Get ready to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with a lesson about historical fiction. Spanning several centuries, the resource prompts learners to guess the historical era of a story based on a word or phrase...

As scholars begin identifying stories as realistic fiction, its important they see many examples to solidify their concepts of this genre. Readers begin with a personal connection, thinking of television shows they like and determining...

The multi-lesson, 47-page packet contains everything you need to ensure kids can recognize the clues provided to identify the type of text, the intended audience, and the author's purpose in writing the passage.

Using The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin by Bobbie Kalman, second graders practice defining unfamilar words with context clues.  They come across new vocabulary words and read the entire sentence and the sentence before...

It is true that the more you practice something, the better you'll get at doing it. Lesson three in a three part series on author's purpose has kids venture out to determine the author's purpose in three different passages. They'll read...

Leaf by Leaf: Autumn Poems by Barbara Rogasky is the foundation of this instructional activity on theme identification. Critical thinkers read three different poems from the book then attempt to find the message the author is sending her...

Determining a theme is one of the most difficult and most important standards in the Common Core. Use this plan to help your learners identify the message that an author is sending to the reader. The lesson is based around the book Dogs...

Are your scholars reading Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee? If so, use this textual analysis packet and lesson guide to drive deeper thinking about the characters, create personal connections, and apply historical...

Here is a terrific lesson on poetry! Learners bring in the lyrics to their favorite song. A class discussion ensues regarding what makes a song "catchy." After analyzing the alliteration of the poems, learners read the poem "This...

Practice distinguishing biography from autobiography through point of view. Tell a brief story of your morning. Have a class member retell the story to you (using second person). And have another retell the story to the class (using...

Sixth graders explore the components of science fiction in a science and literacy lesson. As they define and record definitions of the term on the board, learners identify a text as science fiction using the terms they have...

Take a trip through history with a instructional activity on historical fiction. With instructions for games, reading activities, and literary analysis assignments, this resource would be a great addition to any reading unit with a...

Young scholars explore themes in fiction with this literacy comprehension lesson. They generate ideas for possible themes developed in the fairy tale of The Ant and the Cricket. Next, they examine the plot of The Great Gilly Hopkins and...

Fourth graders respond to a text using textual evidence to support their answers to questions. Students observe the teacher model a quick warm up on the chronological sequence of events from the passage, Leaving Home. In this literacy...

Students study fairy tales. In this fairy tales lesson, students discover beginning and ending phrases characteristic of these types of stories. They listen to their teacher read The Frog Prince, take notice of those familiar phrases,...

Add another characteristic to your class characteristics of fairy tales chart. First they discuss the concept of problems or conflicts found in most fairy tale plots then they practice identifying conflict as they read. They read...

First graders evaluate sequence words. In this order of events lesson, 1st graders practice using sequence words to retell a story. They do guided practice with the teacher retelling a story they have read as a class and then try it...

Second graders use the title and text clues from a poem to determine what the author's voice is. In this author's voice lesson, 2nd graders participate in a directed lesson using the poem "Amazing Bats." They discuss their feelings with...

What makes a book fiction or nonfiction? Kindergartners discover ways to find out if a book is real or made up. They examine a fictional picture book as a group and decide what clues help them decide. There is an independent worksheet...

A biography is a factual book or narrative about a real person. The book, The Story of Ruby Bridges is used to introduce non-fiction texts about real people and event to a Kindergarten class. A chart is used to highlight text...

Kindergartners listen to a nursery rhyme and then tell the story in their own words (without rhyming). They practice as a class using Jack and Jill and then try Three Blind Mice on their own. The lesson includes a worksheet for the...

If you are in need of a lesson on identifying information in a non-fiction text, look no further. The class learns how to use a KWL chart to identify explicit information in the book, Frogs by Gail Gibbons. They fill out the KWL...

First graders characterize fiction and non-fiction books, they discover the characteristics of each type of book and compare two books (one fiction & one nonfiction) about the same subject. They make a list that describes what...

Examining life events is a great way to learn about chronological order. Sequencing and time order are analyzed after reading a book about Rosa Parks. With a chart, the class works together to put the events from Mrs. Parks' life in the...