Reading

Learn all about teaching reading and pick up tons of helpful tips in these blog posts.

Spring Resources to Make Your Language Arts Classroom Fun!

March 29, 2023

This spring, why not make your language arts classroom fun and engaging for your students? This week's blog post is going to highlight some products you can use with your class.

Spring Reading Comprehension Passages

The first product I want to focus on is our newest product. Just released, this reading resource has Lexile-Leveled stories that are highly engaging to older students. The passages help students to practice reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing responses. Data tracking is available to help teachers.

Growth Mindset Reader's Theater for the Spring

Reader's Theater is a great way for students to work together. These scripted stories encourage a growth mindset while learning about spring topics. Students will work on building fluency. There are discussion questions that help them to reflect on their thinking. These stories are highly engaging and students beg to do more. You can purchase a bundle of all 4 seasons to add to your resources.

Reader's Theater Spring — Spring Reader's Theater

Grammar Games Silly Stories for Spring

Do you need a fun way for students to practice their grammar skills? These silly stories are perfect for you. Remember the old Madlibs stories? Students practice placing silly words into a story and reading them out loud. Let the hilarity ensue. For nonstop laughter, you may want to choose the Spring Grammar Games or the Baseball Grammar Games. Either one will be a hit with your class.

Grammar Interactive Edits for April

If you've never tried interactive edits before, you might want to try them this month. Rather than focusing on what is wrong in a sentence, students take note of what is right in a sentence. They record their noticings down. This can be done as a whole class lesson and then students can work on them independently.

Spring Activities Reading Freebie

This reading resource is a fun way to get students to respond to their reading. With these cards, students will pull out the most important parts of their reading and write about them. They will “tweet” about their reading and tell you what the “buzz” is about. Enjoy downloading this freebie to use today with your class.

For more ways to use this resource, check out this blog post.

Using Literature Circles in the Upper Elementary Classroom

March 22, 2023

What are literature circles? Literature circles for upper elementary students are small groups of students who come together to read and discuss literature. The purpose of literature circles is to promote reading comprehension, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. Overall, literature circles provide upper elementary students with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of literature, build collaboration skills, and develop a love of reading.

Features of Literature Circles

In literature circles, students take turns leading the discussion. They ask questions, share their thoughts and opinions, and facilitate group activities. Everyone in the group is working together in an equal and active way.

Students have the freedom to choose their own books or a selection of books provided by the teacher. This allows students to explore their interests and encourages a love of reading.

Literature Circles lessons — Literature Circles Lessons

Students are assigned different roles and responsibilities within their literature circle groups. These roles may include discussion leader, vocabulary enforcer, summarizer, connector, and illustrator. Literature circles encourage students to engage in critical thinking by asking open-ended questions and making connections between the text and their own experiences.

Literature circles can be adapted to fit the needs and interests of the students. Teachers may choose to include creative activities, such as drama or art projects, to enhance the reading experience. There are several ideas for projects in the item below. It is also included in the bundle.

Steps to Implement Literature Circles

Select books that are at an appropriate reading level for your students, and consider the interests and backgrounds of your students when choosing titles.

Assign roles to the students so that everyone is an active participant. Decide on a set of roles for each student to play in the literature circle, such as “discussion director,” “word wizard,” or “connector.”

Prepare discussion questions. Write a set of thought-provoking discussion questions for each book, and provide copies for each student in the group. Questions and discussion cards below make this so easy. Just print and go. You can use these with any book.

Assign groups. Divide your students into small groups of four to six students, and assign each group a book to read.

Establish a routine. Set a regular meeting time for each literature circle, such as once a week, and establish clear guidelines for participation.

Encourage students to actively participate in the discussions, ask and answer questions, and make connections to the text.

Offer support. Be available to offer support and guidance as needed, but also allow the students to take the lead in the discussions.

Regularly evaluate the progress of each literature circle, and make adjustments as needed to ensure that the students are engaged and making progress. A rubric is available in this set and is also in the bundle.

Celebrate the successes of each literature circle, and recognize the achievements of individual students.

Literature Circle Bundle Available on TpT

By using literature circles, upper elementary students can practice critical thinking, active reading, and effective communication, while also engaging with challenging texts in a supportive and collaborative environment.

To see a webinar about literature circles, click here.

Reading State Test and How to Prepare for It

March 15, 2023

Most teachers dread the reading state test. Some students get physically ill thinking about tests. This is a great read-aloud to help nervous students. Here are some tips to prepare students for a state reading test.

Have Students Read Every Day

Encourage students to read a variety of books, articles, and texts to build their reading skills and knowledge. This will help to prepare them for different genres that might be included in the test. Not only will they be practicing fluency, but they will gain confidence in their abilities. Daily Reading Morning Work is a great way to start your day. Each passage helps to activate their minds and practice their understanding and reading skills. Available for grades 2-8.

Comprehension Skills for Reading State Test

Teach students how to identify main ideas, summarize texts, make inferences, and analyze characters, plot, and setting. These are basic comprehension skills that will be tested. One way to work on that is with our comprehension passages. You can focus on a different comprehension skill with these passages. The bundle is available below or purchase individually by reading comprehension skills.

Provide Test-Taking Strategies

Teach students how to pace themselves, eliminate wrong answers, and use context clues to determine the meaning of words they don't know. A really great resource is found in the Mini Units of Mastery. There is a 10 day mini lesson that helps review practical skills that will help your students.

Review Test Format and Content

Familiarize students with the format of the test and what type of questions they can expect to see. Review sample test questions and practice with similar texts and questions. Practice taking the test together in class, whether paper or online. Show students how to find proof and practice highlighting the evidence in the text. Provide students with support and encouragement, and help them develop a positive attitude towards the test.

Improve Vocabulary for Reading State Test

Teach students new words and provide opportunities for them to use and practice new vocabulary in context. A great way to practice vocabulary is with our vocabulary passages. These passages are similar to state tests and help students practice defining words within the context of reading. You can purchase the bundle or buy them specifically for your grade level.

vocabulary passages — Vocabulary Passages Bundle

Foster a Growth Mindset

Encourage students to believe in their abilities and to approach the test as an opportunity to show what they know. A great way to do this is with the Reader's Theater. This is a fun way to help calm the nerves of your anxious students.

