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Predicting Events in Realistic Fiction
Predict what will happen next in The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson. Class members can use their prior knowledge of the story and other experiences to determine what will happen next. Active readers make predictions as they...
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Textual Analysis Lesson: Boys vs. Girls: It's Not Just in Your Head
The main characters in Bridge to Terabithia do no quite live up to their gender expectations. Explore this idea with a reading passage called "Boys vs. Girls: It's Not Just in Your Head." Included in the plan are detailed instructions...
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Writing Compare and Contrast Essays
Practice writing compare and contrast essays in your class by starting out with a Venn diagram. A sample that can be expanded upon is provided here. After your writers have completed the guided practice, have them write individual essays...
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Cause and Effect Relationships in Historical Fiction
Centered around the book Pink and Say, by Patricia Polacco, the lesson presented here should help your class tackle cause and effect. The teacher reads the first few pages aloud and models in a think-aloud style how to identify cause and...
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Protagonist
Teach your class how to identify the protagonist in a story. The plan suggests starting with a protagonist from a tale you have previously read in class. Then, you can read a new story and work together to identify the protagonist,...
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Using Text Features to Find Information
If you are working on a research project, consider this resource. First, model how to use notes and text features to create an outline. Next, allow individuals to choose a topic and complete the same process that you showed them....
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Climax of a Story
Demonstrate how to track the elements of plot in a story. After watching you mark down the rising action, problem, climax, falling action, and resolution for Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth, pupils complete a graphic organizer for Sweet Clara...
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Analyzing Author's Voice
Explore voice in poetry. Focus on several poems by Langston Hughes and identify words and phrases that represent the author's feelings about the topic of the poem. After working through a few poems together, individuals read "Youth" by...
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Realistic Fiction
What makes a story seem real? Have your pupils record the realistic elements of the story Dogs Don't Tell Jokes in order to find out. They can focus elements of the characters, setting, and plot. Learners are asked to use textual...
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The Tone of a Poem
Tone and poetry are closely tied. Show your class how to determine the tone of a poem by noting your reactions and marking lines that bring out feelings. Next, work as a class to work through a second poem. Finally, have individuals read...
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Read Works: Fourth Grade: Three Lesson Unit: Cause and Effect
[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-lesson unit on cause and effect where students learn signal words to identify cause and effect relationships and then examine those relationships in historical fiction with Pink and Say by...
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Read Works: Passages: Making a Storyboard
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a nonfiction text about a girl whose aunt is a children's book author and answer questions about comprehension, sequencing, supporting details, main idea, vocabulary, and more. Links to a...
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Read Works: Passages: A Playground Problem
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a nonfiction text about building a model for a new playground and answer questions about comprehension, supporting details, main ideas, vocabulary, and more. Links to a paired text and...
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Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: When Television Became Colorful
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about colored television and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more.
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Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: A Brush With History
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about the history of a toothbrush and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more. A link to paired text questions is...
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Read Works: Lessons: Go, Dog. Go!
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan and materials to teach kindergarten students to identify and describe a fiction text.
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Read Works: Lessons:
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan and materials to teach kindergarten students to identify and describe a nonfiction text.
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Read Works: Lessons: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan and materials to teach kindergarten students how to tell the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
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Read Works: Lessons: A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan and materials to teach kindergarten students that a biography tells the story of a person's life.
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Read Works: Lessons: The Frog Prince
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson plan and materials to teach kindergarten students that fairy tales start with "Once upon a time" and have a happy ending.
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Read Works: The American Revolution, 1763 1783 [Excerpt]
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read an excerpt from an essay on the American Revolution and answer questions on comprehension, main idea, author's purpose, and more. Links to a paired text and paired text questions are...
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Read Works: Passages: Say Hello to the Giant Gorilla
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a fiction text about a family trip to the zoo and answer questions about comprehension, characterization, main idea, transition, and more. Links to a paired text and paired text questions...
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Read Works: Passages: Partial Eclipse
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a fiction text about a boy named Marcus who watched a partial eclipse through a telescope and answer questions about comprehension, climax, supporting details, characterization,...
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Read Works: Passages: Could the Futuristic Traveling Tube Become a Reality?
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read an informational text about a possible new form of transportation and answer questions on comprehension, text support, main idea, vocabulary, and more. Links to a paired text and paired...