Creative Methods to Make Reading an Enjoyable Experience in High School English

If you've ever found your students' eyes glazing over a reading assignment or saw your chosen texts met with a collective, "meh," you're not alone. Before we even get started on this blog post I will be honest. I was not interested in reading when I was in high school. For this reason, I feel quite passionate about finding creative and fun ways to engage my students during any reading task. If you love reading, it might be difficult to understand why some people find reading to be a chore. Let's face it, when students are required to read assigned texts, their enthusiasm dwindles quickly. The information in this blog post will hopefully help to keep students engaged in the adventure of reading and help teachers create connections, foster participation, and critical thinking skills. 

 

Integrate Multi-Media 

One creative way that I have found to encourage literary excitement is through the use of audio, film clips, podcasts or music related to the text that we are reading. Reading sometimes leads to wandering minds. I, however, have found that listening to an audio book in addition to reading a physical text helps students to stay focused. If your school library does not have a copy of the audio book, you can always try to locate it on YouTube. I have done this many times. The best part? It's great for different learning styles. For auditory learners, hearing a text read aloud can turn a boring piece of text into a vivid experience. For visual learners, hearing the text being read helps to make connections between the sound and the script. I have never had any students complain about listening to the audio book, while we read a class novel study. For this reason, integrating multi-media into my classroom reading experiences is a win-win. 

Offer Choices & Encourage New Genres

When students are able to select their own books, they are a bit more invested. So, empower your students by offering them more choice. Instead of assigning a single book to the whole class, give your students a curated selection of books, or even a bit of free choice (with parameters). While offering choice, you can also expand their reading repertoire by using stations. This is a great way to introduce new choices to students, based on the different choices available within your school library. I created these genre reading stations (see image below). 

 Make Reading Visible and Social 

Classroom culture plays a huge role in shaping attitudes towards reading. You can do this easily by displaying books around the classroom, creating a mini-library, a cozy reading section, or by modeling your own enthusiasm for reading. Believe it or not, students do like to hear what teachers are interested in and what books they are reading. This might even spark a classroom discussion! When reading comes a part of the classroom conversation, it shifts from a boring task to a shared experience, which can be very motivating for students (especially the students that don't particularly enjoy reading). 

Reading Games

Classroom reading games offer structure, motivation, and of course, friendly competition. This can make a reading experience more enjoyable and rewarding. For this reason, I created a Book Tasting Reading Escape Room, which allows students to experience a variety of books, authors, genres, characters and more. This escape room was designed to be similar to a 'book tasting,' where students are encouraged to find books that pique their interest and that they might enjoy reading. 

Challenge #1: Author trivia 
Challenge #2: Literary characters
Challenge #3: Genre scramble
Challenge #4: They were books first
Challenge #5: Notable quotes

The goal of this reading game is to encourage students to work together and discover some new things, while also using their previous reading knowledge to assist their team to win challenges. You might consider using this escape-style game when you are leading up to a classroom novel study, an independent novel study, or as a fun way to encourage team-building in an English Language Arts classroom. 

 

 Make Real-World Connections

Sometimes, making reading relevant is just a matter of connecting it to the present and the lives of students. Try framing texts with contemporary themes or social issues to spark curiosity and debate. Making reading fun isn't about lowering your expectations of the reading material; rather, about reigniting a natural interest of stories, ideas and language. It's about giving students permission to approach any text with curiosity, to explore personal responses, and to enjoy discovering what they enjoy reading about most. 

Here are a few ways to make real-world connections when reading:

• Text Connections: This is a really easy way for students to connect with their book and relate to something that they are reading to themselves, their peers, other texts, or the real-world. 
• Current Event Pairings: Link themes from the text to news stories or societal discussions. For example, a novel that explores injustice can lead to conversations about current or civil rights movements.  

•  Author Backgrounds: Sharing interesting information about authors' lives or their social context can help to humanize a text. 

• Project-Based Learning: Upon completion of reading a text, ask students to research a topic related to their reading, such as historical periods, cultural practices or ethical dilemmas. To reach an even wider audience, have them present their findings to the whole class.  
  
