The Thinking Approach to Reading

How affected is Thinks Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe's personal biography? Using a four corners strategy, and evidence from their readings, class members debate the degree of biographical influence in Achebe's novel.

How do you figure out what a poem means? Show young readers that, rather than turning to search engines, they can answer a series of questions to find meaning in a poem. The approach detailed in a one-page worksheet will work with any...

What does it mean to read critically? Critical readers look at the author's purpose, attitude, and tone. They draw inferences and identify facts and opinions. Use this guide to help your class become critical readers. Practice...

Encourage kids to think deeply about what they are reading with five thought-provoking questions about one passage. After choosing a passage that is intriguing or confusing to them, learners write a summary, explain what they like or...

Introduce your readers to informative, non-fiction texts and how to read them successfully. No pictures or practice opportunities are provided, but you could compile a packet of examples to use as your class reads through the...

Hamlet's famous soliloquy (Act III, scene i) gets the close reading treatment in a group of skill building exercises. Assuming the role of a WWE wrestler, a kindergarten teacher, ninja assassin, and others, learners deliver a line from...

Let's eat kids. Let's eat, kids. Commas make a difference! Conventions 101: A Functional Approach to Teaching (and Assessing!) Grammar and Punctuation explains ways to teach the importance and use of conventions. Learners take part in...

Kids age 13 and older are asked to read the provided Times article and background information in order to construct a thoughtful blog response to Obama's first Oval Office speech. They work to address each of the related critical...

What's going on in this picture? That's the question posed to viewers of a 40-image slide show of photos that accompanies stories from the New York Times. Without captions or context clues, individuals use their close readings skills and...

This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...