To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This lesson focuses on what to do...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

Bottom side up! Scholars complete an Inverted Pyramid handout to gain a better idea of how journalists organize information. They then look at the organization of a model newspaper article and gain ideas about creating their own...

After reading a text, ask your pupils to recall and organize what they've just learned into a blank three-column chart. Class members write the topic and fill in the columns with information. The sheet also prompts students to write a...

Code red! Learners read an informational article about the Red Cross, discussing the gist of the text in small groups. On a three-column note catcher, pupils take notes to show how the Red Cross functions as a multinational aid...

Before sending your third graders to the library, help them build a solid foundation for their research with this plan. Following the "I do, we do, you do" method, the teacher starts by modeling how to create a research question and...

Encourage your young writers to thoughtfully plan and organize their work. First, model how this is done and vocalize your thought process as you work. Next, create a class list of strategies that they can use during independent writing...

Supervise the final drafting of a well-organized paragraph by following the steps outlined in this plan. Using the included sample paragraph as a model, class members brainstorm criteria for quality work and then compose their paragraphs...

Revision is an important part of the writing process. Focus on revising topic sentences and details with the plan described here. This is part of a unit, so pupils have already filled out a graphic organizer about traveling...

What do consumers need to know about overfishing before buying fish? Scholars consider the question as they prepare for their performance task, which is to create a consumer guide for people about purchasing fish responsibly. After...

A powerful introduction and conclusion can really pack a punch. Using the resource, scholars first read and discuss a model essay. Then, as part of the end of unit assessment, they draft the introductory and concluding paragraphs of...

Sometimes, it's fun to follow the rules. Using their drafts of an evidence-based essay from previous lessons, scholars write their final informative essays about rules to live by. Next, they choose and share quotes from their essays that...

Time to revise! Using a writing evaluation rubric, scholars participate in a peer editing process to provide feedback on each others' informative essays. Next, pupils begin revising their drafts based on the feedback they receive. 

For every action there is a consequence. Scholars continue their work on creating a cascading consequence chart about DDT using Welcome Back, The Exterminator, Rachel Carson: Sounding the Alarm on Pollution along...

Designed for teachers of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, this packet provides information about themes and literary devices used in the play. Appropriate for first-time and veteran teachers of Sophocles' tragedy. 

Fifth graders prepare for their end of the unit essay assessment by continuing to look at what makes an earthquake a natural disaster. They complete a graphic organizer and write a topic sentence. To finish, they view a model essay and...

Help young users organize their computer files with a practice worksheet. As they examine the listed document names, learners match them with the appropriate computer file.

The Pledge of Allegiance, the Gettysburg Address, the National Anthem, and the Preamble to the Constitution all get close attention in an exercise that asks learners to rewrite these formally-worded documents into informal language....

Give me more details. Scholars complete an end of unit assessment by creating an information text box to go with their field journal entries about howler monkeys. Learners use the class time to work independently.

Refugee & Immigrant Transitions is an organization that helps newcomers adjust to life in the United States through education and community leadership opportunities. As part of a mid-unit assessment, pupils independently read a...

Working in small groups, scholars continue reading an informational text about either Roberto Clemente or Althea Gibson. As they read, pupils create graphic organizers in their journals to help map their ideas logically. 

Let's race to the finish line. Scholars read an informational text about a chosen athlete. While reading, they add evidence and reasons to a graphic organizer to support their opinions about how their athlete broke barriers. 

There's no such thing as over-planning. In preparation for their informative consumer guides, scholars complete a Quote Sandwich graphic organizer to compile their information about sustainable fishing methods. Next, volunteers share...

A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...