Reading Activities - Teaching with a Mountain View

Menu1(3)

Menu2(3)

Menu4(3)

Menu6(3)

Menu3(3)

Menu5(3)

Here are my best tips for teaching students to make nonfiction inferences, a super important skill for upper elementary students.

Here are my best tips for teaching students to make nonfiction inferences, a super important skill for upper elementary students.

Teaching Students To Make Nonfiction Inferences

This free guide to teaching inference includes checklists, book lists, lesson plans, anchor charts, practice activities, and more!

This free guide to teaching inference includes checklists, book lists, lesson plans, anchor charts, practice activities, and more!

The Complete Guide to Teaching Inference

Teaching regions of the United States has never been so fun! Become tourists to learn about regions in literacy, math, social studies, and science!

Teaching regions of the United States has never been so fun! Become tourists to learn about regions in literacy, math, social studies, and science!

Teaching Regions of the United States: Cross-Curricular Learning Projects

April read alouds and related activities to use during morning meeting and your upper elementary literacy block.

April read alouds and related activities to use during morning meeting and your upper elementary literacy block.

April Read Alouds and Related Seasonal Activities

Improving inference skills is simple with these engaging and unique activities that go beyond just simply reading and answering inference questions.

Improving inference skills is simple with these engaging and unique activities that go beyond just simply reading and answering inference questions.

Improving Inference Skills

Teaching main idea and theme is a critical reading comprehension skills. These resources will help students discern the difference.

Teaching main idea and theme is a critical reading comprehension skills. These resources will help students discern the difference.

The Complete Guide to Teaching Main Idea and Theme

March read alouds and related activities to use during morning meeting and your upper elementary literacy block.

March read alouds and related activities to use during morning meeting and your upper elementary literacy block.

March Read Alouds and Related Seasonal Activities

Teaching current events in the classroom can be daunting, but these tips and resources can help you bring the news to your students' level.

Teaching current events in the classroom can be daunting, but these tips and resources can help you bring the news to your students' level.

Age Appropriate Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom

February read alouds and related activities to use during morning meeting and your upper elementary literacy block.

February read alouds and related activities to use during morning meeting and your upper elementary literacy block.

February Read Alouds and Related Activities

This FREE context clues guide includes a ton of ideas, context clues lessons, essential skills, book list, free activities, and more!

This FREE context clues guide includes a ton of ideas, context clues lessons, essential skills, book list, free activities, and more!

The Complete Guide to Context Clues Lessons

Here are my favorite upper elementary winter read alouds and related seasonal activities for the days before and after winter break.

Here are my favorite upper elementary winter read alouds and related seasonal activities for the days before and after winter break.

15 Winter Read Alouds

Tips and resources for teaching persuasive writing in upper elementary, including the difference between opinion and argumentative writing.

Tips and resources for teaching persuasive writing in upper elementary, including the difference between opinion and argumentative writing.

Teaching Persuasive Writing

November read alouds for upper elementary students, related lessons to use with each book, and seasonal activity ideas too!

November read alouds for upper elementary students, related lessons to use with each book, and seasonal activity ideas too!

November Read Alouds for Upper Elementary

Upper elementary tips and resources to help you provide engaging instruction and meet all students' needs using authentic texts

Upper elementary tips and resources to help you provide engaging instruction and meet all students' needs using authentic texts

Integrating Authentic Texts into Your Curriculum

How To Use Reader’s Theater Scripts in Your Upper Elementary Classroom

Here are some of my favorite fall read alouds, along with different fall literacy activities that are all great for upper elementary.

Here are some of my favorite fall read alouds, along with different fall literacy activities that are all great for upper elementary.

Fall Read Alouds and Literacy Activities for Upper Elementary

Learn how to use podcasts in the classroom to challenge students' listening skills, and integrate content related skills too.

Learn how to use podcasts in the classroom to challenge students' listening skills, and integrate content related skills too.

Incorporating Podcasts in the Classroom

Learn how to integrate daily grammar practice into your routines to save valuable time and strengthen grammar skills too.

Learn how to integrate daily grammar practice into your routines to save valuable time and strengthen grammar skills too.

6 Ways To Integrate Daily Grammar Practice Into Your Routines

Spelling strategy is an important part of upper elementary literacy instruction. Read tips and download resources for 4 key strategies.