  

I hope that these ideas have inspired you to change up your classroom routine and inspire your young readers. Try to remember that encouraging reading in high school is less about forcing pages turned and more about creating an environment where stories feel alive and relevant (this is what was missing from my high school English experience as a teenager). When students are empowered and engaged, their relationship with reading transforms in ways that will extend beyond the classroom walls. 

 

Here are some other creative writing ideas:

Creative Activities for ANY Novel or Short Story 

5 strategies to boost critical thinking & preview AI use  

 

How to Differentiate Without Extra Work

 

Do you struggle with the concept of differentiation, either because you aren’t sure how to do it well - or how to do it without committing to hours of work? The desire to help our students is real, but so is the fear and confusion around differentiation. Because let’s be honest: it can seem daunting when you assume it requires you to triple your workload. 

Another worry around differentiation is that some students might feel bad because they know got the “easy” version.

But here's the good news: Differentiation doesn’t have to require different versions, just carefully designed ones. In this post, I’ll show you how to differentiate without extra work.

A Differentiated Approach That Works for All

One effective way to differentiate is to use tasks that are flexible enough to meet each student where they are while still targeting the same learning goal. In fact, a well-designed lesson and activity can often meet the needs of learners at multiple ability levels.

This works when you:

• Use one task with multiple entry points
• Provide extension prompts instead of harder worksheets
• Offer optional scaffolds like sentence starters
• Assess the quality of thinking, rather than the quantity of writing (you can assess writing in another assignment)

What This Looks Like in Practice

Let’s imagine this is your learning goal: students will analyze how authors reveal character through intentional choices. You provide students with approximately five short texts that they will close read and give the same directions for all:

1. Choose at least two of the following passages.
2. Do a close read of the passage
3. Note, in the margin, what the passage reveals about the character.
4. Underline or highlight at least two specific details from the passage that reveal this trait

Then, you add something like this:

IF YOU FINISH EARLY…

• Choose another passage and complete the above steps, and/or
• Go back to a passage that you already read and underline or highlight more details that develop the character
• Offer a different interpretation of a character’s trait than the one you initially suggested.

With a selection of passages to choose from, ones with varying complexity, every student can access the task at an appropriate level without changing the assignment itself.  Also, students who need more of a challenge can choose to either analyze more of the passages or go into more depth for the ones they already did.

Regardless of which passage a student chooses, they can respond in a manner that allows them to work on the skills they are ready for. Some will focus on an obvious trait. Others will connect several details or explore subtext. Some will just hit the target while others will show great insight. The task stays the same, but the depth of the response changes.

This is one way to differentiate without extra work.

Let’s look at an example:

PASSAGE: Jacob sat at the kitchen table long after his cereal went soggy. His backpack leaned against the wall, gaping open. Every few minutes, he looked over at it, picked up his phone, then put it back down again. When his mother called, “You’ll be late for school,” he said, “I know,” but didn’t move. He just kept staring at the backpack.

Developing reader:
Jacob is nervous about something. He is not eating and keeps looking at his backpack and phone.

On-level reader:
Jacob seems anxious because he keeps staring at his backpack and picking up his phone instead of eating and getting ready. Maybe something in the backpack or on his phone is bothering him. When his mom tells him he’ll be late, he says he knows, but still doesn’t move, suggesting that he may be nervous about something he has to face at school.

Advanced reader:
Jacob's actions suggest that he is feeling anxiety over something. His repeated glances at the open backpack suggest that it contains something that carries emotional weight, such as a test, an assignment, or a reminder of what waits for him at school. Likewise, the way he keeps picking up and putting down his phone implies he may be waiting for a message or replaying something he has already seen. Even when his mother tells him he will be late, Jacob does not move, which shows that his hesitation is driven by internal tension rather than distraction. The soggy, uneaten cereal suggests he may be too nervous to eat, reinforcing the idea that anticipation of what is coming is bothering him.

With this approach, students can read the same passage and instructions, but illustrate different levels of thinking.

HOW DO YOU ASSESS THIS?

If the goal is: Students will analyze how authors reveal character through intentional choices, assess whether or not the student can

• Make a reasonable inference about a character
• Identify relevant evidence
• Explain the connection

You can use a simple rubric like the one above to give students feedback. Better yet, get them to assess themselves before you do. 

