While this resource is designed to be used in conjuction with a discussion of the book Dear Juno by Soyung Pak, it could be also be used as a stand-alone vocabulary lesson. The presentation covers a variety of words including sign...

This cross-curricular reading comprehension worksheet asks kids to read a short passage about gravity and then to answer questions about the article.

What makes an effective advertisement? Read the advertisement for the Time Machine 3000, and discuss the format and heading with your class. A short series of questions help middle schoolers analyze this advertisement before they write...

Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...

The Scarlet Letter is the anchor text in a four-week unit that examines Hawthorne's novel through the lens of the intolerances found in a supposed civilized society. In addition to their reading, class members watch clips from...

Follow the phonics train and get your special needs class on the reading track. To promote the /an/ sound and phonemic awareness, each page contains an image of a train, and each car contains an item. The word representing that item...

Reading readiness can be a fun skill to foster. Scholars manipulate phonemes to change one word into another. They pick picture cards, say the object's name on the card, then change the final phoneme to create a new word. They then find...

Will your class be ready to read Canyons by Gary Paulsen? If you're unsure of their current reading level, use this cloze procedure to determine if this book is the right choice for your young readers. The blank guide and the actual text...

How do you represent a tragic event? Are stories of tragic events better left untold? After reading chapter two of Maus and studying other representations of the Holocaust (suggestions are included), class members create a representation...

Use the Peace Corps to explore a different place and different perspectives. Your class reads the personal narrative "Cross-Cultural Dialogue" by Roz Wollmering, completing an attached story frame sheet in preparation for a class...

If forced to move and give away almost everything you own, what five non-essential things would you take with you?  Prior to reading about Mrs. Bentley in chapter 15 of Dandelion Wine, individuals are asked to respond to this...

Young scholars explore the best approaches to reading with book buddies (younger students). Young scholars create a student-friendly definition for "mentor" and identify traits of a success that a mentor displays. They examine...

Ease your class into reading Running Out of Time by first reading The Boy Who Stopped Time, a picture book with some similar concepts and themes. After a reading of the story, learners participate in a discussion and journaling exercise.

What does it mean to be alone and isolated? What would you do if you were all alone in a strange place? Kids ponder these questions as they prepare to read Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Sometimes a teacher reading to a child doesn't think to stop to ask questions about the text. For those of us who don't engage the learners during reading activities, here is a set of cards that contain the questions all teachers need to...

Bring to life a class reading of the children's book Caps for Sale with this printable set of manipulatives. Color, laminate, and cut out these pictures of the peddler, his caps, the tree, and the monkeys, using them act out the...

Young readers explore a nonfiction text for its main idea. They will listen to the book Animal Sight by Kirsten Hall, and then observe as the teacher models a main idea think-aloud. Later, for independent practice, they listen to the...

First graders read a book with the teacher while encountering unfamiliar words and learning how to use context clues and visual clues to understand the material.  In this reading comprehension lesson, 1st graders...

First graders write a time book. In this writing and telling time lesson, 1st graders learn about the concept of time using a Judy clock. Students read a book about a ladybug and look closely at the time on the clock.  Students then...

Third graders explore language arts by answering study questions about a book they read. In this reading summary lesson, 3rd graders read the book Verdi by Janell Cannon and identify the plot, characters and sequence of the story....

Students study the Book of the Dead and its importance to Ancient Egyptian culture, identify with ancient Egyptians through reading about their culture and religion, and use scroll-shaped paper and colored pencils to create their own...

Students investigate geometric shapes. In this geometry instructional activity, students read the book The Greedy Triangle and define the shapes mentioned in the book. Students make the shapes by using their bodies.

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