Remember, the most important factor in preparing students for a state reading test is providing a strong foundation in reading skills and ongoing opportunities for practice and growth.

To see more about reading comprehension lessons, click here

How to Teach Figurative Language to Big Kids

March 1, 2023

Teaching figurative language to upper elementary students can be a fun and engaging way to help them improve their reading and writing skills. Here are a few steps to teaching figurative language to upper elementary students.

Introduce Figurative Language

The first step is to introduce the concept of figurative language. Give examples of different types of figurative language, such as similes, metaphors, and personification. Here is a great bundle to get you started. Be sure to display each poster as you continue to introduce different types of figurative language. Having visuals helps the students reference and distinguish the many different types as they are learning. It gives them something to refer back to as they are reading.

Practice Figurative Language Within the Text

Provide students with a variety of texts that contain figurative language. Great choices are poetry, short stories, and novels. Encourage them to find and identify examples of figurative language in the texts. These figurative language passages are the perfect way to help students understand each type while getting practice identifying key phrases within the text to help them learn. They are short and engaging for older students.

Distinguish Between Literal and Figurative Language

Use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and T-charts to help students compare and contrast literal and figurative language. Work together as a class to come up with both literal and figurative language examples. Students can write these on sticky notes and you can make a class T-chart with their examples.

Literal vs Figurative Language anchor chart

Get Creative with Writing and Videos

Provide students with opportunities to practice using figurative language in their own writing, such as through creative writing activities or writing prompts. A super fun way is for them to find figurative language in songs they know. Show them this example and see what songs they know and can share that have more figurative language. Get creative and have them make their own videos.

Katy Perry's Roar by Mrs. Bissot's Class

Play Games

Use games and interactive activities to help students understand and practice figurative language. For example, you can play a “figurative language matching game” where students match examples of figurative language with their corresponding meanings. Here is a great memory game to practice matching figurative language terms.

Figurative Language Memory Game — Memory Game

Continuously evaluate the students' understanding of figurative language. Provide them with feedback and support as needed. Encourage students to use figurative language in their speaking, as well. Ask students to use similes and metaphors in their discussions and video presentations. Remember to give plenty of examples and explanations, and always provide an opportunity for practice and application.

Practice 11 different types of figurative language using these passages.

For even bigger savings, try the bundle.

For ideas on teaching poetry, see this blog post

Teaching Greek and Latin Roots to Big Kids

February 15, 2023

Do you need a perfect way to teach Greek and Latin roots to your students? We have a great way to practice these roots within the context of a story or poem while practicing reading comprehension. Here are some steps to teach Greek and Latin roots to upper elementary students.

How to Begin Teaching Greek and Latin Roots

First, start with a simple introduction. Explain to students that many English words come from ancient Greek and Latin roots. Furthermore, identify common root words. Secondly, compile a list of common Greek and Latin roots, such as “bio” (life), “geo” (earth), and “aqua” (water), and write them on the board. Above all, building these lists is equally important and will encourage application.

Making Connections

Next, make connections to vocabulary. Have students work in groups to find English words that contain each root and write them on the board. This will help them see how the roots are used in everyday language. In addition, have students create word maps to show the relationships between words that contain the same root. This can be done on paper or on a computer. Afterward, play word games such as word bingo or word match to reinforce the roots and the vocabulary.

Incorporate Greek and Latin Roots into Reading and Writing

Finally, one of the best ways to help familiarize students with root words is to actually read them within the context of a passage. Practicing these words will help reinforce these skills and apply them to their learning. Secondly, incorporate root words into writing. Equally important, encourage students to use root words in their writing assignments to help reinforce their understanding of the roots and their use in English.

Additionally, offer ongoing reinforcement. In conclusion, regularly review the roots and vocabulary words throughout the school year to ensure that students retain the information.

What is Included in Each Greek and Latin Root Set:

2 stories with custom illustrations for practicing Greek or Latin Roots.
2 poems with custom illustrations and Greek or Latin Roots practice.
A/B multiple-choice questioning.
Open-ended evidence-based question.
Challenge activity to find evidence in the text.
Custom Illustrations from Three Birds Art. IG: Threebirds_art
Google Classroom Digital Version.

Ways to Use These in the Classroom

As mentor texts during a whole group lesson on learning Greek or Latin Roots.
In a small guided reading group.
In a comprehension center.
As independent practice after a lesson on Greek or Latin Roots.
As a homework review.
Use as a practice for taking standardized tests.

You can purchase Greek Roots and Latin Roots separately in different sets, or click on the bundle for even more savings and variety.

Greek and Latin Roots bundle — Greek and Latin Roots Bundle

In the meantime, do you love all things from Out of This World Literacy? Join our membership and have access to everything after you join. Click on the button below to learn more about the membership:

Membership Information

Paired Passages, a Useful Tool for Reading Comprehension

February 8, 2023

Paired passages can be a useful tool for teaching reading comprehension to older elementary students. What are paired passages and how do you use them? Paired passages are two short texts that share a similar theme or topic and can be used to help students compare and contrast information, make connections, and infer information.

Using Paired Passages for Reading Comprehension

Select two short reading passages that share a similar theme or topic. The passages should be challenging enough to engage students, but not so difficult that they become frustrated. Have students read both passages and then have them complete a variety of comprehension questions, such as multiple choice, short answer, and open-ended questions.

Using Comprehension Questions to Compare Texts

Use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams, to help students compare and contrast the information in the paired passages. Provide opportunities for students to make connections between the paired passages, and ask them to infer information based on what they have read.

Small Group Instruction to Help with Paired Passages

Provide ongoing support and guidance for the students as they work on the paired passages. This can include mini-lessons, individual conferences, and small-group instruction. Continuously evaluate the student's progress and make adjustments to the paired passages as needed.

Encourage students to use their comprehension skills in their writing and speaking, and provide them with feedback on their usage.

