Comprehension & Chapter Books

Teaching Story Elements and Plot Structure in Upper Elementary

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A breakdown of setting, beginning event, character goal, and resolution, with simple questions to ask during shared and guided reading.

Teachers Reading Aloud Improves Reading Comprehension for All Students

Why reading aloud supports executive functioning and comprehension for every learner, plus tips for building a read-aloud routine that sticks.

Teaching Idioms, Proverbs, and Adages: Figurative Language Strategies That Actually Stick

Clear explanations, origin stories, and practice activities that help figurative language finally make sense for upper elementary readers.

Why Students Can Read Fluently but Still Struggle With Reading Comprehension Problems

Why decoding isn’t always the issue, and how weak executive functioning skills like working memory and planning quietly get in the way.

Successfully Teaching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 5th Grade

Character archetypes, setting analysis, theme, and figurative language examples, plus a list of read-alike books your students will want next.

Successfully Teaching Grammar in Fifth Grade (& How It Improves Reading Comprehension)

How pronouns, prepositions, and comparatives connect directly to comprehension, with video resources ready to use in class.

Teaching Internal and External Conflict in Reading

A rundown of internal vs. external conflict types, with movie clip examples that make the vocabulary click for students right away.

World War II Novel Study Free Resources for Upper Elementary

Background-building videos, book lists, and Anne Frank resources for guiding students through a WWII novel study with care.

Teaching Poetic Sound Devices Using Universal Design for Learning

Alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia explained with student-friendly examples, videos, and a free guided notes resource.

Flashback Should Be Taught Before Foreshadowing When Teaching Reading

The case for spending most of your instructional time on flashback, with the signal words and phrases that tip students off.

Teaching Point of View and Narrator in the Classroom

First, second, and third person explained clearly, plus reliable vs. unreliable narrators with movie examples students already know.

Executive Functioning and Reading Comprehension in the Classroom

Concrete strategies for planning, working memory, syntax, and inference to support students whose comprehension struggles aren’t about decoding.

Watch the Movie First? Executive Functioning and Reading Comprehension

The case for letting some students watch the movie before reading the book, and why that mental road map can help them finish it this time.

10 Book Recommendation Resources Every Teacher Should Know

From library databases and bestseller lists to book blogs and local shops, ten go-to places to find great reads for upper elementary students.