Reading Comprehension

A comprehensive study of 'The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King', tracking Jack's journey through friendship, fear, and the mystery of the cosmic entity Ghazt.

A comprehensive book club unit for Natalie Babbitt's *Tuck Everlasting*, exploring themes of immortality, nature's cycles, and moral choices through guided discussion, vocabulary expansion, and project-based learning.

A 4-week small-group intervention program focused on mastering inference and context clues. Using a 'Detective/Evidence' theme, students learn to move beyond guessing by citing specific textual evidence and identifying five types of context clues (Definition, Synonym, Antonym, Example, Contrast).

A three-lesson unit for grades 6-8 exploring authorial voice, identity, and perspective through contemporary literature and paired informational texts. Students analyze excerpts from diverse authors like Sandra Cisneros and Jason Reynolds to understand how language shapes narrative personality.

A comprehensive book club unit for the historical fiction novel 'My Brother Sam is Dead', focusing on the moral complexities of the Revolutionary War, character transformation, and historical context.

A comprehensive book club unit themed around a detective agency, focusing on R.J. Palacio's 'Wonder' to develop comprehension, empathy, and collaborative discussion skills.

A comprehensive two-week unit for Gordon Korman's 'Swindle', focusing on character archetypes, heist plot structure, and vocabulary development through the lens of a professional 'heist briefing'.

A comprehensive book club unit for Katherine Applegate's 'The One and Only Ivan', focusing on character development, plot structure, and vocabulary through the lens of Ivan's artistic journey. Students explore the transition from the Big Top Mall to the zoo while practicing synthesis and analytical writing.

A three-week comprehensive book club for 'Frindle' by Andrew Clements, focusing on the power of language, character evolution, and the skills of summarizing and synthesizing. Students explore how a simple idea can spark a school-wide movement while building their vocabulary and analytical thinking.

A modular unit covering the middle chapters of Ellen Raskin's 'The Westing Game', focusing on character motivation, evidence analysis, and narrative shifts.

A multi-day literacy unit that transforms students into 'Information Detectives' to master complex comprehension skills like making inferences, distinguishing vital details, and identifying key ideas.

A comprehensive book club unit for Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising', exploring themes of emotional repression and friendship through three distinct chapter groups with a focus on synthesizing, vocabulary, and summarizing.

A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.

A lesson sequence focused on the narrative craft of writing high-stakes introductions for interactive survival stories, specifically leading to biological defense mechanism choices.

A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.

A comprehensive unit for Ellen Raskin's 'The Westing Game', focusing on character analysis, main idea, and key details through a mystery-themed lens. Includes slide decks for instruction, chapter-by-chapter exit tickets, and cumulative quizzes for each section of the novel.

A series of lessons exploring different literary genres, starting with the high-stakes world of Adventure Fiction.

A 5-lesson sequence designed for 6th-grade students in academic support, focusing on building inference skills through visual media, silent films, comics, and photography before transitioning to text. This approach removes decoding barriers to strengthen cognitive critical thinking.

An immersive, gamified mystery sequence where 6th-grade students act as detectives to master predictions and inferences. By analyzing physical clues, witness statements, and found documents, students apply deductive reasoning to solve the 'Case of the Missing Golden Whistle.'

A forensic-themed reading comprehension unit where students act as investigators to master predictions and inferences. Through case studies and evidence tracking, students learn to bridge literal text with deep narrative meaning.

A comprehensive study of 'The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King', tracking Jack's journey through friendship, fear, and the mystery of the cosmic entity Ghazt.

A comprehensive book club unit for Natalie Babbitt's *Tuck Everlasting*, exploring themes of immortality, nature's cycles, and moral choices through guided discussion, vocabulary expansion, and project-based learning.

A 4-week small-group intervention program focused on mastering inference and context clues. Using a 'Detective/Evidence' theme, students learn to move beyond guessing by citing specific textual evidence and identifying five types of context clues (Definition, Synonym, Antonym, Example, Contrast).

A comprehensive book club unit for the historical fiction novel 'My Brother Sam is Dead', focusing on the moral complexities of the Revolutionary War, character transformation, and historical context.

A comprehensive book club unit themed around a detective agency, focusing on R.J. Palacio's 'Wonder' to develop comprehension, empathy, and collaborative discussion skills.