Or put a class list on a clipboard and circulate while students are working. Ask them to identify a trait, make an inference, and show you a piece of evidence. Note if they are developing, meeting, or exceeding expectations.

Creating groups for differentiated skill building:

Another effective way to differentiate without extra work is via stations. The information you collect will allow you to create some tiered stations activities that provide students with the help they need.

You will have five groups, but only three levels. Depending on the makeup of your class, it might look like this:

Group 1 - Developing (low):

Group 2 - Developing (high) 

Group 3 - Meeting Expectations (low) 

Group 4 - Meeting Expectations (high) 

Group 5 - Exceeding Expectations 

Next, choose five short passages that can be read during the time groups are at the stations. 

Now you set up your stations in a way that allows each group to work on the skills they need to work on. Your station rotation will include a teacher-led one where you can adapt your instruction based on each group’s level.

Station 1: Teacher- Led Station: You will use this station to give each group the instruction and skill-building they need based on where they are.

Station 2 - 5 will have a passage that reveals character, and each group will have different instructions to complete while there. This way, they can work on the skills that they most need to work on. The lowest groups continue to build the skills they need to master the task, while the more advanced groups will move on to more complex tasks.

The Developing Group gets these instructions:

1. Carefully read the passage
2. Identify one character trait.
3. Find a detail or quotation from that text that best illustrates this trait.
4. Complete the sentence frame. (You can provide multiple frames to choose from)
   {The character’s name} is ___ . For example, __________.

The Meeting Expectations Group gets these instructions:

1. Carefully read the passage
2. Identify at least one character trait.
3. Choose one quotation that best supports the trait.
4. Find at least one other detail or quotation that illustrates this trait.
5. Write 2–3 sentences explaining how the details you chose support the trait.

The Exceeding Expectations Group gets these instructions:

1. Carefully read the passage
2. Identify anything you learn about the character
3. Select the best evidence to support your analysis of the character.
4. Write a short paragraph that explains what you have learned about the character and the methods the writer uses to develop them.

Using the teacher-led station to differentiate easily

Let’s look at an order you can use to best help the students. Your lowest group will start with you at the teacher-led station. You will have a passage for them that is relatively quick to read and easy to analyse.  You will work with them on close reading, identifying evidence, and analyzing that evidence. You will have sentence starters for those who need them.

Your second lowest group will come to you next and you can look at the work they did at Station E and correct any misconceptions. Then, you can repeat what you did with the first group.

When other groups get to this station, you may look at their previous work or switch out the passage and or work on different aspects of the task. With stronger groups, you may be discussing the nuances of analysis and pushing them to improve their writing. Each of the top two groups will get another station after they have been with you, allowing them to apply what they learned and to do a better job as they do.

If you have followed this order, I would ask each group to pass in the work they did at the last station. This allows you to see, hopefully, their best work. You can start your assessment during your last session with group #3.

After this station rotation, you will have a much better handle on where your students are. You may be ready to move them all to a more complex assignment. When you do, hopefully, each student will be ready to meet expectations while others will continue to exceed.

THE SAME TASK CAN HELP YOU DIFFERENTIATE WITHOUT EXTRA WORK

Differentiation can reduce barriers for students without increasing workload for teachers. With thoughtful design, the same task can challenge and support every learner in your room. Hopefully you know feel like you can differentiate without extra work.

If you love this idea but don't have time to create the materials, click below because I've got you covered!

 

Check out these strategies for scaffolding skills:

Strategies to teach the elements of fiction

Strategies to boost critical thinking

Scaffolding the process of literary analysis

And from Tracee Orman: Creative activities for any novel or short story

 

Student-Created Playlists: An Engaging Reading Strategy for ELA Teachers

By Tracee Orman

 Are you tired of giving chapter check quizzes with terrible results or seeing blank stares when you try to stir up a discussion about your current literature unit? 

One of my favorite ways to combat this is using an activity I created when iPods became popular in the early 2000’s: creating playlists related to the text. It does not matter what we are reading, whether it is Shakespeare or The Hunger Games, students absolutely LOVE incorporating music into class.

