This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...

Accompany a reading of Dr. Seuss' tale, The Lorax, with a five-item learning exercise. Questions challenge scholars to list characters' names, use text details to answer inquiries, and describe the moral of the story. 

Yo-ho-ho, Treasure Island can be lots of fun with the aid of a resource that guides readers' exploration of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of buccaneers and buried gold. It's the glory of the read that will turn your...

Fridays can be a challenge with learners already dreaming about their weekends. Here's a routine that will bring their minds back to the classroom. Read aloud the beginning of a story, sure to engage your listeners.

What's the dress code? Scholars read brief texts about school uniforms and discuss opinions for and against them. Pupils then work with a partner to role play a conversation about school uniforms. 

Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...

Emerging readers follow eight steps to assist in their reading and understanding a story line. They name and describe the main character, setting, problem, events, and the story's ending using the specified number of words described in...

Young readers can be exposed to the literary works of Mark Twain as they interact with challenging text and gain experience by reading the complex passages of chapter two "The Glorious Whitewasher" from his famous book, The Adventures of...

Jacque's soliloquy from Act II, scene ii of As You Like It sets the stage for a close reading exercise that models how to approach difficult, dense text and enables readers to practice reading comprehension and analysis...

What is the difference between religion and religious studies? Readers find out after reading an online handout. It outlines common assignments in religious studies classes, such as critically evaluating religious texts and writing...

Bold boxes present parts of the periodic table, with some of the contents conveniently missing. Beginning chemists fill in the blanks, which may include the atomic number, atomic mass, atomic symbol, or element name. Beneath each box...

Can you actually get lost in a corn maze? Kids read how one family was so lost that they called 911 for help. An interesting piece of informational text put out by the New York Times is here to entertain and educate. As they read the...

Young learners are asked to challenge what they see as stereotyping and homophobia in sports and the arts. Participants read an article about sexual orientation in the NFL and statements from public figures like Theodore Roosevelt. They...

Readers analyze an excerpt from Kate DiCamillo's novel Because of Winn-Dixie. They read silently, and then hear it read aloud. Definitions for underlined vocabulary words are in the margin, and other potentially difficult words...

Challenge your young readers with a passage about physical science. After reading about sound waves and electric currents, kids answer five reading comprehension questions about what they have read.

Introduce the scientific method with a reading comprehension activity. Have kids read a few paragraphs that describe the process of making a hypothesis, gathering evidence, and taking notes that will support the experiment.

Challenge your third and fourth graders to look deeply into a text with a reading comprehension activity. After learners finish the short passage, they answer four questions that range in levels of difficulty and analysis.

Gain information about Clara Barton, a Civil War hero, and enhance reading comprehension skills with a worksheet that challenges scholars to read an informational passage and answer five short answer questions.  

Six short answer questions challenge scholars to show what they know after reading an informational text that examines waves—what they are, what causes them, and how different Earth factors affect their size and strength.   

An interactive challenges scholars to read a short informational text about butterflies then answer eight questions. A progress report appears after the last question.

An activity challenges scholars to sort picture cards based on the number of syllables they count as they say the item's name on each card. Depending on how many syllables they count, they place the card in the corresponding box...

Gary Paulsen’s Canyons is the focus of an exercise that models how to read closely using a Questioning the Author (QtA) strategy. Complete directions for the strategy, which can be used with any text, are included in the richly-detailed...

Analyze a seminal speech from the 20th century with an activity focused on President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address. After reading an excerpt from the address, pupils use a worksheet to practice their reading...