A comprehensive two-week unit for Gordon Korman's 'Swindle', focusing on character archetypes, heist plot structure, and vocabulary development through the lens of a professional 'heist briefing'.

A comprehensive book club unit for Katherine Applegate's 'The One and Only Ivan', focusing on character development, plot structure, and vocabulary through the lens of Ivan's artistic journey. Students explore the transition from the Big Top Mall to the zoo while practicing synthesis and analytical writing.

A three-week comprehensive book club for 'Frindle' by Andrew Clements, focusing on the power of language, character evolution, and the skills of summarizing and synthesizing. Students explore how a simple idea can spark a school-wide movement while building their vocabulary and analytical thinking.

A modular unit covering the middle chapters of Ellen Raskin's 'The Westing Game', focusing on character motivation, evidence analysis, and narrative shifts.

A comprehensive book club unit for Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising', exploring themes of emotional repression and friendship through three distinct chapter groups with a focus on synthesizing, vocabulary, and summarizing.

A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.

A lesson sequence focused on the narrative craft of writing high-stakes introductions for interactive survival stories, specifically leading to biological defense mechanism choices.

A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.

A comprehensive lesson sequence for middle school students to master the six elements of plot through video analysis, hands-on sorting, and text-based application. The unit follows a 'Plot Pathfinders' theme, mirroring the adventure-quest narrative of the instructional video.

A series of lessons exploring different literary genres, starting with the high-stakes world of Adventure Fiction.

A 5-lesson sequence designed for 6th-grade students in academic support, focusing on building inference skills through visual media, silent films, comics, and photography before transitioning to text. This approach removes decoding barriers to strengthen cognitive critical thinking.

An immersive, gamified mystery sequence where 6th-grade students act as detectives to master predictions and inferences. By analyzing physical clues, witness statements, and found documents, students apply deductive reasoning to solve the 'Case of the Missing Golden Whistle.'

This inquiry-based sequence explores how character development reveals an author's theme. Students track a protagonist's journey through conflicts and choices to formulate and debate universal truths.

This sequence moves students from a basic understanding of plot summary to the complex analytical skill of identifying and stating themes. Students learn to distinguish between subject and theme, construct universal thematic statements, and trace how character development and plot resolution reinforce an author's message.

A comprehensive 6th-grade ELA unit that guides students from identifying simple topics to constructing sophisticated thematic analysis. Through visual media, short stories, and creative writing, students learn how character development and plot structure build an author's message.

A middle school curriculum unit focused on critical thinking, information literacy, and strategic task management across digital and physical media.

A 4-lesson unit exploring the organizational structures and graphic elements of non-fiction through the lens of the Dachshund breed, featuring a complex 1200 Lexile informational text.

A sequence of lessons exploring different informational text structures, starting with chronological sequence through the lens of vacation planning.

A specialized reading intervention sequence designed for 8th-grade students to master visualization strategies for expository and informational texts. Students move from visualizing simple procedural steps to constructing complex mental models of cause-effect relationships and conceptual hierarchies.

A 5-lesson sequence for 6th-grade students focused on identifying informational text structures (sequence, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) and mapping them onto specific graphic organizers to improve comprehension.

Students explore how nonfiction authors use specific text structures and visual features to organize information. This sequence covers text features, chronological order, cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast, culminating in the ability to navigate and analyze complex informational texts efficiently.

A 5-lesson 6th Grade ELA sequence focusing on deep character analysis. Students explore direct/indirect characterization using STEAL, map motivations and obstacles, track dynamic shifts, and synthesize evidence into a comprehensive character profile.

A rigorous, inquiry-based unit for 6th graders exploring how grammatical context and parts of speech dictate the spelling of homophones. Students analyze sentence structure, use replacement tests, and construct their own context-rich writing to master word choice.

This sequence immerses students in the genre of mystery and suspense to develop critical inferencing skills, starting from visual observations and moving to complex textual analysis of dialogue, motivation, and reliability.

A 5-lesson sequence for 7th graders focusing on paragraph unity, topic sentence alignment, and precision through gamified architectural-themed challenges.

This inquiry-based sequence introduces 6th-grade students to the relationship between thesis statements and topic sentences. Through the metaphor of architectural blueprints and roadmaps, students learn how a thesis statement serves as the foundation for an entire essay while topic sentences act as the structural support for individual paragraphs.

