Read, revisit, and reflect. Older elementary students summarize main idea 6using key details. They consider the V formation that birds fly in, summarize an informational text, and write critical thinking questions.

Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...

Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport, is a story about Martin Luther King. Encourage your learners to create a list of questions before beginning the reading. Also, learners should be working on monitoring and clarifying to...

Being an informed citizen requires distinguishing fact from opinion and understanding persuasion methods. Secondary learners evaluate newspaper editorials. They read opinion pieces, identify the writer's purpose and position on an issue,...

Students discover how to read with expression. By reading and rereading decodable words in connected texts, students study the importance of expressions and how it can make a book more enjoyable.

Young scholars read Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the life of Abraham Lincoln, including, but not limited to, the Civil War. Included are reading, art,...

Determining the meaning of a word based on context clues or marking how the meaning of a term evolves in the course of a document can be a challenge in more complex text. Give your pupils an opportunity to practice this skill with a...

Help readers recognize elements in a story. They will use pictures and text to gain meaning from written material. Have learners listen to the story A Plump and Perky Turkey and participate in a discussion. They recognize the...

Examine persuasive literature and writing. In this persuasive literature activity, pupils work through a variety of activities over the course of three weeks (each week is planned by day). The unit's purpose is to examine examples of...

Clarify, connect, evaluate, predict, question. Laminate and display these colorful posers about the classroom to remind readers of the five basic strategies for comprehending all sorts of text. 

Partners identify literary allusions using a provided worksheet and use this knowledge to examine the allusions in Toni Cade Bambara's "Raymond's Run." The class also examines the impact of allusions and slang on the tone of the story.

Use the power of the pen to persuade others to get involved in community issues! Individuals reflect on personal service learning activities and the writing process. They compose essays regarding service to others. While designed for...

In this novel analysis worksheet, students use the various sections with online links to complete activities about the novel 1984. Students explore domestic surveillance, the U.S. Patriot Act, online privacy, advertising, doublespeak,...

Whether using Touching Spirit Bear in the classroom, as an outside reading assignment, or in a homeschool situation, your readers will benefit from this eight-page packet of essay and discussion questions, vocabulary lists, and reading...

Students participate in activities to determine their macro process and elaborative process abilities. During macro processes readers organize and summarize ideas as they read. They look at the big picture of the entire text as well as...

Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know.  In this Monarch Butterfly lesson,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly. Students gather...

Students make connections between reading and writing. In this language arts lesson, students explore literary elements as they examine a number of texts and practice implementing figurative language into their writing.

Explore the majestic grey whale while deepening your understanding of animal adaptations. Grey whales from head to toe are specifically designed to fit their environment. Learners will examine the ways in which the flippers, head, body,...

Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature. After "My Brother Sam Is Dead," students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War. They identify key...

Students read the story Ancient Ones about a forest that is connected to all the life around it. In this reading lesson plan, students also create a tall folding book about the forest.

Third graders demonstrate the ability to make an emotional connection to A Quilt Story.

Fourth graders read "The Runaway" by Robert Frost and analyze it for its literal and symbolic meanings. They compare their personal experiences with the poet's suggestions about youthful attitudes and behaviors. Some nice worksheets are...

Pupils identify the key features of printed non-fiction texts.  In this deciphering texts activity, students watch a video clip of a news program and a children's program to compare presentations. Pupils also identify...

Fourth graders prepare for the literary analysis. They locate, interpret, evaluate and analyze the relationship between a character and the theme. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders write topic and detail sentences, then correctly put...