Elementary

7 Engaging Reading Passages for Third and Fourth Graders

CommonLit Adds Elementary Content to Free Digital Library The CommonLit Library is full of engaging reading passages for 3rd and 4th graders! When I taught 3rd and 4th grade students, I was focused on making sure that I introduced students to a variety of great stories. I wanted every reading

7 Reading Comprehension Lessons to Teach Students to Identify The Author’s Point of View

These easy-to-use skills based lessons will captivate students with high-interest topics while refining their grade-level reading comprehension skills. As students get older, it’s increasingly critical that they analyze the author’s point of view as they read non-fiction texts. They must consider why the author is writing the text,

CommonLit’s Summer Reading Challenge 2023

CommonLit’s Summer Reading Challenge is back for 2023! Explore our reading lists full of engaging stories for all grade levels. CommonLit’s Summer Reading Challenge is back with new reading lists! These lists explore a wide range of topics for all ages, from “What’s behind your food” for

8 Poetry Lessons to Help Your Students Become Well Versed in Verse

This April, celebrate all forms of poetry in your classroom with curated lessons for grades 3-12. Poetry comes in many shapes and sizes. From Shakespearean sonnets to free verse works by modern poet laureates, students will be engaged in these 8 poetry lessons celebrating different poetic forms. “Dimples” by Chrystal

7 Texts to Celebrate Ramadan in Your Classroom

CommonLit is committed to providing students with a wide range of texts that showcase cultures from all over the world. In these seven texts, students will learn about the traditions and celebrations of Ramadan. These texts serve as a great opportunity for students to see themselves reflected in the literature

7 Women’s History Month Lesson Plans for Elementary Students

Discover the women’s voices that have shaped the literary world. Despite making up half the population, women are often underrepresented in classroom resources. Fortunately, our digital library is filled with amazing women authors. Dive into some of our favorite lessons that meet ELA standards, boost reading comprehension, and will

4 Ways to Use CommonLit for Standardized Test Prep

CommonLit has thousands of practice lessons, a free reading assessment, and targeted skills-based lessons teachers can use for standardized test prep. We know that schools are always looking for ways to build student reading skills and prepare students for state testing. Fortunately, CommonLit has a wealth of resources for teachers

3 Exciting Ways to Celebrate Women’s History Month in Your Classroom

CommonLit’a online digital literacy program offers tons of resources to support teacher lesson planning and unit planning. In this blog, we’ll explore resources featured in our digital library that would be great for a lesson or mini-unit to celebrate Women’s History Month with your students. Whether you’

Teach Your Elementary Class about Black Women who Shattered Glass Ceilings

Dive into 8 informational texts about powerful women who made history. Explore our digital literacy platform and find amazing informational texts about inspiring Black women. Learning about these empowering leaders will spark reading engagement for elementary students and bolster reading comprehension with guided reading questions and annotation tools. “What a

7 Original Environmental Short Stories for Elementary Students

CommonLit’s online digital literacy program offers an abundance of texts to best support elementary reading comprehension, including CommonLit Originals. CommonLit Originals are exclusively found on CommonLit and include stories by famous authors like Gary Soto and Lucy Tan.  Additionally, the CommonLit Originals project aims to build a robust and

CommonLit Originals: Engaging, Diverse Stories only Available on CommonLit!

Check out dozens of high-interest and timely short stories, available only on our library. CommonLit’s library is home to over 3,000 digital lessons on a wide range of topics, complete with reading comprehension questions to sharpen standards-based skills and to prepare students for high-stakes tests. Now, teachers will

Celebrating Black Excellence: Famous Biographies for Elementary Students

These engaging and diverse biographies for elementary students, all featured on CommonLit’s digital literary platform, share the inspiring stories of Black Americans across history, sports, and more. Reading about these empowering leaders and innovators will surely spark reading engagement from elementary students, launch deep classroom discussions, and support reading

Elevate Instruction in Spanish Immersion and World Language Classes with CommonLit Español