Use the paired passages as a formative assessment tool to check for understanding, and to help guide instruction. They are a great way to help prepare for state testing and get your students the practice that they need for the test.

These passages can be a great way to help students make connections between texts and improve their reading comprehension skills.

Here are some resources that target specific reading skills. If students are struggling with specific reading comprehension skills, you can use a mini-lesson to target that skill. Or, you can assign them a reading comprehension passage for extra practice.

Paired Passages for Your Grade Level

Paired passages are available for grades 2-8. There are different sets available for grades 2-3, 4-5, and 6th-8th. Purchase the set you need or bundle for even bigger savings. Click on the pictures below to go to each resource.

To see the entire line of Paired Passages, click here.

Needing help with phonics passages? Check out this blog posts Phonics Passages with Comprehension for Older Students.

Valentine’s Day Language Arts Products for the Classroom

February 1, 2023

As you are prepping for February, take a look at some of our most popular Valentine's Day products. These resources will keep your students engaged and learning with fun language arts activities. Let's take a look at each one individually.

Valentine's Day Leveled Stories

Just released, our newest product is leveled stories made just for Valentine's Day. This resource includes 20 Lexile-leveled stories that support reading comprehension. Students will read Valentine's stories on their own reading level. They will work on vocabulary and reading comprehension by answering multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Assign these digitally or print the stories. They are available in both color and black and white.

Valentine's Day Writing Project

This is a creative writing project that will take you through the steps of writing. It can be done at any time of the year but works especially well around Valentine's Day. Students will write about someone they love. This is a super fun activity for the students and many teachers are claiming it is their favorite thing they have ever purchased from TpT. Graphic organizers and two weeks of lessons are provided to get your students writing and their creative juices flowing.

Reader's Theater

Students need time to talk and share with each other and release that excess energy. One of the best ways to do this is with a Valentine's Day themed Reader's Theater. This resource will help your students:

Get excited about Valentine's Day.
Build reading fluency by performing a reader's theater
Gain confidence as readers and in front of an audience
Learn to work together
Reflect on their new thinking

Valentine's Day Word Work

Older students need practice with words. This resource is perfect for them. They can be used for morning work, small groups, independent practice, homework, time-fillers, and assessment. They are great for substitute teachers. This resource includes 12 practices that you can print to help with many word work activities including:

Beginning, Middle, End
Making New Words
Finding Big Words
Valentine Synonyms
Valentine Antonyms
Purrrr-fect Words
Words I Love
Descriptive Valentine’s Words One
Descriptive Valentine’s Words Two
Valentine Word Scramble One
Word Scramble Two
Valentine Word Scramble Three

Contraction Game

Keep your students engaged with this super fun contraction game. Students will practice working with contractions during this matching game. It can be used during small groups, in literacy centers, or just for fun. There is a challenge option for early finishers too.

To learn more about some of the above resources, visit this blog post 5 Learning Activities for Valentine's Day

How to Teach Reading Comprehension with Task Cards

January 25, 2023

Task cards and reading passages can be useful tools for teaching reading comprehension to older elementary students. Here are a few steps to using task cards and reading passages to teach reading comprehension:

Reading Passages that Engage Students

How many times have students complained that they were bored or didn't like the story? Select reading passages that align with the student's reading level and interests. The passages should be challenging enough to engage students, but not so difficult that they become frustrated. These reading passages are highly engaging for older elementary students. They are high interest and aren't babyish to them.

Task Cards Help Students Practice Comprehension

Create task cards that correspond to the reading passages. The task cards should include a variety of comprehension questions, such as multiple-choice, short-answer, and open-ended questions. Have students work in small groups or independently to read the passage and answer the task card questions. Use graphic organizers, such as story maps or Venn diagrams. This helps students organize and analyze the information they have read. These task cards are available for 36 different reading comprehension strategies or bundle them to save money.

Use Small Group Reading Lessons for Support

Provide ongoing support and guidance for the students as they work on the task cards and reading passages. This can include mini-lessons, individual conferences, and small-group instruction. Continuously evaluate the student's progress. Make adjustments to the task cards and reading passages as needed. Encourage students to use their comprehension skills in their writing and speaking. Provide them with feedback on their usage. Here are some great mini-lessons to use that support reading comprehension.

Reading Assessment Using Task Cards and Passages

Use the task cards as a formative assessment tool to check for understanding, and to help guide instruction. Task cards and reading passages can be a great way to make reading comprehension practice more interactive and engaging for students.

For more information about task cards, please refer to this blog post: Task Cards for Reading Comprehension with Older Students

Using the Science of Reading with Big Kids

January 11, 2023

The science of reading approach can be effective for teaching reading to upper elementary students (typically students in grades 3-5). Here are some specific strategies you can use when teaching reading to upper elementary students using the science of reading approach.

Using Phonemic Awareness

First, review and reinforce phonemic awareness skills. Even though upper elementary students have likely already learned phonemic awareness skills. It's still important to review and reinforce these skills regularly. You can do this through activities such as rhyming, blending sounds, and segmenting words into phonemes. Here are two great products to help with phonemic awareness.

The Science of Reading Using Word Decoding and Fluency

Next, focus on word decoding and fluency. At this level, it's important to help students develop their ability to decode unfamiliar words and read with fluency. You can do this through activities such as phonics instruction, reading aloud to model fluency, and providing opportunities for students to practice reading independently.

Building Vocabulary

Another strategy is to build vocabulary. Help students expand their vocabulary by introducing them to new words and providing opportunities for them to learn the meanings of those words. This can involve discussing the meanings of words in context, using word walls and other visual aids, and incorporating word work activities into your lessons.

Reading Comprehension

Promote comprehension. Encourage students to think critically about what they're reading by asking them to make connections, draw inferences, and ask questions about the texts they're reading. You can also use graphic organizers and other tools to help students organize their thoughts and understand the main ideas and supporting details in a text. Here are two of our best-selling comprehension products.

Assessment in Science of Reading

Finally, use assessment to track progress and adjust instruction. Regularly assess students' reading skills and use the results to inform your instruction and adjust your teaching as needed. This will help you ensure that you're meeting the needs of all of your students and providing them with the support they need to succeed.

