Curated OER
Text Structure: Organizational Patterns
Explore plot structure by analyzing text samples with writers. They define terms such as problem and solution, cause and effect, and story arc. They also identify the sequences used in modern stories by reading samples and determining...
Curated OER
Teach Text Structure for Nonfiction
Students gain a strong foundation for reading, writing, and using nonfiction through this instructional activity. They gain an awareness and general understanding what text structures are. Students also identify and interpret what...
Curated OER
Connecting Kansas: Past and Present
Upper graders identify five forms of transportation and describe how Kansans are connected to the rest of the country using transportation and communication. They complete a graphic organizer for each type of text structure given to them...
Read Works
Signal Words in Expository Text
Signal words are one way that authors make the relationships between their ideas clear. Allow your learners the chance to investigate cause and effect in texts by identifying signal words. They locate and analyze cause-and-effect...
ReadWriteThink
Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...
Curated OER
Native American Poetry
Identify text features, make inferences, and discover the cultural significance of Native American Poetry. Sixth graders read several Native American poems and use graphic organizers and literature response logs to record their feelings...
Curated OER
Slowly But Surely
The US mint has created this fabulous lesson plan, which practices language arts and mathematics skills. Learners will use the provided worksheets and step-by-step instructions to experiment with different sentence structures, use...
Curated OER
Cooperative Classroom Text Features Activities
Fifth graders examine text features and create a PowerPoint presentation. In this text features lesson, 5th graders go over Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures and text features before they choose one to include in a book and...
Curated OER
Just the Facts, Ma'am
Elementary learners identify the main elements of story structure and form questions to summarize their reading. They listen as the teacher reads a story and then write questions to determine (1) main characters, (2) setting, (3)...
Curated OER
Non-Fiction Texts
Third graders examine different types of non-fiction texts. In this non fiction lesson, 3rd graders use different types of texts to gather information. Students work in groups to analyze the texts for author's purpose, common themes, and...
For the Teachers
Sequence Plot Chart
Your kids can identify the plot sequence of a short story, but what about an informational article? Have them examine the chronological order of events in informational texts with a lesson plan on the sequence of events.
Museum of Tolerance
Family Role Model Activity
What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
Curated OER
Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students
What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out lesson that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to know, and,...
Curated OER
If I Could Have Lived in Another Time or Culture
Third graders develop multi-paragraph compositions. They include an introduction, first and second level support, and a conclusion. They use a variety of sentence structures (e.g., simple, compound/complex) and sentence types (i.e.,...
Curated OER
Characteristics of Imaginative Stories
Third graders explore genre characteristics. In this genre literacy lesson, 3rd graders listen to a variety of fiction stories and classify them according to genre. Students identify common features in each genre and complete a chart by...
EngageNY
Getting Ready to Learn About Human Rights: Close Reading of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Introduce young readers to informational texts with a well-designed, ready-to-use, and Common Core-aligned unit. Young readers learn a variety of skills while studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As the first...
Curated OER
The Last Word: Using Critical Thinking and Analysis to Reach a Decision
Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...
Curated OER
Reading a Comparison-Contrast Essay
Turn your passive readers into active readers with an engaging lesson on reading informational text. Focused on compare and contrast structured essays, the activity prompts elementary learners to jot down questions and think-aloud...
Curated OER
Because of Winn-Dixie
Take an in-depth look at a passage from Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. Included here is the reading passage as well as a step-by-step procedure for reading the text, a set of text-dependent questions, and a final writing...
Curated OER
Introducing Nonfiction
Students are introduced to nonfiction text. In this five esson unti, students explore nonfiction as a genre. They identify the components and text structure of text structure of nonfiction text. Students read a nonfiction passage and...
EngageNY
Speech Writing: Identifying Criteria for a High-Quality Introduction
Using a helpful resource, pupils watch a TED Talk of an opinion speech as they consider the criteria for a high-quality introduction. Scholars then engage in a shared writing process with the teacher to practice writing the introduction...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Context Clues
Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. In this context clues activity, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories are peer edited...
EngageNY
Reading Closely to Expand Understanding of Adaptations
Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...