Inspire thought around some of the themes of Pudd'nhead Wilson with a visualization activity. As you read a passage, learners close their eyes and picture the scene. A writing exercise and discussion follow.

Introduce your learners to the concept of a double-entry journal. Talk about how to connect with the text and model an example for them. Using whatever literature you are working with, have scholars choose a quote and make their own...

Show your scholars that they make inferences every day and might not even know it. Through scaffolded instruction, they break down the process of drawing information from context. Using example sentences and didactic questioning,...

What do you see? Young reader tap into the visualization process as they listen to or read a fiction story and fill out a graphic organizer. Model this first with a think-aloud, showing scholars how you visualize a familiar story. For...

Who was Vincent van Gogh? Most of the questions can be answered in two or three sentences; however, there is at least one essay prompt and one personal response question that require longer answers. Questions call for a good mix of...

Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...

"What are Henry's options?" "What do you think Henry will do?" To better understand the central conflict for the main character in Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members engage in a compare-and-contrast activity that...

Being a good listener is key to building and maintaining positive relationships. Use this lesson as a way to help children connect with others by becoming active listeners and improving their listening skills.

A complete resource from BBC World Service provides informational text for English or ESL classes to teach vocabulary, grammar, and reading skills. Learners participate in small group work, whole class discussions, and role-plays to...

Reading Mary Pope Osborne's Civil War on Sunday? Here's a packet crammed with activities, exercises, reading guides, and project suggestions. A must-have for your curriculum library.

Just because you can, should you? Reflections on the ethics and limits of medical research are prompted by a reading of excerpts of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, viewing of clips from the 1931 film, and examining sections of the online...

Some lessons feature videos, some interactive practice problems, and some have notes and activities. This comprehensive look at factoring and solving polynomial equations using the zero product principle has all of this and more. Though...

Students complete a vocabulary chart, review proper/common nouns, discuss and review comparative adjectives and make "self to text" connections before reading. In this language arts lesson plan, comprehension questions are completed...

Learners read articles related to local, state, national, and world events using word maps.

Students explore reading. In this visualization lesson plan, students practice, creating images in their minds while listening to the story The Vegetables Go To Bed, by Christopher King. They listen to the story and then draw what they...

Students reflect on the different roles they have for themselves in a journal entry. After reading an article, they discover information on the life of Rembrandt. In groups, they examine the roles of Rembrandt in his self-portrait and...

Students explore how they connect with artwork on an emotional level through writing and the creation of an original piece of art.

Students participate in literary circles to analyze characters, critique writing, discuss events, and  story elements.  In this literary circles lesson plan, students take responsibility for their learning as a member of the...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...

Students read and respond to the text, Mama Went to Jail for the Vote. In this literary response lesson, students are introduced to vocabulary terms and read the book. Students discuss various text-to-self connections they made to the book.

Making connections to the text you're reading may help build a deeper appreciation and understanding of the material. Second graders practice making text to self and text to life connections as they read two passages; one about Martin...

After completing Chapter 5 of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, readers make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections to Victor Martinez's novel by crafting journal entries addressing comments and questions to characters in...

Hold a discussion in writing about coping strategies to prepare your pupils for reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman. After journaling, pupils come up in an organized fashion and write...