Click here for a great blog post: 2 Strategies to Assess Every Reader in One Day. You will also find a great video to watch.

Teach Genre with Differentiated Passages and Reading Skills

January 4, 2023

Students have a hard time identifying different genres. They need more practice with engaging texts. Genre Passages help students to identify different reading genres while practicing comprehension skills. Students look for the criteria that make each genre unique. These passages can be used independently or to support learning specific reading skills. If you own the Out of This World Literacy Reading Workshop, these Genre Passages are aligned perfectly with that unit. Use Genre Passages to enrich their learning.

What are Genre Passages?

Genre Passages are short stories. The passages relate to this day and age as they are current stories. The stories are engaging and relevant to students. They are ready to use with no setup required. Each set focuses on one specific genre. Students are immersed in that genre. They read the texts and answer the reading comprehension questions. Students begin by looking for specific features in that genre while making connections. This helps them to identify each unique genre while practicing application. These passages are excellent tools to use after a whole group or a small group lesson. The passages can be used as a homework review or in a literacy center.

Historical Fiction Genre Passages — Historical Fiction Genre Passage with a Graphic Organizer

What's Included in Each Set of Genre Passages?

12 Different Passages available in each set
Each passage is differentiated into 3 reading ability levels
Custom art and illustrations from the talented, Three Birds Art
12 specific skills to look for when reading each genre
3 Multiple Choice comprehension questions for each passage
Complete the statement comprehension responses
Deeper Thinking open-ended questions
Complete answer keys
Digital format
Printable format

Differentiated into 3 Levels

Each passage has 3 different levels to allow for differentiation. Students are reading about the same topic. By looking at the code at the bottom of each page, you can assign passages based on the reading levels.

Basic Level:
Grades 1-2 ability level.
Shorter sentences
Simplified language
Simpler vocabulary
Basic sentence structures
Shorter paragraphs
Larger font
More spacing
The story number followed by .1.Examples: Story 1.1. Story 2.1.

Average Level: .
Grades 3-4 ability level.
Sentence variety
Adjusted vocabulary
2-4 syllable words
Added contractions
More content in a paragraph
Average font size and spacing
The story number followed by .2.Examples: Story 1.2. Story 2.2.

Advanced Level:
Grades 5-6 ability level.
Combined sentences
Challenging vocabulary
Advanced sentence structuring
Longer paragraphs
More abstract ideas in story content
The story number followed by .3. Examples: Story 1.3. Story 2.3.

Genres Included:

Genre Passages can be purchased in individual genres or in a bundle. Click on the above genre to buy individually or purchase the bundle for even bigger savings. The bundle is growing with more genres being added.

For more information on the Units of Study, please check out this blog post: Back to School With Reading and Writing Workshop and How to Teach Informational With Reading and Writing Workshop

Reading Response for Big Kids

December 28, 2022

Teach students to respond to their reading in written form! This is a BIG skill, especially on standardized tests. Use these reading response cards over and over with any text. They cover 12 key comprehension skills in this bundle.

If you feel like you're stuck asking the same questions every day, check out all these options!! You have both digital and printable options, making this easy to assign with Google. This bundle includes 340 questions you can ask students before, during, and after reading. Response formats are available in three different forms: half-page cards, discussion task cards, or a quiz format.

It's also super easy to differentiate because students respond to the questions with books they are reading at their own interest and ability level. These are also perfect discussion questions for book clubs or when using a class read-aloud.

Ways to Use the Reading Response Cards

There are about a million ways to use this resource. Here are a few suggested ideas.

Discussion questions during guided reading or whole group instruction.
As an assessment tool after whole group instruction or guided reading.
Independent work in literacy centers.
Group discussions during literature circles.
For students to copy and respond to in their reader’s notebooks.
Any other creative way that works for your classroom!

An Example of How to Use Reading Response with a Mentor Text

The wonderful thing about this resource is that you can use any book you have. The book can be from your own personal library or a basal from your school's reading program. Here is an example using a picture book.

Topics Included in the Reading Response Bundle

Click on the individual skill to purchase separately, or bundle for even bigger savings.

Try a FREE SET here:

Fun New Year’s Activities to Start Your Year Fresh

December 21, 2022

You've enjoyed your winter break and it's time to start thinking about school again. Kids will be excited to tell you about all of the activities they did over the holidays. Teachers will be reviewing rules. Start off by sharing some fun New Year's activities that will engage their minds and help them get back into the swing of school.

New Year's No Prep Activities

We all make New Year's Resolutions. Teach students what a resolution is and have them make their own too. You could even make classroom resolutions and set goals for the second semester. This fun freebie contains activities to countdown their favorite books, make reading goals, and write resolutions. It also has a fun word search, crack the code, and word work activities. Individual and group writing prompts are provided.

Growth Mindset Readers Theater with a New Year Theme

This is another fun activity that helps your students to learn what a resolution is and how to set one on their own. The fun stories help build fluency while students work together to read and perform these stories. Discussion questions are a great way to actively engage the students, help them work together, and acquire new thinking. Growth mindset subjects covered in this set include:

Change Yourself
Self-Improvement
Strengths and Weaknesses
Make a Resolution
Perception
Simile Interpretation
Fresh Start
Worry
Fickle Humans
Feeling Guilty
Practical Help
Resolution-Making

Grammar Games Silly Stories for New Year's

A fun way for students to work together and review grammar skills is with silly stories. If you've ever enjoyed playing Mad Libs, then these games are for you. Students work together to create funny stories by inserting words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) into the story. They practice their fluency by reading these stories to each other or the group. Hilarity will ensue as these stories are read aloud.

New Year's Resolution Graphic Organizer

If you are wanting students to write a New Year's resolution, a great place to start is a graphic organizer. This freebie will help to organize their writing. It would also make a great bulletin board display. Students create a goal and tell why they chose the goal, how they will accomplish the goal, who will help them achieve the goal, and when they will achieve the goal. Putting thought into their writing ahead of time and organizing them helps to create a wonderful thematic writing piece.

