As students begin to read more sophisticated texts, understanding how authors use figurative language becomes critical. In this unit, students will revisit some of the figurative language they learned in fourth grade and also study some new ones too, including onomatopoeia, hyperbole, puns and oxymorons. Analyzing how figurative language is used in texts will help readers apply what they have learned.

Sight words are commonly founds words that are not easy to decode because they don't follow set phonics rules (and must be learned by sight). Examples of sight words commonly found in first grade texts are would, thank, rain, and should. This guided lesson introduces first grader readers to even more sight words to help boost their comprehension and fluency.

Understanding the function of nouns is a crucial part of reading and writing fluency. This guided lesson focuses on the types of nouns kids are most likely to come across in third grade texts. Designed by our curriculum experts, the lesson provides grammar instruction and examples to support learning. For more practice, see the nouns worksheets recommended to go along with this lesson.

Second grade phonics covers more advanced rules that build upon kids' foundational reading skills, such as vowel pairs (ai, ee, ea, oo), long and short vowels, and the silent E. This guided lesson covers these three areas in order to enhance kids' skills with decoding more challenging texts. You can boost reading fluency further by printing the phonics worksheets that go with this lesson.

This literature lesson guides kids towards a deeper understanding of second grade texts through an exploration of character, setting, and plot. Kids will be challenged to answer the who, what, where, when and why of a story, in addition to determining the story's message. Two versions of the same story will be presented in order for second graders to see story elements in action.

Now that reading skills are more developed, second graders will move on to comprehension of informational text. This guided lesson supports this through an exploration of the main idea of a text, as well as the other text features, such as: captions, photographs, maps headings, subheadings, glossary, index, icons and graphs. Kids will look at two texts that cover the same topic, but in different ways.

The short E sound, found in words such as leg, lemon and pen, is one of the most common vowel sounds in the English language, and one that first graders will often find in the texts they are learning to read. This lesson provides guided practice with the short E sound through targeted instruction and helpful examples. Check out our short E worksheets at the end of the lesson.

Third grade is the year of multiplication. Though it was most likely introduced to kids in second grade, third grade is when kids are tasked with mastering their times tables and developing a stronger understanding of this key operation. This guided lesson in understanding multiplication can help give third graders a leg up. For even more practice, consider downloading the recommended multiplication worksheets that accompany the lesson.

Multiplication facts can be tricky for students, but giving them plenty of practice can familiarize them with these numbers. From tables to questions to interactive games, there are many different ways that students can practice fact families. In this guided lesson, students will practice one-digit multiplication facts, preparing them for higher-level math skills later on. When they're comfortable with these facts, other math problems will become a breeze. Practice now!