WHY TEACH STUDENTS TO FIND THE MAIN IDEA? Being able to find the main idea of a text is a complex and important nonfiction reading skill for upper elementary students (3rd-5th grade). “Learning how to understand what a section of a text or whole text is mostly about is critical to comprehension” (Serravello 2015). Teaching students to find the ...
Reading
Using Genre Crafts to Teach Genres to Elementary Students
Exposing students to a wide variety of genres is so important to creating lifelong readers. It helps students begin to identify who they are as readers, including their likes and dislikes. By building genre background knowledge they are able to make connections, and ultimately comprehend, a new book of the same genre. WHAT ARE GENRE ...
Back to School: 5 Tips & Activities to Get Your Classroom Ready for Reading
From the moment students enter the classroom, they should feel excited to dig into books and reading instruction. There are ways we make our classroom visually inviting to new readers, as well as back to school reading activities we can have prepared. Beyond giving reading assessments, it is important for students to self-reflect and express ...
Nonfiction Text Features Scavenger Hunt (FREE Activity)
A nonfiction text features scavenger hunt is such a fun, hands on, and authentic activity for students to see text features in real texts or reading passages! Using nonfiction text features is such a an important skill when reading informational texts. They can be the key for growing readers in comprehending the main body of text. ...
5 Ways to Teach Making Predictions in Reading with Elementary Students
Making predictions is a critical reading comprehension strategy to teach and practice with students. It requires students to use what they have read and know about a topic in order to anticipate what will happen in a text, or what a text will be about. Making predictions before, during, and after reading comes very naturally to skilled readers, ...
Using Differentiated Reading Passages for Nonfiction Reading
We know that all students need access to grade level content area information, but how can we make this happen with students of so many varying reading levels? Some ways to support students in understanding difficult content area information are using engaging videos, photos, presentations, and giving clear oral descriptions. However, students ...
Using Digital Graphic Organizers in Distance Learning
Graphic organizers are such an important, versatile support for growing readers and writers. They break down reading and writing skills in a visual way to make each skill clear, and therefore easier to understand and apply. In distance learning, more than ever, students need supports that can work for them in completing reading and writing ...
Teaching Efficiently: Ways to Use the Same Poster
It is so helpful to have reading and writing anchor charts or posters available for students in multiple formats. This way, students have their posters to refer to at home or in different classroom settings besides just the classroom. A few months into the school year, it can be easy to have posters taking over your walls. Although it is ...
Teaching Students to Make Connections
Teaching and practicing reading strategies with students encourages active reading and critical thinking. When students successfully use reading strategies while reading, they are more engaged, and therefore better comprehend what they are reading. Making connections is one of the most important reading strategies to teach and practice often with ...
Engaging and Meaningful Fiction Reader Response for Elementary Students
Each classroom brings students of multiple learning styles and backgrounds. It is our job to provide opportunities that reach all of the many different learning styles that come to us. For this reason, it is important that we continually switch up the types of reader response we offer to students. Below are engaging, hands-on, visual ways to ...
