10 Ways to Use Reading Passages in Your Classroom
Feb 13, 2020
If you recently purchased a Reading Passage with questions from my TeachersPayTeachers store or own a lesson unit or bundle and want to find new and creative ways to use this type of resource, then this blog post is for YOU! Check out 10 different ways to use the reading passage, True False questions, and writing prompts in your classroom.
Use Them All in One Lesson
Use the reading passages as silent/aloud reading, the True False as a comprehension check, and then follow-up with writing prompts for a 1 day complete lesson that introduces the consumer math topic.
Use Each to Start the Next 3 Days of Lessons
Use each component separately as a way to introduce and review the consumer math topic over the course of three different lessons. I would recommend starting with the reading passage for day one concept introduction, re-read the passage and complete the writing prompts on day two, and then check for understanding by using the True False questions as a review on day three.
Use the Reading Passage as Homework
Send the reading passage home for homework and use the True/False questions as a way to check for student follow-through the next class period!
Use the Writing Prompts to Grade on Grammar
Do you teach all subjects in your self-contained classroom and want to overlap some skills into other subjects? Consider using the writing prompts section as a way to grade for sentence structure and grammar. Since the thoughts are their own (not right or wrong), then you can give points based on capital letters, spelling, punctuation, and clarity!
Share Outs
Give students the opportunity to share out their experience by verbalizing their responses to the writing prompts. The questions ask them to reflect on whether they have experience with the consumer math concept in the past and what feelings/thoughts they have about the topic (again, responses are not right or wrong).
Use Zones of Regulation to Relate Feelings about the Topic to Colors/Emotions
The last writing prompt asks students to share their feelings about the topic and you can loop their responses back around to Zones of Regulation based on the words they use to describe their feelings. Use colored post-it notes and have students visually share their Zone feelings on the board.
Use T/F Questions as a Pre-Test
Do you think your students may have a strong knowledge base on a concept and want data to support a shorter lesson unit? Use the True False Questions page to pre-test your students and use that feedback to tailor your future lessons.
Expand on the Reading Passage before Completing the True/False Questions
Complete an old-school Know, Want to know, Learn (KWL) chart on the board. After reading the passage, ask the students to share what they already know about the topic, what they want to know more about, and what they expect to learn about the topic. The reading passage will give some context to the concept before asking students to share out.
Cut Up Writing Prompts and Create Different Centers Around the Room
Do you want to incorporate some movement into your lesson but not create extra work? Copy 1 writing prompt page for each student, cut out the four writing prompt boxes, and place them around the room on different tables or desks. Students will sit and write their response and then move to the next center. Students can go in any order, giving them choice (isn’t that great)! Once the student has completed all four responses they should staple all the paper slips together and turn them in to you! (Similar to using Task Cards)
Use a Text To Speech Option on Your Computer to Read the Passage Aloud for the Whole Class
Consider using a Chrome extension that converts speech-to-text to be the reader for the passage. If you are teaching these concepts in a special education classroom, then you likely have students who use this feature to access other curriculum. Be a model and use the feature to read the passage to ALL students, giving everyone the access they need to absorb the material.
Find Text To Speech Chrome Extensions HERE.
Interested in getting Reading Passages with questions to use in your classroom? Click HERE.
