Student Achievement Partners
"The Glorious Whitewasher" from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with Mini-Assessment
It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text as...
Curated OER
Predicting Events in Realistic Fiction
How do you make a prediction? Practice active reading comprehension strategies, like making predictions, with your readers. Learners make predictions during the independent reading of Dogs Don't Tell Jokes by Louis Sacher. They observe...
Curated OER
Character Wheel
Explore a story's character by using this character wheel. Kids will love this graphic organizer. It's easy to use, and there are spaces to write character traits and textual evidence that supports those traits. This is a great middle...
Curated OER
Using Evidence to Describe a Character
It's all about the details found in the text, when children attempt to describe the main character from the story, Burnt Toast on Davenport Street. They first discuss the process by which one would go about using textual evidence and...
University of Sydney (Australia)
The Write Site: Why & How to Use Sources
This University of Sydney reference explains the importance of using reputable sources in academic writings. Then the site provides steps to follow to assist students with using bibliographic sources. Click on the sections list to...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Cats
In this video segment from Nature, learn about cats. Consider the possibility that the cat may become the number one choice for pet owners.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Speaking, Listening and Writing Compound Contrasting Sentences
Young scholars will be answering text-dependent questions in which they will have to describe the differences between the different characters, settings, and major events in our stories using complex contrasting sentences. The students...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Quick or Slow? I've Got to Know!
Earth changes can happen quickly or slowly. The students will work in teams to stake a claim about these changes and then use texts to find evidence to prove their claims. Included in this lesson are video clips of the class, a list of...
AdLit
Ad lit.org: Using Technology to Support Struggling Students
Knowing how to engage in signature scientific acts, such as formulating questions and using evidence in arguments is an important part of science learning. This InfoBrief from the National Center for Technology Innovation offers more...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Like Plants [Pdf]
"I Like Plants" is a one page, realistic fiction, reading passage about a person who loves plants and became a botanist; now she teaches her college students about plants and ecology. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Setting Worksheets
In this learning module, students will study the concept of setting in literary text. Worksheets and PowerPoint lessons are provided to help students practice with finding "settings" and then citing reasons that support their answers.
Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center
Wisconsin Rt I Center: Close Reading [Pdf]
Teachers will learn about the importance of close reading. Teachers will learn how to implement close reading; measure progress of close reading; and find research to support close reading. A list of close reading activities are also...
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: 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
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: Map a Story or a History [Pdf]
This graphic organizer provides a story map. Students can use this visual resource to help them record major plot events from a story or from a historical event.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Can Identify and Infer Character Traits[pdf]
Students will identify character traits directly and inferentially with the help of this graphic organizer. Students will summarize their findings after completing the graphic organizer.
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.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Expand Story or History Text Based Dialog[pdf]
Students will use graphic organizers to help them make inferences about historical figures' feeings and motives. Students will summarize the information during an extension activity.
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Can Identify and Infer Character Traits[pdf]
A poster offers guiding questions to help students with identifying character traits. Guiding questions are also provided to help them support their inferences about the character traits.
Curated OER
Mc Graw Hill: 4th Grade Use Details and Examples
This reference from the McGraw-Hill CCCS Literacy eHandbook discusses the importance of recalling explicit details. The importance of inferencing skills with a how-to graphic organizer for making inferences are included. Students may...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Identify/infer Character Traits [Pdf]
This page contains links for three graphic organizers. Students will use graphic organizers to identify character traits, infer character traits, and support inferences with text evidence.
Read Works
Read Works: Comprehension Units
[Free Registration/Login Required] Reading comprehension units for grades kindergarten through fifth grade are available on this site. Units consist of read aloud questions and paired passages. Multiple Lexiles are shown, along with...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Implicit Character Traits Worksheet
In this learning module, students will practice making inferences about character traits. A worksheet is provided to practice with finding implicit character traits. This module is designed to support Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III students.
Read Works
Read Works: Character 4th Grade Unit
[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson unit on characters where students learn about a story's protagonist and antagonist and the relationship between them by reading the book Hansel and Gretel by Rika Lesser. With free login,...