Spelling strategy is an important part of upper elementary literacy instruction. Read tips and download resources for 4 key strategies.

4 Spelling Strategy Tips for Upper Elementary

Learn how to use literacy centers in upper elementary for engagement and differentiation. Increase independence and collaboration too!

Learn how to use literacy centers in upper elementary for engagement and differentiation. Increase independence and collaboration too!

Tips for Using Literacy Centers in Upper Elementary

Teaching punctuation in upper elementary involves advanced topics like quotation marks, dialogue, and apostrophes. Learn how to make it fun!

Teaching punctuation in upper elementary involves advanced topics like quotation marks, dialogue, and apostrophes. Learn how to make it fun!

Activities for Teaching Punctuation: Quotation Marks, Dialogue, and Apostrophes

Back to school read alouds are a great way to build community, get to know your students, and discuss important topics for the year.

Back to school read alouds are a great way to build community, get to know your students, and discuss important topics for the year.

A Complete List of Back to School Read Alouds

Teaching Informational Text Skills

Download free Skill of the Day weeks for spiral review in reading, math, and language from Teaching with a Mountain View.

Download free Skill of the Day weeks for spiral review in reading, math, and language from Teaching with a Mountain View.

FREE Skill of the Day Week

Book recommendations and related activities for the best morning meeting read alouds in upper elementary.

Book recommendations and related activities for the best morning meeting read alouds in upper elementary.

10 Morning Meeting Read Aloud Activities

Literacy tips and activities to start the year strong in upper elementary. Includes ideas for morning work, centers, and review.

Literacy tips and activities to start the year strong in upper elementary. Includes ideas for morning work, centers, and review.

Literacy Tips To Start The Year Strong

Upper elementary language skill activities to teach conjunctions, interjections, articles, and prepositions. Download a FREE reference guide.

Upper elementary language skill activities to teach conjunctions, interjections, articles, and prepositions. Download a FREE reference guide.

Language Skill Activities: How to Teach Conjunctions, Interjections, Articles, and Prepositions

Amazing reading skill videos to teach key upper elementary reading skills. Includes activity ideas for each video and related resource too.

Amazing reading skill videos to teach key upper elementary reading skills. Includes activity ideas for each video and related resource too.

Amazing Reading Skill Videos

Graphic novels are important tools to use in the upper elementary classroom. Includes recommended graphic novel lists and activities.

Graphic novels are important tools to use in the upper elementary classroom. Includes recommended graphic novel lists and activities.

Graphic Novel Lists for Upper Elementary

Comparing and contrasting texts, characters, themes, and literary elements takes critical thinking and is key to reading comprehension.

Comparing and contrasting texts, characters, themes, and literary elements takes critical thinking and is key to reading comprehension.

Comparing and Contrasting Texts: Why it’s Important and How to Teach It

This post includes an anchor chart and practice activities for teaching adjectives and adverbs in upper elementary.

This post includes an anchor chart and practice activities for teaching adjectives and adverbs in upper elementary.

Teaching Adjectives and Adverbs

End of the Year Reading Projects

Upper Elementary ELA test prep tips, strategies, and resources to make review productive and engaging too!

Upper Elementary ELA test prep tips, strategies, and resources to make review productive and engaging too!

4 ELA Test Prep Tips

Teaching tips and activities to use when teaching narrative writing in upper elementary. Includes mentor text examples too!

Teaching tips and activities to use when teaching narrative writing in upper elementary. Includes mentor text examples too!

Tips for Teaching Narrative Writing in Upper Elementary

Upper elementary descriptive writing activities. Includes anchor charts for expanding sentences and descriptive writing prompts.

Upper elementary descriptive writing activities. Includes anchor charts for expanding sentences and descriptive writing prompts.

How to Teach Descriptive Writing in Upper Elementary

Teaching synthesis requires students to combine different sources of information to create meaning. These synthesizing ideas can help!

Teaching synthesis requires students to combine different sources of information to create meaning. These synthesizing ideas can help!

3 Tips for Teaching Synthesis

Advanced chapter books for higher-level readers in second through fourth grade. Each of these books vary in topic to reach more interests.

