Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. In this context clues instructional activity, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently they...

Students explore U.S. History by reading biographical text in class. In this Benjamin Franklin instructional activity, students read about the famous American's first job and the transition he underwent from printing to politics....

Students investigate editorials.  In this literacy critical thinking lesson, students compare and contrast two newspaper editorials and two letters to the editor by completing a Venn diagram. Students work in groups to write...

Learners read "the Interlopers" and define the four conflicts in the story.  In this conflict lesson plan, students write an original story about three of the four conflicts in the book.

Students practice descriptive writing by viewing auto-portraits of young children.  For this art analysis lesson, students examine an auto-portrait of their teacher as a young child and ask him/her questions about their youth....

Utilize this worksheet package if you are looking for basic Civil War coverage. Much of the plan is disabled, however the worksheets contain 2 simple texts that pupils can read, mark, and respond to in 2 comprehension questions that...

In this different types of text worksheet, students in pairs write a description of a picture and read it to the group to see if they can guess what's on the card.

Students work in groups to paraphrase an article.  In this paraphrasing lesson, each group is assigned a paragraph to paraphrase in one sentence.  Other groups critique the sentences to make sure each is effective. ...

The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...

To prepare for a Quickwrite on the question, "How do different points of view create cultural conflicts?" class groups draw examples of religious, cultural, and political conflicts from Things Fall Apart and The Poisonwood Bible to use...

Find out how much your class understood of the listed chapters of Wilson Rawls' novel. Class members respond to eight plot and character questions before looking closely at an instance of personification from the text. The resource is...

Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...

If you're searching for a way to keep your class informed of current psychology news, this ongoing assignment is both educational and engaging. Class members locate and read a psychology article of interest, write a psychological...

Capitalism, socialism, communism ... these may seem like a whole bunch of isms to your scholars. High schoolers won't  confuse them after completing an informative resource. Your class masters how to use primary sources to...

Sketch out weekly plans for reading, writing, math, and small group instruction, noting standards that will be addressed, materials to be used, and the lesson focus, on a one-page form. A great way to see the week at a glance. Eight...

Young readers can be exposed to the literary works of Mark Twain as they interact with challenging text and gain experience by reading the complex passages of chapter two "The Glorious Whitewasher" from his famous book, The Adventures of...

Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...

Imagine what it was like to be a slave in the United States in 1845. Eighth graders are given an opportunity to experience life from the point of view of Frederick Douglass as they read and discuss an annotated passage from Narrative of...

Foster reader confidence when encountering complex text and reinforce the skills readers have acquired to build and extend their understanding of text. The plan uses a section of Douglass’ narrative as an exemplar text. Directions for...

Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...

Students create a story using Power Point. In this writing and creativity activity, students use Power Point to create a reading adventure. Students use hyperlinks so the adventure can take various twists and turns depending on the...

“Yea, there thou mak’st me sad and mak’st me sin/In envy that my Lord Northumberland/Should be the father to so blest a son--.” Henry IV, Part I, provides the text for a series of exercises that ask class members to examine the...