It's all in the details. Scholars read acts two and three of The Hero's Journey and collect important details from the text. They share their notes with their peers and listen for key words from the story. They then turn their attention...

Even fictional characters have rights. Scholars read selected passages from Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising and consider which of the five categories from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the text relates to. They glue each...

Put on a happy face. Using an interesting resource, pupils read an informational text about Hawaii's endangered Happy Face Spider. Next, they participate in a jigsaw discussion to find the gist of the article. 

Pupils work in expert research groups, reading an informational article about an invention and completing a note-catcher worksheet. Afterward, scholars work in triads to answer questions based on the text.

Just like instant replay, it's time to take a closer look! Pupils work together to add ideas to a Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. They then put their knowledge to the test as they read an informational article about the...

Pupils explore note taking. In this study skills and nonfiction comprehension lesson, students complete a two column main idea chart while reading a nonfiction passage.

First graders read fluently. In this phonics lesson students practice reading strategies for fluency. They write a response in their journal about the book read in class.

Fifth graders examine the "think aloud" reading strategy. In this reading strategies lesson plan, 5th graders apply the think aloud strategy to solving word problems in math.

Students sound out CVC words. In this literacy lesson plan, the teacher guides students through the process of sounding out three-letter words with a as the middle vowel using both repetition and movement. Then students complete a...

What does that word mean? I can sound it out, but it just doesn't make sense. Teach your class a sure fire strategy to combat those pesky unknown words. You'll introduce the concept of context clues through metacognitive modeling,...

Readers test their reading comprehension after reading a nonfiction text about Paleo Indians. (This text is in Alabama: It's History and Geography, but other texts can be used.) After reading the nonfiction article as a class, they...

Students investigate pattern books. In this literature lesson, students read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and use echo and choral reading strategies. Students identify the pattern in the text and write about the...

Japanese Internment and World war II are the focus of a KWHL strategy used to scaffold for a reading of Journey to Topaz,  Yoshiko Uchida's story of 11-year-old Yuki Sakane and her family. Complete directions for the activity...

Can your learners stump you with questions? Find out with this question-centered activity! After reading a portion of My Antonia by Willa Cather, pupils question the teacher. Once the first round is complete, the class reads more and...

Students consider various reading strategies to improve their understanding and fluency. They review their assessment task and rubric for how their work will be evaluated. They read a story and predict what will happen by recording...

Here is a strategy for groups to contribute to whole class vocabulary development. Teams (based on seating rows) work together to look up dictionary definitions of words from upcoming sections of the book (though previous sections seem...

Help your pupils discover the power of context clues by teaching the this vocabulary strategy. Designed to go with words from Willa Cather's My Antonia, this exercise focuses on having individuals use their own words to define new...

"Things never change." "It's okay to steal from those who already have a lot." Before reading Canyons, readers respond to an anticipation guide that focuses on issues raised in Gary Paulsen's novel. Groups share their responses, and...

Analyze the characters in Olive Ann Burns's Cold Sassy Tree with this assignment. After reading the majority of the novel, class members choose a character and make a visual representation of the character, including any important...

Critically Evaluating Alarming News pupils use a guided reading strategy to explore news articles about the Washington-area sniper attacks, and conduct a roundtable discussion to investigate public reaction to the case. October 17, 200

Primary students will use the five "W" questions for reading comprehension as they read silently to themselves so that they can understand and remember what they have read. They then read The Velveteen Rabbit aloud, discussing the five...

Beginning with anticipation guide strategies is a powerful method for improving reading comprehension. First, list initial ideas for a topic the class will be reading about. These ideas are formulated into statements, some of which are...

As a Latin educator, do you know how to appropriately design assessments for your advanced learners? If you're teaching an honors or advanced placement course, read this article for some professional development.

Model for your class members how to use a definition map to make connections between new words and prior knowledge. Although the strategy is designed for social studies classes, the approach can be use at any grade level and in any...