Scholastic
Scholastic: Writing Workshop: Persuasive Writing
This site has a great unit that leads students all the way through the writing process while composing a persuasive paper. Includes a teacher guide, mini-lessons, assessment rubric, and worksheets to help out at each step of the way.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Introducing Text Structures in Writing 5th Grade
This instructional activity engages students in learning about text structures. Graphic organizers are provided to assist students in planning writings that have the following text structures: problem and solution; sequence; cause and...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Synthesize Ideas in Informational/expository Texts
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to synthesize and make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts representing similar or different genres (including literary...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Where Did I Come From
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Why Did the Author Write That?
This tutorial explains point of view in informational texts. Students will learn how to analyze multiple accounts of the same topic or event and identify similarities and differences in different points of view.
University of South Florida
University of South Florida: Fcat Express: Author's Purpose Activity
Practice identifying author's purpose by recognizing the purpose in titles, understanding the difference between fact and opinion, and identifying the purpose of various forms of writing.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Idea and Supporting Details
A reference article for students to learn about how to determine the main idea and supporting details from the text. Click on the Model for an example with explanation and then click on Practice for a practice exercise.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Idea and Supporting Details: Model
An example to guide students in choosing the main idea and supporting details. Click Practice for a practice quiz.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: 4th Grade Use Details and Examples
When reading a story learn how to recall specific examples from the text to answer comprehension questions. In addition, you can also use story details to make inferences.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Can Infer Character Traits and Support [Pdf]
Students can use this graphic organizer while making inferences about characters in a story or history text. Students will collect text evidence in the chart to support their character trait inferences.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Can You Convince Me?: Developing Persuasive Writing
This effective tool for teaching persuasive writing contains thorough lesson plans which encourage students to take a stance and create arguments to support their position. Contains printable worksheets, rubrics, a PowerPoint...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Research Building Blocks: Skim, Scan, and Scroll
Contains plans for two lessons on locating supporting details that are part of a larger unit on researching a state symbol. It works on skills like determining the most important information, using key words to identify relevant...
Grammarly
Grammarly Handbook: Evidence
This page focuses on the evidence to support points in an essay. Be sure you have enough support for each point and that the points are strong ones. It also suggests you double check both direct and indirect quotations in your paper to...
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Informational Text: Reasons and Evidence in Text
Reasons and evidence are given by the author to support topics or ideas. In this resource, learn about finding reasons and evidence in a text. Includes downloadable worksheet.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: Evaluate Support for a Claim[pdf]
This resource provides a downloadable worksheet to use after reading a nonfiction text. Students will evaluate an author's support for a claim by answering the questions and prompts provided on the worksheet.
Read Works
Read Works: Fat and Fed Up
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains arguments about the problem of obesity in America. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Author's Purpose: Reading Test 2
A ten-question quiz on identifying whether an author's purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain the reader. Students are asked to type an explanation for each answer. Results can be printed, saved, or emailed.
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Author's Purpose: Reading Test 3
A ten-question quiz on identifying whether an author's purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain the reader. Students are asked to type an explanation for each answer. Results can be printed, saved, or emailed.
Read Works
Read Works: Main Idea 3rd Grade Unit
[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-instructional activity unit teaching students to use the first and last sentence to identify the main idea of a paragraph and the first and last sentence in each paragraph to identify the main...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Evaluate the Strength of Evidence [Pdf]
This resource provides a downloadable worksheet that will assist students after they read a piece of nonfiction. Students will answer guided questions to help them determine the strength of evidence used when supporting a claim....
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Informational Text: Reasons and Evidence in Text
An article discussing how authors use reasons and evidence to support their ideas in a text. Site includes an example to help students find reasons and evidence.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: 6th Grade Use Text Evidence
Learn how to use text evidence to draw inferences; click the Model button on bottom right.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Ataka
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Quizlet
Quizlet: Ccisd 4th Grade Main Idea Test
Reading comprehension terms (nonfiction) are included on this test. This test assesses the following words: topic, main idea, supporting details, summarizing, conclusion, point of view, author's perspective, author's purpose, details,...