Here are four ways you can use my playlist idea in class:

1. Chapter (or Section) Review

After students read a chapter(s) or section of the text, have them choose 1-3 songs that relate to the text. It can relate through a character (personality, dialogue, actions), an event, or even through a theme, symbol, or abstract idea. 

This can be done as a bell-ringer, exit slip, or anytime throughout the class period. The key is to make sure students can EXPLAIN how the song relates to the chapter. 

Here’s an example from To Kill a Mockingbird, chapter 7, by Harper Lee:

Mr. Radley cements the knothole at the end of the chapter, thereby ending the connection the children have to the gift-giver. The song “End of Beginning” by Djo can relate to this because their communication with the gift-giver was just beginning, and now it has ended, just like the speaker in the song reminisces about how things were before.

2. Character Analysis

Have students do a deep dive into characterization by assigning them to choose 1-3 songs that describe or encompass the character. They may find a song that seems like it would be perfectly sung by the character themselves. Make sure they explain the relevance between the two.

An example for Romeo Montague in Act I of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran includes the lines “I found a love for me, / Darling just dive right in...I found a girl, / Beautiful and sweet” which seem rather appropriate for Romeo to sing about Juliet. In scene 5, Romeo says of Juliet, “"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.”  

This activity forces students to reread the text to find connections between the lyrics and the character. When you require them to use quotes from both the lyrics and the text, you get them to read double the material, but in a way that they don’t mind at all. 

3. Review of the Plot/Events

You can assign the same thing, but instead of finding a song that relates to a character, have students choose a song that embodies one (or more) of the important events in the text. 

Have them copy down the lyrics to a song and, line-by-line, compare it to the events of the novel, story, or play.

Look at this example from The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare using Taylor Swift’s song “Look What You Made Me Do”:

  “I don’t like your little games / Don’t like your tilted stage / The role you made me play of the fool / No, I don’t like you” from the song can express Cassius’s feeling toward Caesar’s growing popularity with the people and rise to authoritarianism. From Act I, scene ii, Cassius says to Brutus “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world / Like a Colossus, and we petty men / Walk under his huge legs and peep about / To find ourselves dishonorable graves.”

 

  Later in the song, the lines “...all I think about is karma...but one thing’s for sure / Maybe I got mine, but you’ll all get yours” could be straight from Marc Antony’s mouth when he vows to get revenge on all the conspirators for killing Caesar. “Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood” (Act III, scene i).

4. End of Text Review/Summary

At the end of the book, story, or play, have students create a movie soundtrack. Each song they select should reflect a certain scene from the story. Have them explain the scene and why they chose it. They can include quotes from the story and the song to relate the two.

This is an example soundtrack from Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (see image):

This activity allows students to replay the story in their mind, setting it to music. It’s a fantastic way to review the story or as an end of the unit project.

Another way to summarize the story is having students create the album artwork for their playlists. You can have them include symbols from the story, recreate a scene, or touch on one of the themes.

My students always want to share their playlists with the class. Of course, it’s impossible to share all of the songs during class, but I have let students choose one song from their playlist and play it in class (as long as it’s appropriate). You can do this while they are creating the album artwork.  

You don’t need to purchase anything to implement this idea, but if you want the handouts and online shareable activity already done for you, you can check out my pack Character Playlists for Any Book or Story. It’s highly rated and teacher-tested. It is included in my bundle of creative worksheets to use with any text found here: 

You might also like these creative activities to use with any story:

One-Pager Assignment for Any Book by Presto Plans

Theme Park Literary Analysis Activity for Any Book by The Daring English Teacher

Thanks for reading!

How to Add More Rigor to Blackout Poetry in Middle and High School ELA

By The Daring English Teacher

Blackout poetry is often introduced to students as a low-stress, high-engagement activity, and for good reason. It’s creative, accessible, and a powerful way to get students truly interacting with words on the page. However, blackout poetry doesn’t have to stop at “fun.” With a few intentional shifts, it can become a rigorous, standards-aligned poetry and literary analysis task that challenges students to think deeply about theme, tone, symbolism, imagery, and author’s craft. If you’ve ever worried that blackout poetry feels too easy for your students or more like an art project than an academic one for your English class, this post is for you.

