the article.
Washington Township Public Schools
Using Paired Text
Paired reading passages frequently appear on standardized exams, but finding text sets to use in the classroom is sometimes a challenge. A lesson plan on using paired texts includes a selection of passages and a graphic organizer for...
California Education Partners
Quest for Tree Kangaroo
A three-day assessment challenges scholars to read a passage from an informational text then complete two activities that lead to a writing assignment. Day one and two begin as readers independently read a passage and tag the most...
Teach-nology
Writing with More Than One Purpose
It's not very hard to find the author's purpose in narrative, informative, or persuasive writing, but what happens when an author's purpose includes all three types of writing? Determine which sentences in three paragraphs are meant to...