Middle schoolers recognize Theme through the use of simple, short stories. Using Pro Quest, students begin by researching the literary element, theme, and how it can be identified. They then identify the themes in Aesop's...

Students spend some time in the world of marketing and advertising by analyzing and creating slogans and campaigns geared toward adolescents. Students work with a partner to create their design and share with the class

[Free Registration/Login Required] Here one can generate several reading comprehension activities for middle or high school students with material ranging from biographies to non-fictional content.

Short summary of different skills involved in reading fiction vs. non-fiction. Includes study tips and an organizational guide to use when reading.

Fifth graders will use non-fiction books to identify and explain how text features help them as individual readers.

A tutorial consisting of seven exercises showing different text structures used in textbooks. Learn how they organize information to help students locate specific details and how to take notes based on information within a textbook.

This site provides activities, games, tests, and worksheets in reading areas: deduction, dictionaries, poetry, and non-fiction.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A two-lesson unit in which students learn how to identify explicit information in non-fiction text by creating questions and then reading the text to find answers. Students also use explicit information...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson unit on cause and effect. Students learn to use signal words to identify cause and effect relationships and to describe possible effects when given a cause in fiction. Students also learn...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Teachers will read "Digging Up Dinosaurs" using the close reading technique. Learners will use graphic organizers to summarize the steps necessary to collect, study, and build a dinosaur skeleton.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson unit on fact and opinion through which students learn how to identify opinions through signal words, identify facts in a non-fiction text, and use facts to help them formulate opinions of...

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text debating the topic of starting each school day with a moment of silence. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

Compare the printed page to an electronic web page and use this activity to discuss the similarities and differences. A cross-curricular tie-in with ecosystems. Could easily be adapted to another subject area.

"Animal Studies" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about studying the behaviors of animals including the sawfly and the poppy-bee. They learn about animals by observing them. It is followed by constructed-response questions...

Complete teaching units (12) by grade level. CommonLit units are crafted to be both engaging and rigorous, featuring a variety of literary and informational texts from diverse sources. Reading, writing, and discussion are prioritized in...

Six 50-minute lessons build vocabulary through the content areas by making an ABC book. It can become a classroom resource. Links include a non-fiction book list, checklist, word list, rubric, and a storyboard chart. There is also a link...

Students will compare information from the non-fiction book "We are Americans" and the book "Whoever You Are" to write or speak more knowledgeably about what large groups of people have in common.

A printable pyramid for use with nonfiction texts while students identify the main ideas and supporting details within a text. Students also determine author's purpose and key vocabulary words. Directions on how to use this type of...

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...

Reading non-fiction and perhaps particularly biography is a skill that must be taught. This unit uses the lives of three icons: Elvis Presley, Malcolm X and Rachel Carson to develop this skills. Extensive bibliography for the teacher,...

PBS LearningMedia Presents POV Watch Club. Free to educators each month. Let's watch and learn together! Join the Watch Club: Since February 2021 PBS has teamed up with POV to bring a documentary from television's longest-running...

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...

This is a fairly sophisticated series of writing guides. It assumes that users already have a solid grasp of spelling, grammar and mechanics, so it focuses more on organization and types of presentation than on more basic skills....

Contains plans for eight lessons that explore Question and Answer Books and ask students to do research in order to write their own. In addition to objectives and standards, these instructional plans contain links to sites used in the...