A series of reading activities is sure to engage your young readers! Based on comparing and contrasting ideas, the packet provides opportunities to compare characters, themes, texts, and other elements of fiction.

Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...

The rich language of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is only appreciable if you understand the words. A short lesson reviews 13 words from the story and prompts class members to apply each word and its definition to other situations.

Make learning the parts of a book fun by having pupils construct their own glossary entries, table of contents, and title page. Beginning with a review of text features and a hunt for examples, kids use previously written fables to...

Lead your class through a writing exercise that explores personification. After listening to the teacher read a poem that personifies the sky, they go step by step through the writing their own personification poems.

Very simply, the science class will discuss what they have learned during The Science of Water unit and take a multiple-choice post-assessment quiz. A few other closing activities are suggested for you to choose from, such as having...

Access a wealth of rich, engaging activities that will allow learners to see through the eyes of Anne Frank and experience her emotional journey as they read her biography The Diary of a Young Girl.

The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...

Here is a lesson that provides scholars with two opportunities to stretch their compare-and-contrast muscles. First, learners compare and contrast their experience reading the fourth stanza of If by Rudyard Kipling to listening to the...

The pull to sloth can be strong in the summer. The couch and the beach beckon, but the lazy days also provide the opportunity to practice healthy habits. Two activities urge tweens to try something new. First, they research healthy items...

Are you the biggest chocoholic? Scholars read text about people eating chocolate and sequence the text by putting them in order of who ate the most to least chocolate. They quiz classmates to discover who is the biggest chocoholic in the...

Picture this! Scholars quickly sketch an image of what they think a picture of Stairway to Nowhere would look like. They participate in a fill-the-gap exercise where they complete sentences by filling in the blanks of the transcript as...

Should Juneteenth be recognized as a national holiday? To prepare to take a stance on this question, young historians first analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and compare it to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. Scholars then read an...

Get deep! Teach scholars how to make connections between texts to deepen their understanding of a topic. Using the resource, pupils read and annotate a short informational text about Sudan's Civil War and refugee crisis. Next, they...

How much screen time is too much? Scholars explore the question as they consider whether the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) should increase its screen time recommendations. With group discussions, close readings, and a jigsaw...

It's puzzle time! Pupils participate in a jigsaw activity to discuss the various uses of water, including personal, agricultural, and industrial uses. They also conduct a close reading of The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman and answer...

Discover how to use search terms effectively! Scholars continue their exploration of Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst, engaging in a read aloud and then answering text-based questions. Next, pupils learn about using search terms and...

Students demonstrate reading comprehension by drawing a picture and writing a sentence about giraffes. In this early reading comprehension instructional activity, students listen to a read aloud and watch a video about giraffes before...

In this reading worksheet, learners practice comprehension skills by reading a passage describing a young Portuguese woman's first lesson in her new English class. Students answer 20 questions about the story. This is intended for ESL...

Eighth graders choose a product to purchase and research it in Consumer Reports. In this consumer report instructional activity, 8th graders work in tiered learning groups to research a product using Consumer Reports. Students complete...

Young scholars participate in visualization exercises as a reading comprehension strategy. As the teacher reads a poem, the students visualize the setting, then read the poem "Daddy's Making Dinner" and create a drawing of what they...

Students use the comprehension strategy question-answer to improve reading comprehension. They read a passage out of their textbook, and the teacher models the question/answer strategy by asking about key points mentioned in the reading.

Young scholars practice writing questions on a selected topic. Students discuss questioning skills. They browse through books and magazines, review their textbooks, watch a film, or participate in a similar experience that will provide...

Students observe and demonstrate visualization exercises to improve their reading comprehension. They discuss how to visualize images, then draw pictures for sentences written on the board. Students read the poem Gumeye Ball by Shel...