A project-based writing sequence for 6th grade that teaches students how to synthesize details into topic sentences using keyword extraction, categorization, and visual collage-making. Students move from concrete identification of keywords to abstract synthesis, culminating in a gallery walk of their visual and verbal work.

Students transition from consumers to producers of text structure by creating a multi-page informational 'zine' or brochure. Each section of their project applies a specific text structure (Chronological, Sequential, Compare/Contrast, Descriptive, Problem/Solution) to convey information on a topic of their expertise.

Students become 'Blueprint Detectives' to decode the five primary informational text structures: description, sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, and problem and solution. Through hands-on investigation and graphic mapping, they learn how structural clues unlock deeper meaning in complex nonfiction.

Students act as 'Content Editors' to synthesize raw facts into structured nonfiction texts. They master five organizational patterns (Description, Sequence, Compare/Contrast, and Problem/Solution) to create a collaborative class anthology.

A middle school ELA unit exploring how authors use word choice, sentence structure, and personal history to craft unique voices and distinct perspectives. Students analyze contemporary literature and informational texts to understand the relationship between identity and narrative.

A three-lesson unit for grades 6-8 exploring authorial voice, identity, and perspective through contemporary literature and paired informational texts. Students analyze excerpts from diverse authors like Sandra Cisneros and Jason Reynolds to understand how language shapes narrative personality.

A small-group literacy unit focused on mastering informational texts through text-based questioning, vocabulary development, and structured paragraph writing (Topic Sentence, Details, Concluding Sentence) centered on the theme of extreme weather.

A comprehensive book club unit for Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising', exploring themes of emotional repression and friendship through three distinct chapter groups with a focus on synthesizing, vocabulary, and summarizing.

A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for grades 6-8, focusing on main idea, text structure, and argumentative writing through a 'detective case file' theme.

A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for middle school students (Grades 5-8), focusing on non-fiction reading comprehension, text-dependent analysis, and evidence-based writing. Each lesson targets grade-specific standards and uses NYS-style question stems to build testing stamina and skills.

An immersive, gamified mystery sequence where 6th-grade students act as detectives to master predictions and inferences. By analyzing physical clues, witness statements, and found documents, students apply deductive reasoning to solve the 'Case of the Missing Golden Whistle.'

A specialized reading intervention sequence designed for 8th-grade students to master visualization strategies for expository and informational texts. Students move from visualizing simple procedural steps to constructing complex mental models of cause-effect relationships and conceptual hierarchies.

This sequence focuses on using text structure graphic organizers as blueprints for argumentative writing. Students transition from analyzing model essays to building their own logically structured arguments, including counter-claims and refutations, using visual tools.

A scaffolded sequence for 4th-grade students to master text structure identification using graphic organizers. Students progress from recognizing signal words to independently choosing between Compare/Contrast and Cause/Effect tools to map informational texts.

This sequence helps 6th-grade students with executive functioning needs transition from brainstorming to structured expository writing. Using the 'Blueprint for Writing' theme, students master visual organizers like web maps, table structures, and Venn diagrams to draft coherent informational articles.

A 5-lesson sequence for 6th-grade students focused on identifying informational text structures (sequence, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) and mapping them onto specific graphic organizers to improve comprehension.

This sequence moves to a higher level of analysis, asking students to compare and contrast how different poetic forms handle similar themes. Using a discussion and case-study approach, students examine 'Free Verse' versus 'Formal Verse' to understand the intentional choices poets make. The arc focuses on critical thinking, debate, and the synthesis of the elements learned in previous sequences.

Students explore the art of synthesis by analyzing how information is presented across various mediums and perspectives. They will learn to identify conflicting accounts, integrate quantitative data with qualitative text, and ultimately construct a cohesive understanding of complex topics from multiple sources.

Students transform from readers to authors as they research a topic of interest and synthesize their findings into a professional-grade informational Zine. This project-based unit focuses on inquiry, organizational structures, domain-specific vocabulary, and the intentional use of text features to educate an audience.

This sequence explores how different authors and mediums present the same event or topic, focusing on firsthand vs. secondhand accounts, conflicting information, multimedia integration, and tone analysis. Students will develop the ability to synthesize multiple sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of a subject.

Students explore how nonfiction authors use specific text structures and visual features to organize information. This sequence covers text features, chronological order, cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast, culminating in the ability to navigate and analyze complex informational texts efficiently.

