Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...

Learning to read is not a simple task, but there are methods for assisting pupils as they develop literacy skills. The first four pages of this resource include information about language development and reading development, as well as...

Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...

Fridays can be a challenge with learners already dreaming about their weekends. Here's a routine that will bring their minds back to the classroom. Read aloud the beginning of a story, sure to engage your listeners.

Jacque's soliloquy from Act II, scene ii of As You Like It sets the stage for a close reading exercise that models how to approach difficult, dense text and enables readers to practice reading comprehension and analysis...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.

Take an in-depth look at a passage from Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. Included here is the reading passage as well as a step-by-step procedure for reading the text, a set of text-dependent questions, and a final writing...

Determining the meaning of a word based on context clues or marking how the meaning of a term evolves in the course of a document can be a challenge in more complex text. Give your pupils an opportunity to practice this skill with a...

Some days, the world seems like it is becoming darker, but research suggests that the world might actually be becoming a more peaceful place. An informational reading passage accompanied by a series of activities builds English language...

A four-paragraph informational text details the life of the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. A prompt challenges scholars to write or discuss a time in their life when they were not included and how that made them feel. 

It is no easy feat to wade through legal and political documents. And incorporating this type of informational text into a literature class can also be a challenge. Here’s a resource that includes suggestions for how to address this...

Our sense of smell has a wonderful way of bringing back memories. Unlock those memories with an olfactory-inspired writing prompt that challenges writers to tell a story about a specific smell and the memories it conjures.

This six-week unit encompasses all subjects with a focus study on world history and the development of ancient civilizations. As gifted and talented students dive into the interesting yet challenging topic of Egypt, they...

Learning how to make accurate inferences by putting together facts found in multiple sources is one of those skills all learners must develop, but one that can be a challenge to teach. This resource is a must-have for your curriculum...

How far would your pupils go to be able to have access to books? Revisit Heather Henson and David Small's That Book Woman and challenge class members to take on the role of Cal or the Book Woman. By putting themselves in someone else's...

After experiencing how quick and easy it is to make judgments as part of an opening activity, learners discuss the concept of a stereotype and the need to think critically and question our immediate assumptions.

The Magic Pot by Patricia Coombs is the theme of this multidisciplinary lesson plan. Early readers first take part in a read aloud and grand conversation about the story's details. Then, they get to work practicing their skills in...

Who would have thought to explore the concept of race through children's literature?  After reading Bell Hooks' picture book, Skin Again, and chapter sixteen of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members...

Students identify periods of history and read a news article about a librarian who wrote an award winning book. In this current events activity, the teacher introduces the article with a class challenge and a vocabulary activity, then...

The construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third lesson in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children about the main...

Young historians examine the work of Martin Luther King Jr. by reading and answering questions about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Albany Movement, the Birmingham and Chicago campaigns, and the Memphis Sanitation Worker's Strike....

“The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” Prediction, verification, judgment, and extensions of thought are all part of a Directed ReadingThinking Activity (DRTA) developed for Measure for Measure. The rationale, assessments...

Expand your pupils' understanding of the short story genre with a study of John Updike and his story "A&P." This lesson, the fourth in a series of fourteen, invites learners to examine literary terms and read and discuss the story....

Comparing information found in images, charts, and graphs with that found in written text can be a challenge for even senior high scholars. Provide learners with an opportunity to practice this skill with an exercise that asks them to...