CommonLit Español has over 800 Spanish texts. The library features a variety of literary and informational texts by influential authors and poets like Alma Flor Ada, Federico García Lorca, and Gabriel García Márquez. We also have over 70 Lecciones Guiadas, interactive lessons that ask students to find evidence, write, and

9 Elementary Texts to Light Up the Holiday Season

Looking to bring the holiday spirit to your elementary classroom? Jump into these festive winter texts about the holidays traditions from around the world. Winter is a season of plenty of holidays around the world, making it a great time to read stories about tradition, family, and celebrations. The CommonLit

6 Elementary Texts to Ring In New Years Around The World

As the New Year approaches, bring multicultural learning to your classroom with these stories about New Year’s celebrations across different countries, cultures, and faiths. Holiday celebrations are a great way to learn about cultures around the world. The CommonLit library is home to plenty of holiday texts to engage

7 Famous Poems by Shel Silverstein

CommonLit’s digital library includes texts by hundreds of well-known and award-winning authors and poets. Shel Silverstein is one of the most commonly-read children’s poets, known for his popular anthology, Where the Sidewalk Ends. Assign these Shel Silverstein poems to engage students in a rigorous and compelling study of

9 Engaging Elementary Texts by Famous Authors

CommonLit’s digital library includes texts by hundreds of well-known and award-winning authors.The following poems and short stories are written by famous authors from all walks of life. Assign these texts and lessons to engage students in a rigorous reading curriculum and prepare them for upcoming reading assessments. “The

7 Reading Comprehension Lessons to Teach Students How to Find The Main Idea of a Nonfiction Text

These easy-to-use main idea lessons will engage students with high-interest topics while helping them hone important grade-level reading comprehension skills. Target Lessons are highly engaging lessons that teach students critical  reading comprehension skills. Each lesson includes scaffolded assessment questions that build student engagement and knowledge as they complete the lesson.

7 Brand-New Elementary Target Lessons To Help Students’ Reading Comprehension

Engage students while they learn critical reading comprehension skills, including finding the main idea, analyzing character change, finding the meaning of unknown words and more. Target Lessons are easy-to-use, highly engaging lessons that teach students critical  reading comprehension skills for both fiction and nonfiction texts. Each lesson includes scaffolded Pre-Reading,

8 Fiction Reading Comprehension Lessons for Elementary Students

Practice key fiction reading comprehension skills with these 8 Target Lessons that help students analyze character change, find the best evidence, analyze character point of view, and more. Target Lessons are highly engaging lessons that teach students critical  reading comprehension skills. Each lesson includes scaffolded Pre-Reading, During Reading, and Post-Reading

Discover 9 Heartwarming Stories about Winter in CommonLit’s Digital Library

Celebrate the season with 9 poems and stories about winter for elementary students! Through CommonLit’s digital literacy program, teachers can access dozens of fun, seasonal texts about winter to engage students. Teachers can also boost students’ reading comprehension by challenging them with CommonLit’s assessment and discussion questions. In

Astound Your Students with 8 Intriguing Weather Stories

Design a weather unit with 8 informational texts about weather for elementary students. Teachers can access hundreds of informational texts to incorporate into their reading curriculum and broaden students’ knowledge about the world around them by using CommonLit’s digital literacy program. In this blog post, we'll share 8 nonfiction

8 Informational Texts about Unique Animals

Strengthen students’ reading comprehension with 8 informational texts about animals! Through CommonLit’s digital literacy program, you can find more than one hundred non-fiction texts about animals to incorporate into your reading curriculum and inspire students’ curiosities about the world. In this blog post, we’ll share 8 informational texts

Bridge the Gap in Reading Comprehension with Lesson Plans for Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia

CommonLit’s digital library offers over 3,000 lessons to support your reading curriculum. Our online reading program also offers over 100 Book Pairings, which are sets of texts that support high-quality novel instruction. These supplemental texts are a great way to increase rigor and boost reading comprehension skills as

8 Captivating Stories About World Holidays and Traditions for Elementary School

Through this selection of short stories for grades 3-5, students will learn about holidays around the world. Students come from a variety of backgrounds that have different holiday traditions. With this list of stories for elementary school, students will be able to learn about worldwide holidays, share their own customs,