Check out this blog post, The Most Important Thing You'll Do All Year

Word Study Passages Quickly Practice Identifying Word Parts

December 14, 2022

Have you ever taught students a skill and it just doesn't stick? Students need lots of practice using that skill within the text. Word Study Passages allow for students to use that newly learned skill within the context of reading. After reading, students will identify the word study skills by studying the 4 bolded words in each passage and working with each word at the bottom of the page. After the pandemic, many students have fallen behind. They need lots of extra practice to acquire and learn new skills. Word study passages are perfect to help them get that practice. Everything they need is on one page.

What is Included in Each Set?

12 word study passages to help identify word study skills in texts during reading.
4 bolded tier 2 words in every passage.
Word study work underneath each passage.
Writing connection, applying words into own writing.
Google Classroom Digital Version.

How to Use Word Study Passages

As mentor texts during a whole group word study lesson on prefixes.
In a small guided reading group.
In a word study reading center.
As independent practice after a lesson on prefixes.
As a homework review.
Practice for taking standardized tests.

Teachers love these sets. Students apply the skill taught. The bolded words allow students to practice context clues. Here are what some teachers are saying about this product.

“My 5th graders lack these skills. It has been nice to have a concrete set of lessons to present to help them understand and interpret unknown and/or longer words.”

“My students love using these! They are a great way to give explicit instruction and practice!”

Try a Free Set of Word Study Passages Today

What Topics are Covered in Word Study Passages?

Click on the set titles to purchase individually, or bundle for even bigger savings.

To see phonics skills being applied within the context of the text, check out this blog post

How to Teach Informational with Reading and Writing Units

November 29, 2022

This literacy unit provides teachers with EVERYTHING they need to successfully teach an informational reading and writing workshop for an entire month of school! Lesson plans, mentor texts, suggested anchor charts, and much more are included in this unit. Reading and writing are so closely related. The two subjects are taught together on a single day. The writing lessons build off of the reading lessons. If the teacher chooses, both subjects can be taught independently.

How to Begin Using the Informational Units

The first reading lesson helps identify text features found in informational books. Teachers can use the provided mentor texts to help teach this lesson. They also can use a popular book from the suggested book list. Teachers can use a book from their own library too. There are so many options. Below is an anchor chart from the reading lesson on day 1.

Anchor Chart from Informational Reading Lesson 1 using a Mentor Text

The writing lesson builds off of the learning from the reading lesson. Each lesson can also be a stand-alone lesson. Students do not need to do research in this unit. They are building off of topics that they already know a lot about.

Anchor Chart from Informational Writing Lesson 1

The teacher introduces a new lesson and students examine it with texts that they have read together in class. Then, students get a chance to practice these skills using a book from their own reading level. Next, graphic organizers are provided so that students can show their learning. These are the graphic organizers for reading and writing lesson 1. Finally, students fill these out on their own and add these organizers to their notebooks. This is a great way to show their learning and use them as a reference.

Below is a list of all of the lessons in this informational unit. All grade levels follow the same lessons. The mentor texts and the standards change for each grade level.

What's Included in this Informational Unit?

20 reading and 20 writing mini lessons linked to the Common Core and TEKS standards!
Students note-taking pages for all 40 lessons. Students glue them in their reading and writing notebooks and keep the learning going all year long.
20 printable graphic organizers designed specifically for each reading lesson.
20 printable think-mark graphic organizers for each reading lesson.
Writing rubrics for grading.
Writing editing and revising checklists.
Sample completed anchor charts for several lessons.
Mentor texts are INCLUDED! 7 2-page original mentor texts with custom illustrations are included to support the reading and writing lessons.
TONS of teacher pages for organizing, conferencing, assessing, and note-taking.

Other Units Available

What Grade Level is This For?

If you are interested in how to get started with reading workshop, check out this blog post by clicking here. For more information about setting up your reading notebook, visit this blog post: 3 Steps to Create the Best Reading Notebooks! Wanting to learn more about writing notebooks, visit this post: The Steps in Setting up A Writer's Notebook.

Helpful Christmas Resources for the ELA Classroom

November 28, 2022

Christmas is one of the most wonderful times of the year! Today's blog post will feature some ELA resources that your students will love. Teachers will love these time-saving activities.

Holidays Around the World Reader's Theater Bundle

One of the most popular resources is Reader's Theater. This Holidays Around the World bundle allows students to collaborate with others while building fluency. Students will learn about cultures and customs around the world. Students will:

Learn about important growth mindset perspectives
Develop character education skills
Build reading fluency by performing a reader's theater
Gain confidence as readers and in front of an audience
Learn to work together
Reflect on their new thinking

Holidays Around the World Readers Theater

To see a blog post about Holidays Around the World Leveled Stories, click here

Christmas Writing Project

You've heard of Elf on a Shelf? How much fun will your students have with this creative writing project? Students will enjoy writing about their pet elf. Included in this resource are prewriting graphic organizers, a cover page, lined writing paper, a teacher observation form, and revising and editing checklists.

Christmas NO PREP Reading, Language, and Writing Printables

If you are looking for simple grab-and-go lessons for ELA, then this is the product for you. This resource is full of NO PREP Christmas-themed reading, writing, and language resources for grades 2-6. Keep your students engaged and learning during the holiday season, all while having fun and working independently! Included in this resource:

6 Christmas-themed reading graphic organizers to use during independent reading time (great for assessments too!)

13 printable, no prep puzzles (with answer keys, when appropriate)

3 printable, no prep Christmas-themed writing prompts PLUS 5 writing paper options

4 writing skills activities, with character development and practice on creating fun Christmas stories!

5 Christmas-themed word work activities. (descriptive words, syllables)

4 Christmas-themed game ideas (adjective and adverb synonyms; nouns and their possessives; singular/plural nouns; nouns to verbs) to play with the class or small groups as a review or just for fun!

