Are you looking for a fun, engaging way to help your secondary ELA students become stronger readers? Try “Reading like a Jedi.” This fun twist on close reading is designed to combine the excitement of the Star Wars universe with research-backed reading practices from Scarborough’s Reading Rope.

Why a Star Wars Twist Works

Pop culture can be a powerful teaching tool, and Star Wars offers a treasure trove of characters, symbols, and themes that resonate with students (and their nerdy teachers!). By weaving familiar concepts like the Jedi, droids, and the Dark Side into your literacy instruction, you might just capture student interest while reinforcing essential reading strategies.

Grab the free slideshow and poster here.

This free resource introduces students to six Jedi-inspired close reading strategies:

1. Starfighter Blueprint – Focus on identifying the text’s overall structure (Literacy Knowledge)
2. Yoda’s Wisdom – Activate and connect background knowledge (Background Knowledge)
3. Use the Force – Make inferences and read between the lines (Verbal Reasoning)
4. Droid Data Analysis – Understand and analyze vocabulary in context (Vocabulary)
5. Dark Side Deception – Analyze the author’s purpose, choices, and bias (Language Structures)
6. C-3PO’s Code Analysis – Notice and analyze syntax and sentence structure (Syntax)

The slideshow walks students through each strategy with clear explanations, key questions, and connections to the strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope.

How It Supports the Science of Reading

This resource is built on the Science of Reading framework, using Scarborough’s Reading Rope to show students (and teachers) how decoding and language comprehension work together. It’s an age-appropriate, meaningful tool to help secondary students improve comprehension and become confident, independent readers.

How Can You Use It in Your Classroom?

I think this would be a great tool to use throughout the year but you can also use as an introductory lesson on close reading strategies, pair it with any text (fiction or nonfiction) and then revisit throughout the year as a fun refresher or reading check-in. You can also get your colleagues on board and use it across content areas.

Ready to Join the Rebel Alliance of Strong Readers?

Click here to download your Jedi Close Reading Strategies freebie and bring the power of the Force to your classroom today!

May the reading Force be with you!