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...

Early settlers in the American Midwest experienced constant struggle. This reading passage describes for young learners the hardships of homesteaders as they journeyed west and sought to start a new life. When finished, students identify...

The country of Egypt is more than just big pyramids and ancient pharaohs. After reading a brief overview of this African nation, young learners will demonstrate their understanding of the text by identifying the main idea and supporting...

Encourage readers to compare and contrast the information that they find in informational text with a variety of reading passages and worksheets. Learners read all about subjects in science, social studies, and literature...

Introduce some nonfiction reading into your classroom! This resource contains seven comprehension questions pertaining to an article from The New York Times website about the first middle schoolers to ever win the United States Chess...

Three different reading comprehension worksheets are all related to understanding informational or historic stories. Learners read the stories (non included) then answer ten short answer, ten multiple choice, and ten five 'w'...

A great resource for informational texts as well as writing topics, the New York Times website provides writing prompts about various news articles through The Learning Network. This particular worksheet provides a very short...

What's the difference between hibernation and a good nap? Find out with an engaging life science activity that compares the hibernation habits of grizzly bears and marmots. After learners read an informational passage about each mammal,...

Sure to spark lively discussion in any Language Arts classroom, this article from The York Times asks the question, 'How much self-control do you have?'. Pupils begin by reading a short passage about a study on delayed gratification and...

Encourage reading for information with a text about United States geography. Kids read a short passage about the landforms in the United States, including mountain ranges and natural resources, and answer five reading comprehension...

Bring nonfiction into the classroom with this high-interest op-ed piece from the New York Times about love, marriage, and relationships in the 21st century. Pupils read a short article on the topic of cohabitation and offer their own...

Sometimes it takes a work of fiction to demonstrate nonfictional tragedies and events. George, an escaped slave, describes to Mr. Wilson the hardships of his life in a short passage from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle...

Inform your class about the origins of photography with this short passage and accompanying questions. After reading a short informational text, leaners answer 3 questions about the content of the text. This resource could be used in a...

A great source of high-interest reading for the language arts classroom! Meant to be used with an article also available on the New York Times website, this worksheet provides 10 comprehension questions about the reading as well as one...

Who was Abraham Lincoln? Help your English language learners recognize Lincoln's impact on the United States. After reading a short passage, learners answer five reading comprehension questions and five vocabulary questions. 

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...

Lesson 10 in a series of human rights lessons focuses on the skills of finding evidence and summarizing. Your young readers work to compare the two texts they have read in this unit: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Give young scholars a chance to practice making inferences after reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. They confirm whether or not their conclusions are true, have a class discussion, and then independently complete an...

Fourth graders read a nonfiction story that is presented to them with graphic features, and presented to them with only the text.  In this text features lesson, 4th graders decide what the benefits of text organizers are and create...

Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. For this American history lesson, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in your own...

Students complete many activities including mapping, reading books, and Internet research to learn about European exploration. In this European lesson plan, students study geographical mapping, trade, and colonization.

While designed to supplement a viewing of the PBS Masterpiece Classic The Diary of Anne Frank, this resource can also serve as an excellent informational text and activity source for your students on the historical context and timeline...

To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...

Eleventh graders examine the challenges that faced United States as a new nation.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders study the chronology of events leading up to the expedition of Lewis and Clark.  Students organize...