Practice using the Turn the Question Around (TQA) method to answer reading comprehension questions based on short narrative paragraphs. Instructions and materials are included for direct, guided, and independent instruction. Responses...

After reading or watching the musical Les Miserables, challenge your high schoolers with these analysis questions. The sheet provided suggests having class members record the answers to these questions, but they would also be good...

Graphs, charts, maps, diagrams. Reading and comprehending informational text is far more than just decoding the words on a page. Here's a packet that provides young readers with practice answering constructed response questions using...

Where do humans fall on the food chain? Scholars read about the Industrial Food Chain in The Omnivore’s Dilemma sections. They use word catchers to record unfamiliar words as they read and place sticky notes in the margins to annotate...

Enhance the reading experience with a set of lessons designed to improve textual analysis. Seventh graders use guiding questions to read both informational text and literature closely in the first part of the unit. Next, they work on...

Hints for how to improve listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills are contained in a cross-curricular reading comprehension worksheet designed for primary graders. After reading a short passage loaded with tips, kids respond to a...

Practice the five W's and question marks with a fun grammar worksheet. After copying the words who, what, where, when, why, and how, kindergartners fill the words into various questions. For extra practice, have kids come up with their...

Ever needed a reason to stop eating meat? Read this interesting (and slightly disgusting) passage with your class to assess reading comprehension. 

Teach your readers strategies for breaking down informational texts. Pupils develop and implement the tools they'll need to decode texts for the rest of their lives with an informational resource that focuses on the structure and...

Sometimes the most important details of an informational text aren't within the text at all. Teach your class how to read timeline with a set of activities that prompts them to find specific dates and events on the timelines, as well as...

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

The beauty in this resource is the lengthy list of highly charged, controversial-issue research topics. Categories include issues of race, politics, law, environment, education, athletics, gender, and technology. After selecting a topic,...

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have captured the heart of readers since Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813. An eBook version of Jane Austen's novel gives learners a chance to read about the classic characters. 

What's the best way to make sense of the Constitution?  A helpful lesson contains both the text of Article III and annotation of each of its sections, breaking it down into easy-to-understand parts. It also includes links to a...

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...

Geeta Kothari presents an honest and compelling account of trying to assimilate into American culture. After your class reads her short story "If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?," present your scholars with this two-page analysis...

Help your class examine humanity's unpredictable nature through "Life Steps Almost Straight." Learners read various works from philosophers such as Viktor Frankl, The Buddha, and Nietzsche to gather textual evidence and explain their...

English language learners build their reading comprehension with this passage and its accompanying questions. Before they read the selection, read the questions aloud. Then, as they read, have them mark the text. Twelve multiple-choice...

Prepare your classes for the impending state testing! Give each student the reading passage and questions, and then set the timer. Encourage them to use specific reading strategies to improve comprehension. They could start by reading...

You scream, I scream! Young learners read this passage about ice cream flavors, then answer 13 questions about details from the reading. The questions address details from the text, vocabulary, and parts of speech. Use this activity to...

Reading and comprehending a poem is a lot different than doing the same for a piece of fiction or an informational text. As part of a sample English language arts examination, readers put their skills to the test by reading passages in...

Do you have an e-reader? Engage your class with this question before assigning them to read the passage. As they read, encourage them to mark the text. Without referring back to the text, can they complete the 11 reading comprehension...

Readers of Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry are introduced to the Question Answer Response Strategy (QAR) as a way to increase their engagement in and comprehension of the novel.

Does technology affect our intelligence? Stefanie Olsen's article, "Intelligence in the Internet Age," and the thought provoking reading comprehension questions that follow, are sure to generate a lively discussion.