Based on Bloom's Taxonomy of thought, this thematic reading comprehension unit on "loneliness" is intended for teachers of grades 7-9. The thinking process is broken into six categories: (1) recall; (2) inference; (3) application; (4) analysis; (5) synthesis; and (6) evaluation. A short description is given for each of these processes. Students are introduced to this unit by reading a short story entitled "Orphan Pup" by Mitchell Jayne. After reading and discussing this short story, the students are asked to select one of the following five novels: "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell; "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Spears; "Light in the Forest" by Conrad Richter; "Summer of My German Soldier" by Betty Greene; and "Slake's Limbo" by Felice Holman. A synopsis of each book is given followed by study material organized chapter by chapter for each book. The study material consists of vocabulary lists, questions which cover the first three thinking processes (question one covers recall, question two covers inference, and question three covers application), and activities which cover the three higher levels of thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). This document is part of a collection of materials from the Iowa Education Agency 7 Teacher Center project. (EM)