Looking at literature through a critical lens helps readers connect the text to the larger world. An essay examining the theme "There is no ill in the world without a remedy" forms the main part of a sample comprehensive English...

Those in positions of authority don't always have the best interest of their people in mind. As part of a sample assessment question, readers must consider how works of literature they read apply to a quote from Edmund Burke—"The greater...

Poetry and prose often have more in common than it initially appears. A sample comprehensive English exam has test-takers compare and contrast two passages to answer short response questions. The exam, which is part of a larger set of...

Tired of having to create your own formative assessments? Use a ready-made resource to assess listening and reading comprehension, essay writing, and literary skills. Scholars work through 28 questions in response to five different texts.

Sometimes it's necessary to view the whole picture before making a judgment about a small part. Read a short story about five blind men who try to identify an elephant by feeling different parts and coming to their own conclusions....

Scholars revisit the Circle of Life to examine positive character traits—mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional. Pupils discuss how those character traits could help them make responsible decisions and not contract HIV/AIDS. Learners...

Challenge your third and fourth graders to look deeply into a text with a reading comprehension activity. After learners finish the short passage, they answer four questions that range in levels of difficulty and analysis.

Learn about the kindness and strength of Abraham Lincoln with a reading comprehension activity. After third and fourth graders read a short story about Lincoln saving a family of robins, they answer four questions about the plot and...

Get to know the meaning behind the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from the legendary 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Groups of two take the roles of performer and questioner. Performers sing lines of the song while questioners...

Three options offer young writers the opportunity to read a short story, answer questions, and write a response. A handy language arts resource focuses on reading comprehension and analyziing the story's lesson: look before you leap. 

Wheels go around is the theme of the plethora of activities to aid in the language fluency of your scholars in this unit of ESL lessons. Learners can take part in a grand conversation focused on wheels, make their own steering wheel,...

Promote critical thinking and literary analysis with a short activity. Readers of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart respond to a series of questions modeled on Bloom's Taxonomy.    

Playing the piano takes a lot of work, even before you touch the keys! Use a reading passage about learning to play the piano before answering five comprehension questions.

In this short story elements worksheet, students recognize the elements of short story by reading the sentences and selecting the correct story element. Students complete 10 online questions.

Learners take their first step toward mastering test-taking by answering questions based on listening and reading comprehension. In addition to multiple choice questions, the examination includes two short-answer items and one essay. 

Why wouldn't the chickens cross the brook? Find out in a short reading passage about a mother hen and her babies' daily walk. Second graders answer four comprehension questions after they finish reading the story.

Making inferences is a skill that goes beyond the comprehension of written text. In this simple exercise, young learners are provided with a photograph and asked to answer a series of inference questions using only on the...

Cranberries, oysters, lobster, deer, and cabbage were just a few of the foods found on the table at the First Thanksgiving. After reading a two-page passage about the historic meal, class members respond to 10 reading...

Life science learners read a set of six short Discovery Readings that describe historical events in the field of microbiology. For each, they identify clues about when the event occurred and then they try to arrange events in...

How are tribal governments similar to local or state governments? After reading a short article on tribal governments, individuals draw evidence from the provided article to respond to this reading comprehension question.

Bring some music to your language arts lesson with a reading comprehension activity. Learners read an informational passage about different musical instruments before answering a series of comprehension and vocabulary questions.

Being able to recognize patterns, craft generalizations, and draw conclusions based on information in a text passage are essential critical thinking skills. Encourage learners to hone these skills with a worksheet that asks them to read...

Manifest, Kansas is a town where anything is possible. Scholars explore the fictional setting using an engaging novel study on Clare Vanderpool's Moon Over Manifest. After answering questions about the text and complete a vocabulary...

In this World History instructional activity, students answer various question types on a test on Ancient Greece. Students select the correct word to fill in blanks, circle letters for the best answer, and complete five essay or short...