In this strategy, students read aloud to each other, pairing more fluent readers with less fluent readers. This strategy can also be used to pair older students with younger students to create "reading buddies."
Using Paired Reading to Increase Fluency and Peer Cooperation
Grades
|
Literary Terms: A Practical Glossary
9 - 12
Professional Library
| Book
Literary Terms: A Practical Glossary provides up-to-date definitions, drawing on recent developments in literary theory and emphasizing the role of reading practices in the reproduction of literary meanings. Unlike other glossaries, it includes brief activities to help students develop a working knowledge of the concepts.
Grades
|
Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels: Page by Page, Panel by Panel
7 - 12
Professional Library
| Book
This collection of essays by classroom teachers demonstrates how to pair graphic novels with classic literature (including both canonical and YA lit).
Grades
|
Engaging Grammar: Practical Advice for Real Classrooms
7 - 12
Professional Library
| Book
Amy Benjamin challenges the idea of "skill and drill" grammar instruction, and Tom Oliva provides a teacher's journal chronicling how the concepts in this book can work in a real classroom.
Grades
|
Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom
K - 6
Professional Library
| Book
Katie Wood Ray explains in practical terms the theoretical underpinnings of how elementary and middle school students learn to write from their reading.
Grades
|
Swish! Pow! Whack! Teaching Onomatopoeia Through Sports Poetry
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore poetry about sports, looking closely at the use of onomatopoeia. After viewing a segment of a sporting event, students create their own onomatopoeic sports poems.
Grades
|
More than One Way to Create Vivid Verbs
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson teaches students how to use old verbs in a new way, thus creating new and fresh descriptive phrases.
Grades
|
Textmasters: Shaking Up Textbook Reading in Science Classrooms
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Engage students in content area reading with the Textmasters strategy, which allows students to collaborate with their peers in different roles that enable better understanding of the content.
Grades
|
Making It Visual for ELL Students: Teaching History Using Maus
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Spark the engagement of English-language learners or reluctant readers with the graphic novel Maus. The visual information provided by the genre serves as a support for reading and critical engagement.
Grades
|
Earth Verse: Using Science in Poetry
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students shape up their reading, writing, and listening skills in this lesson by creating original diamante, acrostic, and shape poems about science.
Grades
|
Persuading the Principal: Writing Persuasive Letters About School Issues
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students learn that you don't have to raise your voice to raise a point. Writing a persuasive letter to your principal is a great way to get your opinions heard.
Grades
|
Promoting Cultural Values Through Alphabet Books
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
C is for Culture in this lesson in which students research a culture different from their own and compile an alphabet book that showcases cultural symbols for each letter of the alphabet.
Grades
|
Describe That Face: An Interactive Writing Game
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students write descriptions of characters, incorporate new vocabulary words, practice using simile and metaphor, engage in peer editing, and post their revised descriptions on the walls for a matching game.
Grades
|
Descriptive Video: Using Media Technology to Enhance Writing
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students will have a roaring good time when they watch a scene from The Lion King as a way to compare standard and described programming media.
Grades
|
Spelling in Parts: Learning to Spell, Write, and Read Polysyllabic Words
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Recurring Lesson
How do you spell polysyllabic? While this word may be a bit too advanced for students, they will definitely be spelling polysyllabic words using a strategy called Spelling in Parts.
Grades
|
Pictures Tell the Story: Improving Comprehension With Persepolis
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students get the big picture of the Middle East when they read and analyze Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis.
Grades
|
To, Too, or Two: Developing an Understanding of Homophones
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
The classroom becomes a stage in this interactive lesson in which students sing, act, and design comic strips to learn the meanings and spellings of common homophones.
Grades
|
Using Word Webs to Teach Synonyms for Commonly Used Words
4 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students use word webs to choose synonyms for generic adjectives and to learn to adjust their word usage for different contexts.