Word Work Literacy Centers for Big Kids

If you are looking for time fillers during your ELA block, look no further than these word work literacy centers. Students will work on these skills:

Spelling Patterns (6 pages)
Connecting Words
Adding Prefixes One
Adding Prefixes Two
Using What You Know
Word Game
Taking Away Word Parts
Adding Suffixes One
Adding Word Parts
Thinking About Root Words
Descriptive Language (3 pages)

These are great for:

As daily morning work to review word work skills

Guided reading small groups

During independent reading time or centers

To work with partners and small groups

An assessment for teachers to monitor students’ spelling abilities

As homework review sheets

A quick and fun 10-minute time filler.

To use with substitute teachers

Christmas Countdown

What student doesn't love counting down the days until Christmas? This resource includes 4 cute ways for your students to keep track of these days. These activities can be done as a whole class or individually.

See other Jen Bengel Christmas products in the TpT store by clicking here.

Engaging Holidays Around the World Stories for Big Kids

November 15, 2022

Holidays don't have to be difficult for teachers. Students will love to learn about different cultures with these professionally Lexile Leveled stories. Each story tells about a different custom and tests reading comprehension and vocabulary. Cover both your language arts and social studies standards by integrating the two subjects.

How to Use Holidays Around the World

There are so many ways to use this product. Teachers can use this to learn students' reading levels. How do you do this?

Choose the grade level you are teaching.
Print or digitally assign the passage that matches your grade level.
Have all students read and respond to the grade-level passage. *You may assign 2-3 passages to analyze more than one score.
Grade each assessment and use the following data tracking pages for a quick assessment of each student's reading ability level.
Begin a formal benchmark assessment with readers working on the lowest levels.
Use additional passages for active learning while you individually benchmark students.

Teachers can also use this to teach their social studies standards by comparing different cultures and customs around the world. Students can compare and contrast each culture. Teachers can set up a rotation for students to help them learn about the traditions. Print a world map and color the country that you are learning about.

Examples of How to Use Holidays Around the World

After reading the story, write your standard at the top of an anchor chart. Use the Holidays Around the World story as your mentor text. Fill in the anchor chart by modeling. Get responses from students o help you complete the anchor chart. See the example below:

What's included

20 stories each centering on a holiday around the world.
Custom artwork in both color and black and white.
A student comprehension page with 5 vocabulary words, 4 multiple-choice questions, and one open-ended question.
Professionally Leveled By Lexile and OOTWL.
Teacher data tracking pages for quick reading assessments.
Digital Versions.
Complete answer keys.

Holidays Around the World Leveled Stories

Looking for similar comprehension passages for older students? Check out this blog post.

Needing Phonics Passages for older students? This blog post is for you.

Helpful Thanksgiving ELA Resources to be Thankful For

November 3, 2022

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I wanted to take some time to focus on resources that will help enrich your teaching while keeping the learning fun. These 5 resources are engaging for students while practicing reading, writing, grammar, and social studies. All five resources use a Thanksgiving theme to help you teach these skills.

A Thanksgiving Writing Project

This resource teaches the students how to write a friendly letter while thanking those whom they appreciate. This is a great writing activity for Thanksgiving time as students reflect on all the people, places, and things they are thankful for. Students will be given a graphic organizer to help with their thinking and teach the elements of a friendly letter. They can write their letter on the provided Thanksgiving stationery. Teachers use the observation sheet to record notes on the student's writing. The students use the revising and editing checklist to tidy up their rough draft before writing their final copy of the letter.

3 Thanksgiving Reader's Theaters

Reader's Theater is a great way to build excitement and a sense of community with your students. Students work together to read their scripts while building fluency. Students are able to perform for an audience. They are great discussion questions for the class to reflect on their thinking. Topics included are Family, Thanksgiving, Giving Back, Friendsgiving, Friendship, Gathering Together, and Thankfulness. To see other Reader's Theaters, check out this blog post.

Thanksgiving No PREP Reading, Writing, and Language Printables

Keep your students engaged and learning during the Thanksgiving season, all while having fun and working independently! There are so many options to use this product. It can be used for morning work, small groups, independent practice, assessment, exit tickets, or homework. Included are graphic organizers, puzzles, writing prompts, character development, word work, and grammar games. All of these have a Thanksgiving theme to help keep classwork exciting for the students.

Grammar Games Silly Stories

If you've ever played Mad Libs, then these grammar games are for you. Students will be practicing grammar skills while making silly stories. Each story centers around a Thanksgiving theme. Topics include everything from turkey dinners to the turkey trot and holiday shopping. Ways to use grammar games:

In a writing or word work literacy center.
As a fun way to review grammar skills.
As a ‘when you’re finished’ fun partner activity.
Indoor recess fun.
For substitute teachers.

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts

If you are needing writing prompts with a Thanksgiving theme, this is for you! This resource comes with 13 different writing prompts that students glue in their journals and respond to the prompt. They also come in printable prompt cards to use in centers. Students have a choice in the way they respond. They can make lists, write a paragraph, sketch, make a timeline, or create interview questions.

Where to Find These Products

If you are wanting to purchase these products, please go to their respective links by clicking on the pictures above. You can also view all of them on TpT here.

Thanksgiving Products

Reader’s Theater to Teach Growth Mindset and Social Studies

October 18, 2022

Reader's theater is a fun and exciting way to help students learn about social studies while fostering a growth mindset. There are so many ways that these can be used in class. What's even better is that the students really love reader's theater and beg for more.

What is Reader's Theater?

2 or more people read a piece of writing aloud from a script, assuming the roles of certain characters.
May be performed in a variety of ways for any audience.
Not memorized or necessarily acted out. The voices carry the meaning. Can create actions to enhance meaning.
Practiced ahead of time so voices carry meaning.
Fast-paced and fun!

15 Benefits of Using Reader's Theater

They give students confidence in reading and speaking in front of others.

2. Boost language skills.

3. Increase reading fluency (rate, tone, intonation, phrasing, etc)

4. Rereading practice increases fluency.

5. More opportunities to practice oral reading fluency.

6. Develop a positive attitude toward reading.

7. Teaches anticipation (be ready for your turn).

8. Perfect for ELL students who need extra practice with oral reading and understanding syntax.

9. Develop ease and a better understanding of new vocabulary words.

10. Practice expressive reading.

11. Improve speaking skills and be in front of an audience.

12. Build a sense of community with others.

13. Practice reading loudly and clearly.

14. A biography book can come alive when students read as if they are that person.

15. Easily integrate social studies and science topics into reading.

What's Included:

3 Scripts at different ability levels, with leveled roles.

Before/After true or false learning activity.