A comprehensive workshop-style sequence for 6th-grade students to master the difference between story topics and universal themes. Students will learn to analyze conflict, track recurring motifs, and synthesize thematic messages across different cultural contexts, culminating in a curated anthology project.

Students act as literary investigators, comparing how universal themes are explored across poetry, prose, drama, and multimedia. This sequence focuses on the skills of inference and comparative analysis to understand how genre and context shape an author's message.

This sequence explores adages and proverbs as cultural artifacts that convey values and wisdom. Students distinguish them from idioms, compare global examples, connect them to fables, apply them to modern life, and debate their nuances in a Socratic Seminar.

A 2-day lesson sequence focused on analyzing key ideas and details in a historical informational text about the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, featuring STAAR-aligned assessment and graphic organizers.

A comprehensive two-week unit for Gordon Korman's 'Swindle', focusing on character archetypes, heist plot structure, and vocabulary development through the lens of a professional 'heist briefing'.

A comprehensive book club unit for Katherine Applegate's 'The One and Only Ivan', focusing on character development, plot structure, and vocabulary through the lens of Ivan's artistic journey. Students explore the transition from the Big Top Mall to the zoo while practicing synthesis and analytical writing.

A three-week comprehensive book club for 'Frindle' by Andrew Clements, focusing on the power of language, character evolution, and the skills of summarizing and synthesizing. Students explore how a simple idea can spark a school-wide movement while building their vocabulary and analytical thinking.

A multi-day literacy unit that transforms students into 'Information Detectives' to master complex comprehension skills like making inferences, distinguishing vital details, and identifying key ideas.

A small-group literacy unit focused on mastering informational texts through text-based questioning, vocabulary development, and structured paragraph writing (Topic Sentence, Details, Concluding Sentence) centered on the theme of extreme weather.

A comprehensive book club unit for Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising', exploring themes of emotional repression and friendship through three distinct chapter groups with a focus on synthesizing, vocabulary, and summarizing.

A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.

A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for grades 6-8, focusing on main idea, text structure, and argumentative writing through a 'detective case file' theme.

A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for middle school students (Grades 5-8), focusing on non-fiction reading comprehension, text-dependent analysis, and evidence-based writing. Each lesson targets grade-specific standards and uses NYS-style question stems to build testing stamina and skills.

A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.

A middle school curriculum unit focused on critical thinking, information literacy, and strategic task management across digital and physical media.

A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for middle school students (Grades 5-8), focusing on non-fiction reading comprehension, text-dependent analysis, and evidence-based writing. Each lesson targets grade-specific standards and uses NYS-style question stems to build testing stamina and skills.

A comprehensive unit for Ellen Raskin's 'The Westing Game', focusing on character analysis, main idea, and key details through a mystery-themed lens. Includes slide decks for instruction, chapter-by-chapter exit tickets, and cumulative quizzes for each section of the novel.

A three-lesson unit focused on identifying central ideas in short stories by distinguishing them from supporting details. Students will use the 'Plot Pathfinders' adventure theme to navigate narratives and uncover the core messages of texts.

A 4-lesson unit exploring the organizational structures and graphic elements of non-fiction through the lens of the Dachshund breed, featuring a complex 1200 Lexile informational text.

A instructional unit focused on the core literacy skills of summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing information for clarity and impact.

A systematic, color-coded approach for 6th-grade students to master text highlighting and annotation. Students learn to distinguish between main ideas, supporting details, and unknown vocabulary using a 'traffic light' system to reduce cognitive load and improve reading comprehension.

An immersive, gamified mystery sequence where 6th-grade students act as detectives to master predictions and inferences. By analyzing physical clues, witness statements, and found documents, students apply deductive reasoning to solve the 'Case of the Missing Golden Whistle.'

A specialized reading intervention sequence designed for 8th-grade students to master visualization strategies for expository and informational texts. Students move from visualizing simple procedural steps to constructing complex mental models of cause-effect relationships and conceptual hierarchies.

A creative writing unit for 6th grade focused on using figurative language to manipulate tone and mood. Students explore personification as a tool for setting the scene and shifting reader emotions.

This sequence explores how poetic elements like diction, imagery, and sound devices work together to create tone and mood. Students move from technical identification to emotional interpretation through a case study of Edgar Allan Poe and comparative analysis.

