Curated OER
Library Skills: Biography
Biographies deserve special attention when training youngsters how to use the library because they are alphabetized by subject rather than by author. Guide children through the process of finding biographies over a two-visit series. On...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Government
A reading adventure pack looks closely at government with the help of two books—one fiction, one nonfiction, and a series of activities. Learners craft a mobile to visualize a balanced government, participate in a scavenger hunt around...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Chraisma by Jeanne Ryan
Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest in...
Scholastic
Perfect Postcards: Illinois
Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered activity on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional...
Curated OER
Introducing the Super 3 Research Model
Fourth graders read the fiction selection, Dolphins at Daybreak, and then the corresponding non-fiction books about dolphins and sharks. They use a specific research model to find information about dolphins and sharks from books and...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Civil War on Sunday
Reading Mary Pope Osborne's Civil War on Sunday? Here's a packet crammed with activities, exercises, reading guides, and project suggestions. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Curated OER
Paws in Jobland Job Stars
Students research a fictional character with a job. In this lesson, about jobs, students chose a characters to look at. Students use the Paws in Jobland and a worksheet as a guide. Students understand their fictional character's job and...
Curated OER
Johnny Appleseed or John Chapman: Which Character is Your Favorite?
Students study the life of John Chapman and compare it with the fictional character, Johnny Appleseed. Students listen to books about Johnny Appleseed, and watch a video and PowerPoint if available. They make a KWL chart, make an online...
Curated OER
Radical Reads
Students recreate an "American Idol" contest in which they present their favorite books to their classmates using arguments for and excerpts from the books. Following the presentation, students will be polled and the least popular books...
Curated OER
5 W Questions
Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book. In this journalism lesson plan, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance and Toni Morrison's Jazz
Students study the historical time of the Harlem Renaissance, including key events and figures. They read literature that weaves fiction and history and survey some of the references to the Harlem Renaissance in the novel, Jazz, by Toni...
Curated OER
Doing Dewey Decimal
Learners examine the Dewey Decimal System and locate books in the nonfiction section. They examine a shelf of books and try to determine how the books are arranged, then watch a short video "Media Mania." Students then match construction...
Curated OER
Trash! How Cities Work: Dealing with Garbage in the US and India
Students identify how different cultures deal with the challenge of trash. Read an excerpt from a chapter book based on real life written from the Southern Indian perspective. Describe the life of a street child in Southern India....
Curated OER
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Third graders read Beverly Cleary's book "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" and then complete a series of extension activities. Students explore cause and effect, sequencing, related websites, grammar lessons and comparison skills.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its own...
Curated OER
Enrichment Activities - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"
Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...
Curated OER
Time Out!!!
Students explore life in the 1800s and become aware of events and inventions that shaped the era as they compare and contrast real life families to fictional characters. They perform webquests based on life in the frontier in the 1880's.
Curated OER
???The Hell of Mirrors??? by Edogawa Rampo
Learners read and analyze the story "The Hell of Mirrors," by Edogawa Rampo. They watch a video excerpt, answer discussion questions, construct a periscope, complete handouts, define key vocabulary terms, take a quiz, and write a book...
Curated OER
Drawing Birds
First graders discuss what they know about birds and share picture books. They read text on the page and discuss the question and draw the flying bird on their paper by having them look at the color drawing of the bird.
Curated OER
Fractions and Fact Families: Jump Kangaroo Jump!
Second graders practice with fractions and fact families. In this fractions and fact families lesson plan, 2nd graders participate in a series of activities to assist them with understanding fractions. Activities include graphing,...
Curated OER
Mapping Out A Summary
Students summarize a selected piece of fiction text. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a chapter in the novel they are currently reading. They write a chapter summary using a story map and the process...
Curated OER
E.T. Write Home
Students read the book, The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System, and discuss the planets visited by the characters in the book. They write journal entries from the viewpoint of E.T., writing letters home describing his travels in...
Curated OER
Creature Creation
Second graders listen to a read aloud of a fictional story about a frog. They compare the characteristics of the main character with a real frog. They work with two partners to create a creature; one student draw the head, one the body,...
Curated OER
Hooray for Harry
Students examine the Harry Potter series of books and read about charitable endeavors of J.K Rowling. They explore various websites and look for newspaper articles about charitable giving or charitable service.