4 Discussion cards for after each reader’s theater.

2 writing prompts for each script.

A graphic organizer printable for each script.

Cover pages for each script

Tips for putting together scripts and practicing.

Writing Prompt from Reader's Theater Economics

Reader's Theater is amazing because it allows for natural differentiation. The scripts are leveled so you can assign students to groups while they are learning about the same topic as their classmates. By having students in groups, they are naturally able to help each other out and collaborate on the topic. Discussion questions and task cards are provided to help build this natural communication. True/False quizzes are available to test their knowledge. There are also self-reflective writing pages included.

Reader's Theaters are available for grades 2-4 and 5-7. You will find Growth Mindset bundle, which includes topics like: Never Giving Up, Putting Others First, Perfectionism, Paying it Forward, Compassion, Respect, Being Responsible, Ethical Dilemmas, Quality of Work, Setting Goals, and Cyber Safety.

There is also a Holidays Around the World bundle which includes: Las Posados, Chinese New Year, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, St. Lucia Day, and Christmas in Japan. There are also individual holiday reader's theaters for Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, and Valentine's Day. The four seasons also have their own bundle too.

Social Studies topics included are: Geography, Citizens in a Community, Economics, Communities, The American Revolution, Ancient Civilizations, The Civil War, The Dust Bowl, European Explorers, Inspirational Women, The Great Depression, Westward Expansion, and the 13 Colonies.

Reader's Theater Table of Contents

Readers-Theater-Table-of-Contents Download

To see the entire line of Reader's Theater:

Click Here

Check out this blog post to learn more: Check Out What Other Teachers Have to Say About Reader's Theater.

Add Some Halloween Magic to Your Language Arts Class

October 10, 2022

Halloween is a time of the year that many teachers dread. Students are excited about going Trick or Treating, and teachers are dealing with sugar highs and tired kids the next day. Halloween can be a fun time in the classroom too. Today we are going to showcase products to help make your language arts class a fun place to be.

Halloween Reading Fun

Our newest product is definitely going to be a hit with your class. These Halloween Reading Comprehension passages are a fun way to do a baseline reading assessment. Students will read a Halloween story and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions both with multiple choice and short answer questions. These are available both in digital and print forms.

Another fun product is our Fall Graphic Novel Stories. All students love to read graphic novels. These can be used in so many ways too. For example, you can use them in whole group, in a small group, during guided reading, for independent practice, or in literature circles. Students will have so much fun reading the stories and teachers will love the variety of activities. This includes comprehension, vocabulary, reading responses, writing prompts, and open-ended discussion questions. Students will love the step-by-step drawing and the opportunity to create their own graphic novels. To see more, check out this blog post: Graphic Novels Students Will Love to Read!

Halloween Readers Theater is a definite go-to for your class. Students will be practicing fluency while being engaged in highly entertaining Halloween stories. They will love responding to the reflection questions and will be begging you for more stories. “Can we do it again?” Writing prompts and discussion questions are included. Students will be having a growth mindset during Readers Theater as they deepen their thinking.

Writing Fun

If you are looking for a creative way to teach writing, these Halloween Writing Prompts are for you. This includes 8 different prompts to get those writing juices flowing. Each comes with its own draft paper. They can be used independently or in centers.

The Halloween Writing Project will take your students through all of the writing stages and help them write a scary story. This includes graphic organizers, writing papers, and revising and editing checklists. A fun way to celebrate their writing is to have them bring in blankets and flashlights so they can make forts and share their spooky stories with their friends.

Grammar Halloween Fun

Another fun use of our Halloween products is our Grammar Silly Stories, Halloween version. This is what you might know as Mad Libs. Students are working with a partner to fill in different parts of speech. This helps them review their grammar. When they add their partner's suggested words, the result is a hilarious story that will have them laughing even without trick-or-treating.

Grammar Games Silly Stories for Halloween

A great way to teach the difference between simple, compound, and complex sentences is with the use of this product, Halloween Language. To teach the difference between regular and irregular plural nouns, use Halloween Plural Nouns.

Halloween No Prep: Reading, Writing and Language Fun is for teachers wanting a wide variety. This resource includes reading graphic organizers, writing prompts, no prep printable puzzles, word work, and a review of grammar using games. This product is great when you have 10 minutes and you need a time filler. They are great for morning work, independent work, or exit slips too. Perfect for your early finishers!

Finally, if you are wanting to save money, buy the Halloween Bundle. It is now 40% off.

How to Teach Narratives Using Anchor Charts and Mentor Texts

October 3, 2022

Teaching students how to identify and write personal narratives is something we all do each year. Anchor charts are an effective way to help students learn about this genre. It is easy to incorporate both reading and writing during workshop time. Everything that you need to teach this literacy unit is provided for you. This includes the lessons, mentor texts, anchor charts, student recording sheets, graphic organizers, and independent practice. Let's take a look at reading workshop. Although there are 10 genres available for each grade level, we will be focusing on personal narratives. There are enough lessons to help you successfully teach this unit for an entire month.

How to Begin Teaching Personal Narratives

Whether you are teaching personal narrative or another genre, the format for reading and writing workshop remains the same. All of the lessons follow the format above. Start with an introduction. The next step is to model what you are teaching for the class. You can do this by using the mentor texts that are provided for you in the unit.

Then, invite the students to help you as they are thinking out loud while adding their thoughts to the anchor chart. Next, engage all learners as you have them turn and talk and find more examples to add to the anchor chart. You can have them continue using the mentor text. Finally, the students will be transitioned into independent time. Students will apply the skills that they have just learned by using their own books during independent reading time.

Using Anchor Charts

Anchor charts are a great way to model and display the information you are teaching. Start by writing the mini-lesson objective at the top. You can prepare this step and the categories in advance.