Advanced chapter books for higher-level readers in second through fourth grade. Each of these books vary in topic to reach more interests.

Advanced Chapter Books for Elementary Readers

Literacy choice boards increase comprehension and accountability during novel studies. These work with ANY book and work for assessment too.

Literacy choice boards increase comprehension and accountability during novel studies. These work with ANY book and work for assessment too.

Literacy Choice Boards

Novel projects are engaging ways to boost comprehension and hold students accountable or independent reading. Includes several FREE projects!

Novel projects are engaging ways to boost comprehension and hold students accountable or independent reading. Includes several FREE projects!

Engaging Novel Projects for ANY Book

Teaching tips and ideas for fact vs. opinion practice in upper elementary. Includes an anchor chart and practice activities.

Teaching tips and ideas for fact vs. opinion practice in upper elementary. Includes an anchor chart and practice activities.

4 Activities to Teach Fact vs. Opinion

Here are some of the consistent strategies and skills I use in my classroom to help my students master nonfiction comprehension.

Here are some of the consistent strategies and skills I use in my classroom to help my students master nonfiction comprehension.

Nonfiction Comprehension Guide

Learn how to use The Week Junior, a magazine for children ages 8-14. It covers timely topics, news, sports and technology features, and more.

Learn how to use The Week Junior, a magazine for children ages 8-14. It covers timely topics, news, sports and technology features, and more.

Using The Week Junior In The Classroom

Three ways to supplement textbooks in upper elementary to provide engaging instruction and meet all students' needs.

Three ways to supplement textbooks in upper elementary to provide engaging instruction and meet all students' needs.

Beyond the Book: 3 Ways to Supplement Textbooks

Includes anchor chart and centers for how to teach sequencing as the foundation of many key reading skills in upper elementary.

Includes anchor chart and centers for how to teach sequencing as the foundation of many key reading skills in upper elementary.

How To Teach Sequencing In Upper Elementary

8 ways to use task cards with your upper elementary students, including easy differentiated practice, games, centers, and more.

8 ways to use task cards with your upper elementary students, including easy differentiated practice, games, centers, and more.

8 Exciting Ways To Use Task Cards In Upper Elementary

An honest review of The Week Junior, a weekly news magazine for 8-to-14 year olds with topical and timely takes on a broad range of subjects.

An honest review of The Week Junior, a weekly news magazine for 8-to-14 year olds with topical and timely takes on a broad range of subjects.

The Week Junior: My Honest Review of the Magazine

Teach students to use dialogue to make inferences about characters and improve their comprehension skills in upper elementary.

Teach students to use dialogue to make inferences about characters and improve their comprehension skills in upper elementary.

What Can Dialogue Tell Us? Inferring Character Traits and Feelings From Dialogue

Teaching and analyzing story elements is a critical comprehension skill. Includes ideas for a deeper understanding in upper elementary.

Teaching and analyzing story elements is a critical comprehension skill. Includes ideas for a deeper understanding in upper elementary.

Beyond Story Elements: Encouraging your students to think critically about elements of the text

Analyzing Text Features in Upper Elementary

Tips for organizing your upper elementary literacy block. Includes daily routines, whole group lessons, and literacy rotations.

Tips for organizing your upper elementary literacy block. Includes daily routines, whole group lessons, and literacy rotations.

How I Organize My Literacy Block

teaching domain specific vocabulary upper elementary

teaching domain specific vocabulary upper elementary

Teaching Domain Specific Vocabulary

Incorporating Picture Books In Your Upper Elementary Classroom

teaching inference

teaching inference

Digging Deeper: Teaching Inference in Upper Elementary

teaching nouns and verbs grammar skills upper elementary

teaching nouns and verbs grammar skills upper elementary

Teaching Language Skills: Nouns and Verbs

Comparing Texts: Moving Beyond the Basics

how to teach poetry 3rd 4th 5th grade

how to teach poetry 3rd 4th 5th grade

How to Teach Poetry in Upper Elementary

Free anchor charts, interactive notebook pages, and activities to teach commonly confused words in upper elementary.

Free anchor charts, interactive notebook pages, and activities to teach commonly confused words in upper elementary.

