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...

Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...

What would it be like to sell your eggs to a couple who can't have children on their own? Could you even imagine it? As most of us have never been in this position, this descriptive essay is really quite interesting. The reading itself...

Guide kids as they trip trap over their bridge of reading with an activity focused on The Three Billy Goats Gruff. First graders read the classic story before answering a few reading comprehension questions about the events and...

The second lesson of a pair about Paul Laurence Dunbar, this plan focuses in particular on his poem, "We Wear the Masks." After a short historical introduction, class members conduct a series or readings, marking up the text and...

I can read and understand fiction and nonfiction texts! Here is a great checklist that highlights 19 first grade Common Core reading standards. The resource is three pages long. Pages one and two focus on comprehension for fiction and...

How did Abraham Lincoln begin to change the minds of American citizens? Join him in his quest with a reading passage about Lincoln's experiences as a congressman and public denouncement of slavery. The resource contains reading...

Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new...

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan is an illustrative source of rich prose, deep character development, and strong literary themes. Use two of the book's key chapters, which focus on Waverly's relationship with chess and with her mother, to...

If you've ever wished you could respond to an author's message, an instructional activity that connects three poems with the same concept will appeal to you. Based on the first few lessons' focus on Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate...

Did Bernie Madoff fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer because, as Diana Henrique contends in an excerpt from her The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death, he “did not fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer”? Huh? Groups begin their...

Can authors speak to each other across works, genres, and centuries? Study the conversation between Christopher Marlowe in his poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and the responses by Sir Walter Raleigh and William Carlos Williams...

It's story time! Scholars take a look through the eyes of a storyteller as the teacher reads aloud The People Could Fly. They also listen as the story is played on video. Learners then answer questions about the reader's facial...

Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...

Take your guided reading lesson plans to the next level with a collection of printables, templates, and reference tools equipped to support the reading needs of your readers. Included is a detailed information page, grouping sheet,...

An English Language Arts Reading Comprehension Practice Test for Grade 10 asks scholars to read a poem and answer two multiple-choice questions about the poem. They finish the task by responding to an open-response essay question. 

How do your pupils feel about reading? Hand out this survey to find of if your students read often, enjoy reading, talk about what they read, and more.

Accompany a reading of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and Tell Me, Tree by Gail Gibbons with an activity packet designed to bring awareness to nature, specifically trees. Scholars take to the outside, draw lines to create trees reminiscent of...

Peer pressure is the focus of a lesson that challenges scholars to respond to several scenarios using responsible-decision making skills. Lesson one begins with a live-action example set by class members, followed by a discussion that...

Two lessons remind scholars of the importance of water safety.  In the first lesson, pupils create posters highlighting three safety rules for a pool, beach, pond, or lake. The second lesson challenges partners to roleplay water...

Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...

Develop the reading, writing, and spelling skills of young learners with a simple worksheet. To begin, children practice reading and writing the words see, in, bunny, and hat, before reading a series of...