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...

Is justice blind? Is love blind? Before beginning The Merchant of Venice, readers decide whether they agree or disagree with statements that encapsulate key elements of the tragic comedy. The class then predicts whether Shakespeare will...

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...

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...

There's no love like a mother's adoration for her children. Second graders read a short story about a little girl's discovery of baby birds and their mother before answering four comprehension questions.

Who says reading comprehension exercises can't be fun? Your readers will be engaged with the short story about witch doctor spells that provides the text and the included answer sheet dispells any mystery as to the correct answer. The...

Cinderella is a classic love story when Cinderella is the protagonist—but what happens if a stepsister tells the story? Focus on point of view with a lesson about fairy tales and story elements. After reading a few familiar fairy tales,...

Third through fifth graders discover the importance of reading and plan a service project to provide books to children. First, they read the book The Important Book and then they brainstorm about the importance of reading. Afterward,...

After reading the book Jack of All Tails, learners complete vocabulary activities, play charades, consider a list of questions, and complete a list of verbs. There are also several suggestions for how to connect this language...

You may want to recommend that your class check out this online quiz on Call of the Wild as a means of self-assessing basic reading comprehension; however, it lacks the rigor necessary for a worthy assignment.

Who's Buck? Give your pupils this short quiz to test reading comprehension, or choose specific questions from the document to include in a more comprehensive unit test.

Dig in deeper with Robert Frost's, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Learners will read and discuss poems by Robert Frost and learn the meaning of terms such as narrative and personal. They journal, collaborate, and present poetry...

Kids practice reading fluently with expression. They listen closely as their teacher reads a short paragraph, take note as she points out how she read each sentence, and then read along with her. They read to passage several times until...

Students discover how to read with expression. By reading and rereading decodable words in connected texts, students study the importance of expressions and how it can make a book more enjoyable.

Guide your class through reading various versions of The Three Little Pigs. Talk about the traditional story line and then discuss a different point of view: Maybe the wolf was just an innocent bystander! This lesson plan, which has...

Use this types of sentences worksheet in your grammar lesson. Young writers read eight sentences and determine if each is simple, complex or compound. They write the answer on the line. There are no examples of these types of sentences.

If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward worksheet to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character, plot, point...

Turn your 6th graders into detectives while growing their love of reading. Using critical thinking skills, they will be able to describe the five basic elements of detective fiction, read detective novels, make predictions, use the...

So many options are included here for you to help your class explore dating, relationships, and types of love. These lessons are becoming more and more important due to media influences, so choose one of the 10 options to guide your...

Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...

Looking for an interactive back to school activity? Start by reading the book The Kissing Hand, and having your class discuss their feelings about the first day of school. They trace their hand onto paper, cut out the paper hand,...

Skateboarding fans will love to read about Gary the gorilla, who loves his red skateboard! As kids read the short passage, they fill in the blanks with words from the word bank at the bottom of the page.

Little Red Riding Hood brings lovely treats to her grandmother, and valuable reading skills to your pupils. After reading the short fairy tale, fifth graders answer four comprehension questions.