How To Teach Commonly Confused Words in Upper Elementary

There are many amazing books to read, but which ones should make the cut? Here are my best tips for how to select novels in upper elementary.

There are many amazing books to read, but which ones should make the cut? Here are my best tips for how to select novels in upper elementary.

Thoughtful Tips for How To Select Novels in Upper Elementary

free upper elementary resources for teaching prefixes and suffixes along with Greek or Latin roots

free upper elementary resources for teaching prefixes and suffixes along with Greek or Latin roots

The Complete Guide to Teaching Prefixes and Suffixes

must read novels and reading response activities fb

must read novels and reading response activities fb

Must-Read Novels and Engaging Reading Response Activities for Any Book

Teaching the Presidential Election

Teaching students the difference between literal and inferential thinking is one of my must-do lessons of every single school year

Teaching students the difference between literal and inferential thinking is one of my must-do lessons of every single school year

Teaching the Difference Between Literal and Inferential Observations

Using Picture Books to Support At-Home Learning

Supporting Student Learning at Home

Teaching Character Conflict

Teaching Students To Use Observations to Infer

Main Idea Vs. Theme with Song Lyrics

reading fluency

reading fluency

Teaching Oral Reading Fluency

Using Pictures to Teach Reading Skills Part 2

Weekly Letter Writing to Build Community

Best Back to School Picture Books

free reading skills quick reference guide

free reading skills quick reference guide

Reading Skills Quick Reference Guide

One Reading Game: Five Ways

Reading Skill Review

thanksgiving writing upper elementary

thanksgiving writing upper elementary

Thanksgiving Writing Activity

Complete Sentences and Beyond!

Teaching Students to Dissect Responding to Reading Prompts

Using Pictures to Teach Reading and Writing Skills

Coordinating Conjunctions and Compound Sentences

A book tasting is a wonderful way to get kids engaged in reading and familiarizing them with a wide variety of genres.

A book tasting is a wonderful way to get kids engaged in reading and familiarizing them with a wide variety of genres.

Host a Classroom Book Tasting!

How and When I Teach Reading Skills in Upper Elementary

Anchor charts and practice activities that teach students to restate the question, PQA, or Put the Question in the Answer.

Anchor charts and practice activities that teach students to restate the question, PQA, or Put the Question in the Answer.

Restating the Question Lesson

Teaching Quotation Marks and Dialogue

Learn how to use main idea task cards for this quick and easy main idea activity. Also includes resources for main idea vs. theme.

Learn how to use main idea task cards for this quick and easy main idea activity. Also includes resources for main idea vs. theme.

Main Idea Task Cards Activity: Quick and Easy Practice!

Writing Summaries

Topic Sentences

Teaching Story Elements & A WONDER Freebie!

The Best Anchor Chart Paper Ever & A Giveaway!

Encouraging EXPRESSIVE Readers {A quick and easy activity with a picture book!}

Teaching Cause and Effect in Upper Elementary

Teach students to analyze firsthand and secondhand accounts with this anchor chart, interactive notebook template, and task cards.

Teach students to analyze firsthand and secondhand accounts with this anchor chart, interactive notebook template, and task cards.

Analyzing Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts

An Amazon Listing Cumulative Novel Project!

Teaching compare and contrast in upper elementary is simple and fun with this picture book and accompanying activities.

Teaching compare and contrast in upper elementary is simple and fun with this picture book and accompanying activities.

Teaching Compare & Contrast

Advanced Reading Intervention Plans

Another Cumulative Novel Project!

teaching main idea vs theme

teaching main idea vs theme

Teaching Main Idea Vs. Theme

Using Pictures to Teach Key Reading Skills

Ratios and Mysteries!

Fiction comprehension anchor charts, foldable notes, and practice activities for upper elementary. Includes book list and questions too!

Fiction comprehension anchor charts, foldable notes, and practice activities for upper elementary. Includes book list and questions too!

Fiction Comprehension

Figurative language review for similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, idioms and more for upper elementary students.

Figurative language review for similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, idioms and more for upper elementary students.

Figurative Language Review

Upper Elementary point of view teaching ideas, anchor charts, and practice activities. Includes several FREE resources too.

Upper Elementary point of view teaching ideas, anchor charts, and practice activities. Includes several FREE resources too.

