Reading Skill Mini-Lessons You Can Use Right Away
Quick reading strategy lessons designed to support everyday reading growth—across texts, grades, and learning goals.
Build Strong Reading Foundations
Advanced reading requires both effort and accuracy. These foundational mini-lessons help students see why the effort matters—and give them concrete tools to read accurately and confidently.
Hearing the Words
No one reads like a bar code scanner. Help your secondary students learn to notice when something doesn’t make sense, then go back and re-read—foundational strategies for readers at all levels.
Why Read?
Students know screens feel easier. This 10-minute, teacher-led mini-lesson explores why reading feels harder—and why that effort is worth it. A powerful mindset reset before launching into any reading unit.
Teach Zinc’s Four Advanced Reading Skills
Too often, students latch onto a word or two, then drift further and further from the author’s meaning. Zinc’s four core skills give them concrete moves to stay with the text—and actually enjoy it.
Use Your Senses
Students tune in to sensory words and phrases—images they can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell—as their first way into any text.
Make It Real
Abstract words and phrases like “community” or “freedom of expression” don’t easily create images in our minds. Students learn to make these concepts real by connecting to examples they already understand.
Activate Pronouns
“She,” “it,” “this”—these little words carry big meaning. Students learn to track each pronoun back to its antecedent to stay connected with the writer’s idea.
Navigate Punctuation and Transitions
Writers use signposts including transition words, punctuation, asides. Students practice spotting these cues so they don’t lose the thread when a text shifts direction.
Build Test Confidence with Zinc’s 4-Step Method
Help your students feel better about assessments (and get more right answers) with Zinc’s 4-step method for answering multiple-choice reading questions. These teacher-led, 10-minute lessons help you introduce each step. Looking for Spanish/English versions of all four Test Prep Mini-Lessons? Click here.
Read + Predict
Students often skip straight to the question, skim through the multiple choice answers, and work backwards through the passage. This sets them up for anxiety and second-guessing. Use this mini-lesson to teach a students a better approach: Read + Predict.
Maybe or No
Teach students to go through each possible answer give it a quick "maybe" or "no." This starts the elimination process and simplifies the choices. Use this mini-lesson to teach your students how to use Step 3: Maybe or No.
Every Word Matters
Teach students to examine every word carefully, looking for words that make the answer wrong—for example, "extreme" words like “always” or “never.” Use this mini-lesson to help your students ensure that Every Word Matters on test day.
Skip + Come Back
Skipping and Coming Back is Zinc’s method for saving time, bypassing anxiety, and making the test more enjoyable. Use this mini-lesson to help your students tap into the way their brains process information most effectively.
Review High-Value Skills for the TX STAAR Test
Are you a Texas teacher preparing for the STAAR test? Jumpstart your students’ confidence by demystifying these high-demand skills.
Note: These mini-lessons use example passages similar to those on the STAAR English I and English II tests. You can easily customize them by adding your own examples based on the specific test you’re preparing for.
STAAR Skill: Arguments
What makes an argument effective? Introduce your students to the three Es: Explanations, Elaboration, and Evidence. Then, see how these key elements work on an actual test question.
STAAR Skill: Words in Context
Many questions ask students about the connotative and denotative meanings of words as they’re used in context. Teach students this simple method for identifying clues that point to a word’s meaning, then practice on two styles of sample question.
STAAR Skill: Inference
Many questions require students to make inferences about what’s implied or suggested by a text. Teach students the difference between what’s stated, implied, or not there, then practice on an actual test question.
STAAR Skill: Revising for Redundancy
Many students write to “fill up the page,” assuming that more words sound better and smarter. Teach students to identify redundancies in written work, then revise for clarity and style.
STAAR Skill: Revising (Combining and Deleting Sentences
Teach students the differences between independent and dependent clauses, then practice on STAAR-style questions that ask students the best way to combine two sentences or ideas.