Start With a Clear Purpose and Text Selection

Rigor, especially in terms of assigning blackout poetry, begins before students ever pick up a marker. Instead of letting students choose random pages, consider:

• Assigning a shared text excerpt connected to a current unit
• Using passages from thematically rich short stories, speeches, or nonfiction
• Selecting texts with strong diction, imagery, or figurative language

This ensures that students are working within meaningful constraints rather than relying on the chance that their chosen page might contain substance and academic merit. Teacher tip: If students are analyzing a novel or short story, use an excerpt that reflects a major conflict or turning point from the story. This naturally pushes theme and tone analysis. Plus, it’ll also work as a close read activity also!

Require Students to Identify and Develop a Theme

One of the simplest ways to increase rigor is to move blackout poetry from “finding cool words” to communicating a central idea. Before students begin blacking out words, have them:

• Identify a theme or thematic statement
• Write it at the top of their page or on a planning sheet
• Explain how their poem will convey that theme

Then, require the final poem to clearly reflect that idea. Examples of thematic prompts:

• Loss of innocence
• Power and corruption
• Identity and belonging
• Freedom vs. control

This transforms blackout poetry into an act of interpretation, not just creation.

Focus on Mood and Tone Development

Another way to elevate the blackout poetry is to explicitly connect blackout poetry to mood and tone. Have students:

• Choose a specific mood (melancholy, hopeful, tense, ironic, ominous)
• Select words that consistently support that mood
• Explain how diction and phrasing contribute to the emotional effect

You can also push students to consider how what they black out is just as important as what they keep. Reflection prompt: How does your word choice shape the mood of your poem? What emotional response do you want your reader to have?

Incorporate Symbolism and Imagery

To add another layer of complexity, challenge students to intentionally include symbolism and imagery in their blackout poem. Students might:

• Use a repeated word or image as a symbol
• Create visual emphasis by circling or boxing symbolic words
• Connect their symbolism back to the original text’s meaning

This is a great opportunity to reinforce figurative language skills and author’s craft analysis. Students will also see firsthand just how important and impactful symbols and imagery are. Extension idea: Ask students to write a brief paragraph explaining what their symbol represents and how it connects to the theme.

Require a Planning Phase

Rigor increases when students are required to think before creating. Plus, adding a planning phase also encourages students to work through more of the writing process. Instead of jumping straight into blackout mode, have students: Annotate the text for key words, phrases, and ideas Draft a rough version of the poem in a notebook Identify theme, mood, and literary devices in advance This mirrors the writing process and reinforces that poetry is crafted, not accidental.

Pair the Poem With Analytical Writing

One of the most effective ways to raise the academic level of blackout poetry is to pair it with analysis. In addition to the blackout poem that students turn in, have them complete an additional component with the project to increase the rigor. Consider requiring:

• A short written reflection
• An explanatory paragraph
• A mini literary analysis response

Possible prompts include:

• Explain how your blackout poem reflects the theme of the text.
• Analyze how diction and imagery contribute to the poem’s mood.
• Justify your word choices using evidence from the original passage.

This transforms blackout poetry into a hybrid creative-analytical task rather than a seemingly easy art project.

Use a Rubric With Academic Criteria

If you want students to treat blackout poetry seriously, your grading criteria should reflect that. Rather than every student receiving a credit/no credit grade for the assignment, consider using a rubric to add in the rigor. A rigorous blackout poetry rubric might assess some of the following criteria:

• Clarity and depth of theme
• Intentional word choice
• Use of imagery and symbolism
• Mood or tone consistency
• Quality of written explanation or reflection

When students know what you’re looking for, it provides them with more clarity and guidance.

Creative Does Not Mean Low-Rigor

Blackout poetry is more than a fun filler activity to assign students at the end of a term or between units. When intentionally designed, it becomes a powerful way to teach theme and central ideas, diction and tone, symbolism and imagery, and/or analytical thinking. By adding structure, purpose, and reflection, you can transform blackout poetry into a rigorous, meaningful assignment that works just as well in middle school ELA as it does in high school English classrooms.

