Use a graphic organizer to get readers thinking about main ideas as they record the who, what, where, when, and why of a story. Consider modeling this process completely before kids do this independently. They fill in five boxes charting...

Good reading practices can start at any age. Early readers work with the teacher to read a short story about a bear. First, they identify basic text features, such as the title, author, and illustrator. Then, they answer several simple...

Do your youngsters realize that they are constantly making inferences? Expose this inner process by bringing out the book they will be reading. Ask scholars what they think the plan is, and explain that their answers are the product of...

Lots of questions arise when reading Cold Sassy Tree. As your class encounters the twentieth chapter, encourage a rich discussion with some of the questions provided here. Then, either independently, or for homework, ask your readers to...

"It is better to ignore something unpleasant than to face reality." Readers of Death of a Salesman complete an anticipation guide before tackling Arthur's Miller's tale of Willy Loman and his sons. After completing the play, class...

Using a character map, learners assign traits to characters from Nicholasa Mohr’s El Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories. In addition, groups record evidence from the stories to justify the labels and use these sheets to prepare for...

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart can present challenges even for experienced readers. Here’s a schedule and corresponding guide that will help readers focus on and record important events. The packet includes fact-based, interpretative,...

Classic fairy tales are great! They have memorable characters, present interesting story lines, and lend themselves to art projects. Grab a copy of "Rumpelstiltskin" and get ready to participate in several early literacy activities. The...

The teacher doesn't always have to be the expert in the classroom. The first in a series of three supplementary activities Nature: Friend or Foe uses hands-on research tasks and projects to enhance readers' understanding of non-fiction...

This 4th grade English/Language Arts standardized test practice worksheet provides fiction passages along with open-ended questions regarding the pieces. An essay prompt is also included.

What kind of shoe is this person? What time of day is this person? Aspiring poets’ responses to a list of questions provide descriptive words and phrases that can be crafted into a blank verse poem. A link to sample poems is provided.

Have you used the directed reading thinking activity in your classroom? Doubling as either a prereading strategy, or a during reading strategy, it helps readers connect the historical background of the text to the text itself. As the...

“What does it mean to be patriotic?” “Should grades factor in to a student’s eligibility for extracurricular activities?” Class members complete an anticipation guide that asks them to respond to a series of statements that highlight...

Do your classes love reading and drawing cartoons? Middle schoolers read an editorial cartoon from a newspaper. They discuss the cartoonist's topic, audience, and purpose. Next, they brainstorm questions they have about the cartoon and...

The classic book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs lesson, is used to help readers compare and contrast the weather in Chewandswallow to their own town. Learners write their own fantasy weather story. This lesson is intended to be an...

With a chapter book in hand, readers practice visualizing the events and characters of the story. The lesson gives suggestions of novels that are rich in detail to help facilitate the process. Drawings from what they read act as the...

Prepare your class to read Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, with these prereading activities. This resource lists three ideas to ready your readers. Learners explore the historical context, connect to the book, and preview the book....

Young readers consider text-to-self connections. Learners discover the text-to-self connection as they read Flora's Box by Tina Althaide. They practice high frequency words, prepositions, and 1:1 correspondence.

Second graders listen to the story, Bruno the Baker, where some parts seem real and some seem fake. They must identify the parts of the story as realism or fantasy. An interesting way to teach young readers these two concepts.

Do your young readers know that poems can be performed as a team? They listen to a few examples from Paul Fleischman's book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, paying attention to how the how readers work together....

Students investigate the process of making a newspaper using children's literature to create context for the instructional activity. The readers are asked to predict the events of the story as it is read to them. Then the teacher uses...

Encourage focus and organization in the writing of your second, third, and fourth grade classes. Learners are asked to select a room in their house and narrow in on how it looks, smells, or feels. After writing a short paragraph...

Second graders listen to pieces of literature that take place in different regions of the world. Using a map, they identify and locate the continents and oceans mentioned in the story. They describe the physical and human characteristics...

Readers write a formal letter to an author offering an alternative ending to a story the author has written. First, the class reads a story or novel. Upon finishing the reading, they are introduced to the format of a formal letter. They...