What is Hamlet's attitude towards life and death in Shakespeare's Hamlet? Scholars continue reading the play to answer the question, paying particular attention to Hamlet's most famous soliloquy. By holding a discussion and completing...

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...

Practice comparing and contrasting details in informational text with a reading passage about whales. It explains the ways that fish and whales are similar, as well as the ways they are different, and specific characteristics of various...

What happens when a species becomes extinct? Sharpen your reading skills with a passage about how koalas have gotten close to being an endangered species.

How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...

Learners read very brief passages and answer multiple choice and short answer questions about words presented in the context of sentences. Four questions about the words edible, inedible, introvert, and trivial.

The verbal and quantitative sections of the SAT can be a challenge for even the most erudite logophile. Prepare your test takers for the vocabulary they will encounter on standardized exams by providing them with a helpful list of roots,...

Guided by the provided questions, readers of David Mitchell's "Hangman" examine the author's figurative language to develop the constant struggle in Jason and Hangman's relationship.

How can you put a passage in your own words without changing the meaning of the original text? That is the question facing many young researchers. The advice modeled in this presentation is that writers read the passage carefully,...

Why do people write books? Pupils discover how to identify the author's viewpoint. They read non-fiction passages their instructor selects (the plan has the class look at nonfiction children's picture books), and then identify the...

Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...

Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...

Enter the world of Harry Potter and learn new vocabulary at the same time. A high-interest reading passage provides insight into the history of Harry Potter. Follow-up activities incorporate key vocabulary strategies, such as using...

How does word choice influence the meaning and tone of a text? To answer this question, class members listen to a masterful reading of a passage from David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and then work with a partner to conduct a close...

After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...

What kind of mouse is Despereaux Tilling ... a field mouse? A white-footed mouse? With the novel study for The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, scholars research the different species of mice and draw pictures of the one that they...

Several vocabulary words are joined together in a cohesive paragraph that can be played via audio clip for your class. Pauses in the audio allow listeners to repeat the target words to emphasize correct pronunciation. As the audio is...

Hear "Al Literation" read a paragraph with twelve vocabulary words hailing from Latin roots. Help your learners gain a greater understanding as they hear the words in context. A written transcript is available just below the character...

Hear a variety of vocabulary words incorporated into one paragraph. Click on the "Cinny Nym" character image to hear the passage via audio clip. A transcription of the paragraph is available below. Familiarize your readers with a list of...

For this word meanings from context worksheet, students read 4 short passages that have a word in bold type. From 4 choices, students select the best meaning of each word in context.

In this word meaning from context worksheet, students read a short passage and analyze the difficult word in bold type. Students decide what the word means by using context clues and choose the correct answer from 4 choices. A secret...

In this reading comprehension learning exercise, middle schoolers read a passage describing the history of Italy's flag. Then they respond to six multiple choice questions based on the description they read. Students discover who chose...

Meant to be used with the article "Words of Wisdom" also available on the New York Times website, this resource contains a fill in the blank exercise where learners complete the article by supplying missing words. Use words from the word...

As part of a study of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, class members respond to, and craft, higher-level comprehension questions based on passages from the text.