Did you hear that? It's the main idea! Teach your class listening and note-taking strategies for determining the main idea by following the steps provided in this plan.

Bring the beauty of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost to middle school language arts. After learners read a copy of the poem, they follow an instructional sequence that focuses on sound, figurative language, and theme.

Practice listening and writing skills with this resource. This is a test created by the New York State Testing Program. Learners listen to a passage called "Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa" twice and write responses to the selection. They...

It is difficult to articulate how growing up feels as accurately and beautifully as Sandra Cisneros does in her short story "Eleven." After seventh graders read the story and note the author's use of figurative language, they respond to...

Examine informational text with a three-page worksheet that focuses on taking notes, identifying the main idea, and locating supporting details in order to form a summary paragraph. 

Hold participants accountable for group discussions by asking members to take notes. After identifying the topic, the recorder indicates the speaker, the speaker’s opinion, and comments on this opinion. The matrix could also be given to...

If you're starting a research project, use this guide to help young learners form the inquiry for their research. With steps that outline the entire process, including note taking and gauging the quality of an inquiry question, this...

Step into history and step out with a new understanding of events. These strategies bring a new level of understanding of key events by asking viewers to engage in and respond to projected images. Complete directions for the activity, a...

The comprehensive study guide packet for Richard Connell’s "The Most Dangerous Game" challenges young readers to reflect on hunting as a sport and what it means to be civilized. Using various graphic organizers, including a Cornell Notes...

For this New York State Testing Program English Language Arts Test worksheet, students listen to an article twice while taking notes.  Students then answer reading comprehension questions and write an essay using details and...

Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question...

To get to the heart of a writer's purpose, remember to have some PIE (Persuade, Inform, or Entertain)! And, appropriately, here is a PIE chart that leaves room for pupils to identify each letter of the acronym and any other ideas or...

Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey...

Accompany informational text reading—independent or whole class—with a worksheet that challenges scholars to examine the text's main idea, details, take notes, and record vocabulary words and their meanings.

Here is a great tool to help train your learners what to do during a think pair share! The graphic organizer has a place for your learners to put the title, their partner's name, notes during their peer discussion, and a place to record...

Analyze informational text with a set of three worksheets that focus on the main idea and supporting details, and reinforces note taking skills, and the use of context clues to define new words. 

Looking for materials to accompany your study of Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes? Look no further! Included here is everything you need to go alongside your unit: worksheets, graphic organizers, writing assignments, an assessment,...

Is Steve Harmon innocent or guilty? Examine the evidence with a worksheet based on Monster by Walter Dean Myers. As kids read the book, they note particular passages that they believe indicate whether or not Steve committed the crime.

In this story conflict worksheet, learners read Dragon of the Red Dawn and take notes on this page. This page contains space to write notes on the problems and solutions for Merlin, Fire and Samurai.

Take a look at foreshadowing in any text by recording instances of foreshadowing in a straightforward graphic organizer. Learners note down the event, the clue, and the page number for five foreshadowed events. There is also space for...

Create a buzz in your class with this collection of learning activities for the book Hi! Fly Guy. Including a list of comprehension questions, a sequence of events activity, a summary writing assignment, and a vocabulary list, this...

Prepare readers of Arthur Miller's The Crucible for a timed, in-class essay assessment with seven graphic organizers that ask individuals to note conflicts, both internal and external, characters' actions, possible...

Prepare your pupils for a debate or argumentative writing assignment. Students can use the two columns here to take notes on two different arguments about the same topics. They then note down their own positions and briefly explain their...

Telling fact from opinion can be tricky. Direct your class to practice their reading and comprehension skills by taking notes on the facts and opinions in a text. Pupils fill out a two-column chart and write down how they know a...