Looking for an All-in-One Blackout Poetry Resource?

If you’re looking for a ready-to-use way to bring structure and deeper thinking to your blackout poetry lessons, check out my Blackout Poetry, Found Poetry Unit with Poetry Analysis resource on Teachers Pay Teachers.

This comprehensive unit includes a 19-slide instructional presentation, clear teacher instructions, an assignment sheet, a standards-based rubric (with an editable digital version), and 60 ready-to-print blackout poetry pages, giving you everything you need to teach, assess, and extend this creative activity with intentional depth. Whether you’re introducing students to found poetry or reinforcing close reading and analytical skills, this resource helps scaffold the process while saving planning time, and it’s been highly rated by fellow ELA teachers.

How to Teach Blackout Poetry

Other Creative and Rigorous Poetry Activities and Resources:

- The blackout poem - A type of found poetry by Room 213

- Poetry Assignments for Any Poem by Presto Plans

- Guided Poetry Presentation and Handouts by Tracee Orman

10 High-Interest Nonfiction Topics for Middle & High School ELA

by Presto Plans

Does reading comprehension practice feel like an uphill battle in your ELA classroom? Trust me, I know the feeling! Over the years, I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to strengthen reading comprehension is to give students something they actually want to read. My solution? High-interest nonfiction articles! 

I find that a brief article on the right topic pulls students in with surprising facts, real-world issues, or information that feels just a little unbelievable. In my experience, when students are genuinely curious, they are more willing to slow down, reread, and think about what the text is really saying. These kinds of articles create natural opportunities to practice core comprehension skills, like identifying tone, making inferences, tracking cause and effect, and interpreting details or data.

Here are 10 of my favorite high-interest nonfiction topics that are always a hit with middle and high school ELA students!

The History of Emojis

If your students use emojis as a second language (and let’s be honest, they do!), why not explore the history behind these tiny symbols? It’s fun to trace the evolution from the early sideways emoticons :-) which were used to signal jokes on early message boards. Students can learn more about the original purpose of emojis (to make digital communication clearer and more expressive), and reflect on how they are used today. 

What I love about this topic is that it naturally leads into all kinds of meaningful skill work, including analyzing how symbols carry meaning, how facial expressions can impact the tone of text, and why inclusive emoji design matters in today’s digital world. 

Laws in Singapore

If your students think laws are boring, learning about Singapore's legal system might make them think again. From fines for not flushing public toilets to strict rules around chewing gum, these real-world laws immediately spark middle school students’ curiosity.

As they learn more about the unique laws of Singapore, students have the opportunity to analyze tone and purpose, infer what the laws suggest about cultural values, and examine how writers shape facts for different audiences. This topic is an engaging way to show students that nonfiction texts aren’t just about information. They can also help us understand how language shapes our experiences of power, culture, and everyday life.

Hot Dog Eating Contests

Hot dog eating contests are competitive, fun, and just a little weird - the perfect combination to keep a pre-teen or teenage audience engaged. I find that this type of topic is a natural fit for middle school ELA tasks, because it encourages careful reading without feeling overly academic.

Real details - like record-breaking performances and Fourth of July traditions - keep the text grounded and credible. As they unpack figurative language and analyze the author’s playful tone, students practice valuable close reading and inference skills. You can even add in a natural way to practice data analysis as students interpret graphs of hot dog eating contest records over the years! Best of all? You can try this one for free!

Mystery of Oak Island

If your students are drawn to strange and mysterious real-life events, the story of Oak Island is an easy way to pull them in to nonfiction. For more than two centuries, people have searched this small island off the coast of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia for a “hidden treasure.” There are questions about whether the treasure even exists, and every discovery seems to raise more questions than answers! 

The mystery of Oak Island is a natural fit for ELA because it is “unsolved.” Readers must weigh evidence and decide for themselves - not just absorb facts! The long history of theories, setbacks, and speculation also pushes students to think critically about how stories grow over time and why some mysteries continue to capture our attention through the years.

Video Game Competitions

Video game competitions are one of those nonfiction topics that instantly feel relevant to middle school students - especially those who don’t easily connect to more traditional topics. Many students are surprised to learn that professional gaming competitions fill stadiums, attract millions of online viewers, and offer real careers beyond casual play. 