A 5-lesson unit for 6th-grade students focused on the auditory elements of poetry, including onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, repetition, and performance. Students explore how sound creates mood and meaning through game-based learning and performance-oriented analysis.

This sequence moves to a higher level of analysis, asking students to compare and contrast how different poetic forms handle similar themes. Using a discussion and case-study approach, students examine 'Free Verse' versus 'Formal Verse' to understand the intentional choices poets make. The arc focuses on critical thinking, debate, and the synthesis of the elements learned in previous sequences.

A project-based exploration of figurative language where 6th-grade students transform literal text into vivid imagery through similes, metaphors, personification, and hyperbole. The sequence culminates in a creative blackout poetry project that synthesizes their understanding of poetic devices.

This sequence guides 6th-grade students through the structural mechanics of poetry, exploring stanzas, rhyme schemes, and meter. Students transition from identifying visual structures to active construction, using an architectural theme to understand how rules shape creativity.

An immersive exploration of the auditory elements of poetry, focusing on how alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, and rhythm shape mood and emotional resonance. Students progress from identifying sound devices to evaluating their impact in both written and performed contexts.

This immersive sequence focuses on the auditory experience of poetry, emphasizing that poems are meant to be heard. Students investigate sound devices like onomatopoeia, alliteration, and consonance to understand how sound creates mood and prepares them for oral performance.

A 4-week small-group intervention program focused on mastering inference and context clues. Using a 'Detective/Evidence' theme, students learn to move beyond guessing by citing specific textual evidence and identifying five types of context clues (Definition, Synonym, Antonym, Example, Contrast).

A three-lesson unit for grades 6-8 exploring authorial voice, identity, and perspective through contemporary literature and paired informational texts. Students analyze excerpts from diverse authors like Sandra Cisneros and Jason Reynolds to understand how language shapes narrative personality.

A 2-day lesson sequence focused on analyzing key ideas and details in a historical informational text about the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, featuring STAAR-aligned assessment and graphic organizers.

A comprehensive two-week unit for Gordon Korman's 'Swindle', focusing on character archetypes, heist plot structure, and vocabulary development through the lens of a professional 'heist briefing'.

A multi-day literacy unit that transforms students into 'Information Detectives' to master complex comprehension skills like making inferences, distinguishing vital details, and identifying key ideas.

A comprehensive module for 6th graders focused on identifying and using textual evidence to support claims. Students transition from distinguishing opinions to hunting for proof and constructing evidence-based arguments through a detective-themed series of activities.

A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for middle school students (Grades 5-8), focusing on non-fiction reading comprehension, text-dependent analysis, and evidence-based writing. Each lesson targets grade-specific standards and uses NYS-style question stems to build testing stamina and skills.

A middle school curriculum unit focused on critical thinking, information literacy, and strategic task management across digital and physical media.

A 4-lesson unit exploring the organizational structures and graphic elements of non-fiction through the lens of the Dachshund breed, featuring a complex 1200 Lexile informational text.

A instructional unit focused on the core literacy skills of summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing information for clarity and impact.

A lesson sequence exploring the intersection of civic duty, social contracts, and rhetorical analysis through the lens of the 'Shopping Cart Theory'. Students analyze a structured argument and participate in a Socratic Seminar.

An immersive, gamified mystery sequence where 6th-grade students act as detectives to master predictions and inferences. By analyzing physical clues, witness statements, and found documents, students apply deductive reasoning to solve the 'Case of the Missing Golden Whistle.'

A forensic-themed reading comprehension unit where students act as investigators to master predictions and inferences. Through case studies and evidence tracking, students learn to bridge literal text with deep narrative meaning.

This sequence focuses on using text structure graphic organizers as blueprints for argumentative writing. Students transition from analyzing model essays to building their own logically structured arguments, including counter-claims and refutations, using visual tools.

This inquiry-based sequence explores how character development reveals an author's theme. Students track a protagonist's journey through conflicts and choices to formulate and debate universal truths.

Students transform from readers to authors as they research a topic of interest and synthesize their findings into a professional-grade informational Zine. This project-based unit focuses on inquiry, organizational structures, domain-specific vocabulary, and the intentional use of text features to educate an audience.

Students investigate how authors build persuasive arguments in nonfiction texts. They learn to trace claims, distinguish between facts and opinions, evaluate the sufficiency of evidence, and detect bias to determine the credibility of a text.