Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
Ascd: Building Literacy in Social Studies: Ch 1: Reading Social Studies Texts
Article provides excellent tips and strategies for building comprehension and critical thinking skills in Social Studies. It describes some of the challenges students have with reading and understanding their textbooks.
Other
Reading Quest: Making Sense of Social Studies
Teaching students to read well in areas other than language arts requires teaching and reinforcing the kinds of reading strategies taught here. There are 27 strategies, ranging from brainstorming to word mapping. The site includes PDF...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Analyzing Text Complexity of Non Fiction Sources
This lesson plan will help middle schoolers read and comprehend nonfiction, specifically biographies, through determining criteria for text complexity. Included is a PDF and Smart Notebook titled Determining Text Complexity, and an...
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Teaching Elements of Personal Narrative Texts
This resource presents instructional writing practices that support content-area learning, with specific strategies for teaching the thinking skills, processes, and knowledge needed to effectively write personal narrative texts. Some of...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Out of Proportion
Students are asked to explain how natural disasters affect environmental health.
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Classroom Strategies: Anticipation Guides
An Anticipation Guide is a strategy that is used before reading to activate students' prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading a selection, students respond to several statements that challenge or support...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Classroom Strategies: Frayer Model
The Frayer Model is a strategy that uses a graphic organizer for vocabulary building. This technique requires students to (1) define the target vocabulary words or concepts, and (2) apply this information by generating examples and...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Teaching Content Knowledge and Reading Strategies in Tandem
Many areas of instruction can have a rippling effect for the expansion of readers' repertoire of skills, including pre-reading, predicting, testing hypotheses against the text, asking questions, summarizing, etc. Literacy-rich,...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: An Introduction to Analytical Text Structures
Many students are used to writing narratives - stories, description, even poetry, but have little experience with analytical writing. This article is an introduction to six analytical text structures, useful across content areas. See...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Summarizing Worksheets and Activities
In this instructional resource, students will learn more about summarizing texts. Worksheets and PowerPoint lessons are provided to reinforce understanding about ways to summarize nonfiction texts and to identify main ideas. This module...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Patterns of Organization: Sequence
This learning module provides an explanation of the text structure for sequence. An explanation of the text structure for a sequence is provided, and chronological order text structure is demonstrated in a video tutorial lesson [1:24]
Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center
Wisconsin Rt I Center: Text Dependent Questions [Pdf]
Describes a reading strategy where students must respond to text by supporting their ideas with text-based evidence. Lists different categories of questions the teacher can prepare based on the text chosen, with examples for each.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Listing Key Words
This tip sheet offers questions and examples of how to develop key words to use in your research.
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School: Research Topic Ideas
A comprehensive and in-depth list of possible topics and ideas for research papers from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Use Details and Examples
Review how to use text evidence, details, examples, and personal experiences to make inferences then read a passage to practice on your own.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Ideas and Supporting Details
See how to pick out the main ideas and supporting details on this site. Click on Model at the bottom right.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: Part 2 Reading: Determine Main Ideas and Supporting Details
See an example of how to determine the main ideas and supporting details of a story.
Grammarly
Grammarly Handbook: Patterns of Organization for Academic Texts
A list of six different ways to organize a text with links to more information for each.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Read to Learn, Share What You Learn [Pdf]
Several tips for reading to learn are provided on this page. Students will explore the BIG idea presented in a nonfiction piece.
McGraw Hill
Mc Graw Hill:informational Text: Analyze Development of Text Elements:individuals
Read an informational piece, and learn how to analyze the development of individuals in the text. Includes practice exercises.
McGraw Hill
Mc Graw Hill: Informational Text: Analyze Development of Text Elements: Events
Read an informational piece, and learn how to analyze the development of an event in the text.
McGraw Hill
Mc Graw Hill: Informational Text: Determine Central Idea and Supporting Details
To understand a text, you must understand the central idea of the story. Learn how to recognize the central idea and supporting details with this article. Click the links at bottom right.
Other
Eduscapes: Themes & Literature Circles
This site provides guidance in creating literature circles based on cross-curricular themes that will help to improve literacy. The site emphasizes both theory and practice, with lots of practical suggestions.
Other
Kid Bibs: Effective Use of Textbook Features
Here, parents and teachers can find tips for helping young readers understand the expository writing found in textbooks.