I find this topic is ideal for analyzing tone, especially when authors use humor to challenge common assumptions about gaming. Students can practice inference by unpacking idioms, interpreting claims about money and fame, and evaluating whether the perks described in the article are deserved. Students can also apply critical thinking skills through discussions about future careers, changing industries, and the real risks behind competitive success. If your class finds this topic particularly engaging, you can add in extension tasks like short response writing, debates, or even designing a “game world” of their own!

Bizarre World Records

The longest fingernails. The fastest hula-hooper. The weirdest sandwich ever eaten. Bizarre World Records hook students because they are outrageous, surprising, and attention-grabbing. After reading an article about some of the most unusual world records, students can practice inference by unpacking loaded phrases like “This is serious business” and determining what the author really means. 

The topic of bizarre world records also supports critical thinking skills. I like to use the quest to be the “best” as a springboard for lively discussions. Students can consider the extent to which ethical and safety limits should be enforced when trying to break a world record and what qualifies something as a meaningful achievement! Natural extension activities include additional student research into unusual records. This can keep comprehension work engaging, without feeling heavy.

Tiny House Movement

What is success supposed to look like? The tiny house movement grabs attention because it often challenges their preconceived ideas about comfort and wealth. As they explore the idea of living in houses measuring only 100–400 square feet, they can grapple with the concepts of freedom and sustainability.

The unconventional topic of the tiny house movement presents opportunities for close reading, as well as discussion around personal values, priorities, and trade-offs. Through data comparisons, cause-and-effect reasoning, and text-to-self connections, students can also practice critical thinking skills. The tiny house movement can also be an interesting starting point for reflective writing, especially when students consider the value of time, money, and a person’s long-term goals. 

Effects of Social Media

Nonfiction articles about the impact of social media hit close to home - after all, many middle school students are already navigating this every day. This topic cuts straight to real and relevant issues: comparison, pressure, cyberbullying, and the feeling that nothing online is truly private. 

This particular topic provides authentic opportunities to analyze and evaluate tone. Authors balance statistics with cautionary, sometimes urgent language. I also like to encourage students to question the reliability of data and practice distinguishing fact from opinion. Of course, exploring the impact of social media also provides genuine critical thinking opportunities. I like to invite students to consider how online behavior affects mental health and real-world relationships. Wrapping up the reading with a brief debate on screen-time limits can bring new focus and purpose to the topic. I find this also encourages close reading (and re-reading) skills!

Toxic Friendships

The topic of toxic friendships often resonates with middle school students. Many can recognize these dynamics within their peer group and in popular media. As students read, I like to invite them to look for signs of unhealthy relationships (like manipulation, constant negativity, or unreliability). They can also use their inference skills to interpret behaviors and determine what makes a relationship unhealthy. 

This is a great crossover lesson to support social-emotional learning! To extend students’ understanding, they can apply summarization and synthesis skills, using evidence to define different “toxic friend types.” Your middle schoolers can also apply critical thinking skills by comparing “toxic” and “supportive” responses to the same situation and create scenario-style personal responses of their own.

Self-Driving Cars

Blending technology, ethics, and the future of transportation, the topic of self-driving cars is a guaranteed way to hook middle school students! I find this topic is a great way to introduce and help students identify claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence. As students engage with arguments for and against driverless vehicles, they must consider questions about safety, trust, and control. 

As they work with this topic, middle school readers can also strengthen their ability to determine the meaning of unfamiliar or technical terms (like “autonomous” and “ameliorate”) through context clues. To wrap up, small-group and whole-class discussions, as well as short writing tasks, can encourage critical thinking about ethics, jobs, and future technology.

You can grab all these articles (and many more!) in my full-year Nonfiction Article of the Week Full-Year Program!

For more ideas to support nonfiction and reading comprehension in middle or high school ELA, check out these other posts from my friends at the Secondary English Coffee Shop!

Nonfiction Writing Assignments with Mentor Texts by Room 213

Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Summarizing by The Daring English Teacher

TikTok Banning Pro Con Argument Nonfiction Reading Activity by Tracee Orman