StoryCorps is a national oral history project that records and preserves stories of people around the country. Select recordings are broadcast weekly on NPR, with an archive of stories available for playback at the StoryCorps online...

Comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they have read. Each panel retells...

Story Maps are used for teaching students to work with story structure for better comprehension. This technique uses visual representations to help students organize important elements of a story. Students learn to summarize the main...

Students will summarize a Leo Lionni story through drawing and writing. Students will also mix the three primary colors to make secondary colors.

"What is a Fable?" is a one page, nonfiction passage about what a fable is including animals that talk and a lesson learned. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...

"A New Park" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how a school in need of a playground got a city park instead. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...

"Making a Difference" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students helping to get their families and others to register to vote. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...

"Changing the Ecosystem: Q & A" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how the loss of the prairie to farming and population growth impacts the ecosystem. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...

"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a boy and his sister going to their first baseball game and learning what it means to be Chicago Cubs fans. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...

"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a boy and his sister going to their first baseball game and learning what it means to be Chicago Cubs fans. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...

"Making a Difference" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students helping to get their families and others to register to vote. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...

"A New Day" is a one-page, fictional reading passage about children who learned about civil rights marches while visiting their grandfather in Mississippi. They helped people register to vote before President Obama was elected for the...

"A Better Community" is a one page, fictional reading passage that focuses on recycling. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes skills such as sequencing,...

"A Garden in Lawndale" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about an eighth grade class who planted a garden in a vacant lot by their school and maintained it to improve their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response...

"Pilsen, A Community Changes" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the Chicago community of Pilsen which was settled by Bohemian immigrants but later became a Mexican-American community. The two groups of people worked together to...

"A Great Digger: A North American Fable" is a one-page fable about Benny the Badger who dug holes for all the other animals in the plains. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...

"A Good Student" is a one page, fictional reading passage about a freshmen going to a large high school on the first day of school. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...

This series of videos and interactive activities provide an excellent set of resources for teaching or learning the 8 research based reading strategies provided here. After receiving your "key" you can investigate the features inside and...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to retell and summarize a fiction story told in chronological order and a story told with flashback. Lessons are based on the books First Day...

Reading unit plan about endangered animals from the New South Wales, Australia, Department of Education and Training entitled "One World" (Forty-four page PDF file). It contains ten days worth of teaching suggestions that use a variety...

This 31-page document focuses on teaching summarizing strategies for use with fiction and nonfiction texts. This series of lesson plans starts with fiction summarizing strategies such as "Somebody-Wanted-But-So-Then" and "Story Arch."...

"Prairie Keepers" is a one-page, nonfiction passage about how the prairie was saved from total destruction and the efforts of the Department of Agriculture to rebuild the prairie. It is followed by questions which require students to...

"Transportation Workers" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the various jobs of transportation workers. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes determining the main...

"Public Transportation" is a one page, nonfiction passage about public transportation in Chicago helps people get where they want to go and provides jobs for many people. It is followed by questions which requires students to provide...