Teaching Point of View

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Texts

Tell Me a Story Tuesday!

Informational Text Structures & Features Cumulative Assignment

Nonfiction Summaries

Upper elementary ideas for teaching informational text structures with anchor chart, interactive notebooks, task cards, assessments and more.

Upper elementary ideas for teaching informational text structures with anchor chart, interactive notebooks, task cards, assessments and more.

Informational Text Structures

Use this free informational text book report with magazines or newspapers as a cumulative assessment in your next nonfiction unit.

Use this free informational text book report with magazines or newspapers as a cumulative assessment in your next nonfiction unit.

Informational Text Newspaper or Magazine “Book” Report

Setting the Stage for Novels

Character Project for ANY Novel!

Upper elementary ideas to teach character traits and character conflict using anchor charts, interactive notebook templates, and task cards.

Upper elementary ideas to teach character traits and character conflict using anchor charts, interactive notebook templates, and task cards.

Characters, Characters, and more Characters: How To Teach Character Traits & Character Conflict

Getting busy!

Top 10 Tips for Building Reading Fluency

Independent Reading Response Anchor Charts

Novel Preview Quick Write

Tell Me a Story Tuesday: Figurative Language

Tell Me a Story Tuesday

This Quarter's Novel Project!

Literal Vs. Inferential Thinking

Answering Comprehension Questions

Tell Me a Story Tuesday

Pre-Reading Task Cards

-dge and -ge Word Ending Intervention (and Freebie) & A Newsletter Surprise!

Hard and Soft C and G Sounds

Visualizing & A Freebie

Theme & Evidence Anchor Charts

Task Card Corner

Upper elementary anchor charts, reference books, practice activities, projects, and task cards for teaching context clues.

Upper elementary anchor charts, reference books, practice activities, projects, and task cards for teaching context clues.

Teaching Context Clues

Help upper elementary students learn to identify nonfiction main ideas using authentic texts.

Help upper elementary students learn to identify nonfiction main ideas using authentic texts.

Nonfiction Main Idea

These FREE reading response cards in printable and digital formats are great for thinking critically about ANY text in upper elementary.

These FREE reading response cards in printable and digital formats are great for thinking critically about ANY text in upper elementary.

Open Ended Comprehension Cards

Vacationing Student Assignment and Task Card Craziness!

Story Elements & Main Idea Freebie!

Consonant + le Intervention

ABC Novel Project

Subscribe for access to dozens of exclusive free literacy resources.

Here you will find all of my posts about reading in one place! From reading anchor charts, activities, task cards, to novel projects, you can reference my reading blog posts in one easy place! Simply click on each picture to be redirected a blog post featuring the reading ideas and other activities related to the topic!

Topic Sentences

Story Elements Reading Response Task Cards

Story Elements

Cumulative Novel Project

Teaching Main Idea vs. Theme

Top 10 Tips for Building Fluent Readers

Teaching Point of View

Fiction Comprehension

Activities for Teaching Informational Text Structures

Teaching Cause & Effect in Upper Elementary

Analyzing Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts

Amazon Listing Novel Project

Teaching Children to Compare and Contrast

Advanced Reading Comprehension Intervention

Using Pictures to Teach and Review Reading Skills

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting Text

Tell Me a Story Tuesday: Using Pictures to Teach Key Reading Skills

Nonfiction Text Structures & Features Cumulative Assignment

Teaching Students to Write Nonfiction Summaries

Nonfiction Book Report

Setting the Stage for Novels

Character Project for ANY Novel!

Teaching Character Development, Character Conflict, and Character Traits

Independent Reading Response

Novel Preview Quick Write

Tell Me a Story Tuesday: Teach Reading Skills Using Pictures

This Quarter's Novel Project

Teaching Literal vs. Inferential

Answering Comprehension Questions

Tell Me a Story Tuesday: Using Pictures to Teach Key Reading Skills

Pre-Reading Task Cards Freebie

Hard and Soft C and G Sounds

Visualizing Freebie

Winter Wonderland Reading Incentive

Theme & Evidence Anchor Charts

Context Clues

Teaching Nonfiction Main Idea

Teaching Syllable Segmentation

Open Ended Comprehension Cards

Story Elements & Main Idea Freebie