How to make good things happen when you blend content areas with comprehension | Mentoring in the Middle

How to make good things happen when you blend content areas with comprehension

 I've heard from a number of you that there just isn't enough time to teach everything, whether you're self-contained or not.  And with the focus on bringing up English and Math skills, sometimes Social Studies and Science sometimes get short shrift. 


There are ways to get more background knowledge into your students in these areas.  Especially if you teach those subjects as separate classes.  And even if you don't.  One of the best ways I've found to do that is to blend subjects so that students read for learning at one level, and for comprehension at another. 

That's a WIN-WIN in my book!   

And students are often so fascinated by what they read.  I asked a couple of my teacher friends to share Science and Social Studies passages they had.  You'll find that these get at reading comprehension while teaching about fun subjects.  

Take a look!

This one has an Interactive Notebook feature to help kids identify text features while learning about butterflies.

cover of resource about butterflies and their life cycles


Do you want your students to learn about ancient Mesopotamia's Sumer City-State?  Take a look at this passage which includes important vocabulary and comprehension questions.  Words in context and Main Idea and Detail in one product!

cover of a resource about the Sumer city-state ofMesopotamian


Maybe you're exploring outer space in Science class.  You might want your students to read this passage about black holes.  There's a comprehension quiz that includes words in context and reading comprehension skills.

cover of a resource about black holes


Do you teach American history?  The Greenwood Race Riot of 1921, just 101 years ago is a lesser-known event in our history.  Its jaw-dropping details get at an ugly part of history in Oklahoma.  The resource and quiz combine vocabulary in context, and author's point of view, among others.

cover of a social studies resource about the Greenwood Race Riot of 1921

  • Click on any of these resources to take a closer look, and see how you can combine reading with nonfiction passages into your curriculum!

No comments

Post a Comment