Choose a mentor text. This can either be from one of your own books, or from a mentor text that is provided for you. Read the story to the students. Model for the information from the text that matches the mini-lesson. Record this information on the anchor chart. Next, have volunteers point out other information from the story and record their responses on the anchor chart. Finally, have students work together by using a turn and talk. Using collaboration helps to build confidence with students. Record additional information on the anchor chart.

After students have mastered the mini-lesson, send them off to work on their own. Graphic organizers are provided for students to record the examples that they find from their own personal book boxes. The writing workshop lessons build upon the same mini-lesson taught during reading so that students can apply their learning in their writing.

What's Included in the Personal Narratives Unit?

20 reading and 20 writing mini lessons all linked to the Common Core and TEKS standards!
Students note-taking pages for all 40 lessons. Perfect to glue into reading and writing notebooks and keep the learning going all year long.
20 printable graphic organizers designed specifically for each reading lesson.
20 printable think mark graphic organizers for each reading lesson.
Writing rubrics for grading.
Writing editing and revising checklists.
Sample completed anchor charts for several lessons.
Mentor texts are INCLUDED! 7 2-page original mentor texts with custom illustrations are included to support the reading and writing lessons.
TONS of teacher pages for organizing, conferencing, assessing, and note-taking.

Looking for Other Genres?

The above lessons are from the 3rd Grade Literacy Units. To see units for other grade levels, click the links below:

Refer to this blog post on how to set up reading notebooks. 3 Steps to Creating the Best Reading Notebooks

6 Steps of Guided Reading and How to Save Time

September 15, 2022

Did you know that a successful guided reading lesson has 6 easy steps to follow? Today's blog post will break down each one of these steps and show you how these guided reading lessons will make your job much easier for you. Each step is provided in a one-page format for the teacher to use with the lesson.

The Introduction- Step 1 of Guided Reading

During the introduction, the teacher shares helpful information with students about the text they are about to read and discuss. This is often planned in advance and designed to help students navigate their way through any potential places in the text where they may become stuck. Here are some ways that the teacher can prepare for the introduction:

• Jot down a few sentences and plan to read them to the group.
• Include a brief summary of what is about to be read.
• Find a way to get students excited about reading the text.
• Decode and define any vocabulary you believe the group may struggle reading.
• Tell students to anticipate a group discussion after reading.
• Instruct students what to do when finished reading.

Read the Text- Step 2

Decide how you will engage students in step 2, the reading of the text. This is KEY in ensuring reading success. There are many forms of reading: teacher reading, silent reading, partner reading, choral reading, echo reading, silent reading prep, or re-reading. Each one of these is broken down for suggested use inside the product. Things to consider:

• Read the text in advance. Consider the needs and abilities of the readers when choosing how you will read the text.
• If the text appears too challenging, it is still OKAY to use the text in a small group! Simply choose either teacher read or echo reading. The key is that students discuss and practice sharing their thinking after reading and consider the comprehension skill.

Students will follow along with their own copy of the text. They will respond and write their answers on this sheet. It is available both as a digital download or you can print it in color or black and white.

Talk About the Text- Step 3

The teacher asks open-ended questions to the group immediately after reading. Do not skip this step! It’s important to ask these questions immediately after reading so that you can see what exactly each reader is thinking about the text immediately after reading. Tips to consider:

• Use student responses to drive your future instruction and answer reflective teaching questions like, “what are the readers noticing and what are they missing?”
• Students can type responses into their student page while one or two answers aloud.
• You can certainly have them type their answer and then turn in their student page after the lesson is complete. This is a great accountability check and gives you the opportunity to read everyone’s thoughts, even if there is not enough time for each reader to share verbally during the group.

Targeted Skill- Step 4 of Guided Reading

Now that you have heard what the students were thinking about the text immediately after reading, it’s time to teach the targeted skill. Ask a few specific comprehension questions about the skill. Things that the teacher can do:

• Remind students what the skill is and define how readers use the skill.
• Students can type or write their responses on their student page while one or two answers aloud.
• Pay attention to whether the students are mastering the skill or if they need more whole group or small group support.

Word Work- Step 5

The teacher will introduce either a spelling, phonics, grammar, or vocabulary activity. Next, the teacher will begin building word work for students to see word patterns. Finally, students will add ideas to each word pattern. Here are some things you can try:

• Use an anchor chart to create the chart of word patterns.
• Dry erase boards work too!
• The teacher creates the chart, asking students to chime in and help build word patterns and understandings.
• Keep this time brief and to the point so that you do not isolate words too much and take away from the meaning of the text as a whole.

Independent Practice- Step 6

Independent Practice

The teacher will instruct students to complete the independent page after reading. Next, students will immediately apply the targeted skill to a text they are reading independently. Finally, they will submit their independent work to the teacher when complete. Here are some tips:

• This is an excellent way to determine if students can apply the targeted skill to their own independent reading.
• It works to differentiate, as students read books they have chosen based on preferences and ability. They can apply the skill to their own independent level.
• Review the independent work, making teaching decisions on whether students need additional teaching support, or have mastered the reading skill.

guided reading lesson 5 — Teacher lesson on one page

The total time takes anywhere from 10-18 minutes to teach. All of these steps are completely designed and prepared for you in each lesson. No more running to find sets of guided reading books and figuring out what to teach. These lessons are grab-and-go. They can be printed and used with a teacher in small groups, or assigned digitally. To see more, refer to this blog post How to Make Guided Reading Easy For You

What's included in Guided Reading Lessons?

6 complete guided reading lessons for teaching summarizing.
IMPORTANT: There are two passages. One fiction and one nonfiction. The passages are adjusted to be used in 3 levels. In each level the word work, vocabulary, and text complexity changes. The reading levels are: Basic (grades 1-2), Average (grades 3-4), Advanced (grades 5-6).
Small group summary lesson page.
Detailed description with time suggestions for each of the 6 small group steps.
Teacher strategy guide for differentiating within each lesson.
A complete teacher page for each lesson.
2 student pages for each lesson.
Digital and printable (black and white) formats included.
ANSWER KEYS!