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Finding the Main Idea
Thar she blows! An excerpt from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick provides the text for an exercise in finding the main idea. After recording the main idea of the passage, readers also provide two supporting ideas. An answer key is provided.
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The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon
Practice comprehension skills using the story, The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon by Bea Uusma Schyffert. Learners answer questions, fill out graphic organizers, and engage in extension activities involving writing and...
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Secrets of the Mummies
How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing...
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Printing and Publishing
Explore African literature and artwork in a multicultural literacy and art lesson. Begin with a read aloud of Tiger and the Big Wind: A Tale from Africa, and afterward, have kids retell the main events in the story. They identify and...
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The Emperor and the Kite
Fourth graders develop critical listening skills and answer four questions related to the story, THE EMPEROR AND THE KITE. They identify the main idea and recall a question that involves making a judgment.
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Living The Life of a Scribe
Learners write a descriptive letter about life in ancient Mesopotamia. Through video streaming, students discover the history of Mesopotamia. They assume the role of a scribe and compose a three paragraph essay using main ideas and...
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What's the Big Idea?
Students choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...
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The Apple Pie Tree
Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree. In this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences.
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Freckle Juice
Students complete activities with the book Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. In this literature lesson, students read chapter one and brainstorm adjectives for the four main characters. They make a page of vocabulary words and definitions.
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Catch those Butterfly Facts!
Discuss the importance of comprehension and the use of summarization with your class. Through guided practice, they follow three steps in finding and highlighting important information, deleting information that is not needed and...
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Rewording the Main Idea
In this story idea instructional activity, students read 6 one-sentence stories that are illustrated. From two choices, students pick the word that best tells the idea of the story.
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Past and Present Tense
Students make predictions about the coming up chapter in their book. Students are introduced to new vocabulary words and definition for this new chapter. Students create a table where they can input the new vocabulary word, definition...
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Reading Study Guide: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary guides,...
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Muggie Maggie - Lesson 6
Third graders read chapter 6 of Beverly Cleary's, Muggie Maggie, and complete associated activities. In this Muggie Maggie activity, 3rd graders complete vocabulary work. They examine punctuation marks used in the chapter, and make a...
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Synonyms
Students examine synonyms from their reading. In this synonyms lesson, students use vocabulary from their reading to create a chart and illustrate the words. Students complete online activities from the story.
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Compare The Hat and The Mitten
Second graders compare two books they have read, The Hat and The Mitten. In this compare and contrast lesson, 2nd graders review the author and illustrator of the books and discuss the main characters and problem. Students use Venn...
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Tall Tale Introduction
Students explore folk tales by completing a graphic organizer with classmates. In this tall tale lesson plan, students read the famous story Paul Bunyan and identify the many characteristics of a fictional tall tale story. Students...
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Lesson Two - Compound Words
Students complete activities with the book Sarah Plain and Tall. In this literature lesson, students read chapter two and complete attached activities. They list the compound words they find and study new vocabulary.
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Picture This: Visualization
Sixth graders practice visualizing and understanding that visualization is an important comprehension strategy. They share their visualization of the story through original artwork and determine that ideas, and cultural settings can...
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Illustrated Dictionary
Students make an illustrated dictionary of words they've used and learned in class. In this vocabulary instructional activity, students find words from their notes, discuss the words in a group, select the best words as a class, and...
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JUST SANDWICHES
Second graders brainstorm, share ideas, categorize and choose a favorite sandwich. They then make their favorite sanwich as a prewriting activity.
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Authors on the Internet
Fifth graders write a list of their favorite authors and illustrators before deciding on ways to learn more about them. They examine print and Internet resources as a way to answer questions they have. They complete an Author Scavenger...
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Flight Formation: The V's Have It!
Read, revisit, and reflect. Older elementary learners summarize main idea 6using key details. They consider the V formation that birds fly in, summarize an informational text, and write critical thinking questions.
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Reading For Meaning
Select an article that explores people of another culture. After reading it as a class, distribute copies of this worksheet. It asks for a brief summary, encourages readers to make text-to-self connections, and asks learners to identify...