Reading to Support Test-Taking / Assessing Reading Skills
Here's support to help get you through this period of testing and assessment — articles and activities to help improve students' reading comprehension and vocabulary, and to help you with the job of assessing their reading progress.

Reading to Support Test-Taking
Fact & Fiction: Read Aloud (Grades K-3)
Reading nonfiction in the primary grades will help prepare children for content-area studies in later grades and for informational passages on standardized tests. Children must become skilled at reading nonfiction, and reading paired texts aloud supports their learning. By Sharon Taberski
Source: Instructor magazine

Reading Clinic: Vocabulary: The Key to Improving Comprehension (Grades 3-5)
These mini-lessons can help you guide students toward making connections between what they need to know to understand texts. Including a reproducible student vocabulary sheet.
Source: Instructor magazine

Assessing Reading Skills
Assessing Reading Growth with Running Records (Grades 1-3)
Running records are part of an observational method of reading assessment. Learn more about this approach and find handy reproducibles for your students. (PDF file)
Source: Taking Running Records, Scholastic Professional Books

Performance Assessment for Reading (Grades 2-8)
One teacher's process for measuring comprehension that supports the natural act of reading and responding to a story, and allows for diverse interpretations. By Adele Fiderer.

Classroom Activities
Nonfiction Read-Aloud Activity (Grades PreK-2)
Quick tips and ideas for reading nonfiction with younger students. By Ellen Booth Church.
Source: Scholastic Book Clubs

A World of New Words: Classroom-tested tips to expand students' vocabulary (Grades 2-6)
Teachers share fun vocabulary-building activities.
Source: Instructor magazine

Bingo Lingo (Grades 3-8)
This game helps students practice recognizing words based on Latin and Greek roots. (PDF file)
Source: Best-Ever Vocabulary and Word Study Games, Scholastic Professional Books

Great Books: Fact and Fiction
Nonfiction, historical nonfiction, and fiction/nonfiction book sets you and your students will love. Plus books to celebrate African American History month, coming in February.

Book list for Grades K-2
Book list for Grades 3-6

More Ideas for Reading Success Strategies for Reading Success Building Your Classroom Library Organize Your Classroom Library Sharing with Stories: Holiday Books and Storytelling Reading to Support Test-Taking / Assessing Reading Skills Reading Success for All Students Bulletin Boards to Celebrate Reading Encourage Summer Reading