FreeReading is an open source instructional program that helps educators teach early literacy. Because it is open source, it represents the collective wisdom of a wide community of teachers and researchers. FreeReading contains Comprehension Activities, a page of activities to address important comprehension skills and strategies.

Module 11 of the 16-module ESL course explores the importance and relevance of law in the community. The lessons consist of critical thinking discussions on laws and scenarios dealing with the absence of laws. Conditionals are practiced as the grammar component. Reading and comprehension is on Veterans Day.  

The 11th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 11th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Students move from learning the class rituals and routines and genre features of argument writing in Unit 11.1 to learning about narrative and informational genres in Unit 11.2: The American Short Story. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

 "Homeless," by Anna Quindlen, allows the student to understand homelessness as it affects many people on a broader scale. She emphasizes the individuality of homelessness, the fact that they not only lack possessions but have no place to keep them."The First" (also titled "Eviction") is a short poem by Lucille Clifton that provides the opportunity to compare and contrast the approach to the same issue through another genre.In "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls the parents choose to live as homeless students.  Students will compare and contrast the Walls' view of homelessness with Quindlen's and Clifton's.Final Assessment: How do Anna Quindlen and Lucille Clifton use language to convince the reader that their arguments have value? (focus on use of specific language, word choice, mood, tone, etc.)  Would Walls agree?

The "Into the Book" web site is designed to help elementary students practice eight reading comprehension strategies through playful interactive activities. The site focuses on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. "Behind the Lesson," the teacher area of the site, provides information, lesson plans and other resources for teachers.

The attached Lesson Plan is designed for Third Grade English Language Arts students. Students will determine story elements and use the elements to write a summary. This Lesson Plan addresses the following NDE Standard: NE LA 3.1.6.b and NE LA 3.1.6.dIt is expected that this Lesson Plan will take students 90 minutes to complete.

This article discusses explicitly teaching and assessing listening comprehension skills in the elementary grades and provides templates for classroom use.

This video segment from Between the Lions features a catchy song that celebrates an important function of literacy: access to information. It also shows the wide world of print, and all of the knowledge that can be gained from it.

This article provides an overview of questioning as a reading strategy and includes templates and links to books, lesson plans, and web sites for more information.

This lesson will be a real-world scenario-based reading module for Reading Scientific and Technical Text, for readers at level 7. Through an interactive visual scenario, learners will be introduced to a sample loan application form, and will be walked through the meaning and purpose of primary portions of the form and challenging terminology in it.

Resource by Stephanie Genco, St. John the Baptist, Alden. Includes full Novel Study w/ pre- and post-reading activities, Reading for Meaning questioning while reading, vocabulary tools, and discussion questions using QAR (Question-Answer Relationships). Also includes learning targets and NYS CCLS for 5th grade.

Resource by Denise Carlson, St. Peter's. Includes Reading for Meaning Lesson for Ch. 14, "Las Uvas." Also includes post-reading projects and comprehension questions for the entire novel.

Resource by Connie Stahl, St. Aloysius. Text from Fountas & Pinnell blue level text. Utilizes Hand of Knowledge tool.

Contains learning targets, pre- and post-reading activities, vocabulary rating, team-o-graph, and Reading for Meaning questioning.

Resource by Kelly Shivinski, Catholic Academy of West Buffalo. Includes Reading for Meaning questioning, vocabulary rating, character analysis, and synthesis tasks. Also includes CCLS for 4th grade.

In this video segment from Between the Lions, Sloppy Pop's song Read the Signs spotlights the letters and words we see on signs every day, encouraging children to be aware of print in their environment.

Rick Kleine structures his class with mini lessons, reading aloud, peer discussions and silent reading. He also speaks individually with his students, giving each a focused task for improvement to increase their comprehension and enjoyment, while making them better readers.