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Podcasting for Reading Fluency
Nothing helps you identify your reading fluency like hearing yourself read aloud! Increase reading fluency and expression by having young learners podcast a weekly high interest piece of literature. Assign a different star or featured...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Priceman)
What a fun way to explore new vocabulary words! Marjorie Priceman's book Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride offers plenty of new words for scholars to learn in context: amateur, assembled, demonstration,...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Have You Seen Bugs? (Oppenheim)
Are your scholars interested in bugs? Get future entomologists excited about vocabulary through Joanne Oppenheim's colorful book Have You Seen Bugs? They use the informational text (although this strategy is useful for any book) to learn...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Giggle, Giggle, Quack (Cronin)
Farmer Brown has his hands full with a tricky duck in Norah Cronin's book Giggle, Giggle, Quack, the context of this vocabulary study. This text is available on YouTube if you can't find it. Before reading, introduce the high level...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Everybody Cooks Rice (Dooley)
Use Norah Dooley's culturally inspiring book Everybody Cooks Rice to explore delicious new vocabulary in context with beginning readers. The recommended words here are: delicious, grumbling, and gulp; pre-teach them before reading the...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Clifford's Family (Bridwell)
Do you know Clifford, the big, red dog? Clifford takes an adventure to see his family, and young readers join him to learn some new vocabulary in context! Before reading, introduce the four new words: city, county,...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Black Bear Cub (Lind)
Kids love reading stories! There are many opportunities to learn new words in context as budding readers listen to Alan Lind's story Black Bear Cub. They focus on seven nature-related vocabulary terms: cub, den, forage, lure, scarce,...
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Introduce vocabulary: Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse (Lionni)
Provide access to new vocabulary words (envy and mysteriously) in context as emerging readers listen to Leo Lionni's Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Explain these terms before reading the story aloud and help kids utilize context clues...
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Introduce Vocabulary: A Pocket for Corduroy (Freeman)
Who doesn't love this book? A Pocket for Corduroy provides excellent vocabulary practice in context for budding readers (although this strategy could be used with any text). Before reading it aloud, go over the new terms: affectionate,...
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Introduce Vocabulary: A Day at the Apple Orchard (Faulkner and Krawsky)
If your class is reading A Day at the Apple Orchard by Megan Faulkner, be sure to use this guide for vocabulary in context. Go over the orchard-related terms (cycle, harvest, orchard, pollen, and ripen) before reading the story aloud....
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Introduce Vocabulary: Swimmy (Lionni)
Learn the importance of leadership as you explore vocabulary in context through Leo Lionni's book Swimmy, which can be found on YouTube in case you don't have it. This text includes some excellent vocabulary words for young readers,...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Jonathan and His Mommy (Smalls)
Go on a walking adventure through Irene Smalls' touching book Jonathan and His Mommy, an excellent resource to practice vocabulary in context. Go over the walking-themed terms (humongous, pace, leap, and zigzag) learners will hear before...
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Teacher Appreciation Week (Elementary)
Primary writers will create a persuasive essay about Teacher Appreciation Week. Additionally, they will select a quote from a famous person and write a persuasive essay about how it relates to one of their favorite teachers. In the end,...
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Doctor DeSoto's Foxy Persuasion
Who is Doctor DeSoto? Start by playing a video clip (included). Discuss different methods of persuasion, and then analyze two different persuasive letter examples. What should your class be looking for? Send them off to work in groups...
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Olympic Report Planner
Use this worksheet to research a future or past olympian. There's a space for researchers to brainstorm things they'd like to know, a space for them to record notes, and a KWL chart. There's also an open space to write a cumulative...
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Pizza Biography
A biography writing lesson plan with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how...
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Reading and Writing about the Solar System
A superb interdisciplinary approach highlights this lesson which incorporates space science knowledge and narrative skills. After reading The Magic School Bus, two excellent poems, and watching a video, all about our solar system, young...
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Walk in My Shoes: A Shoe's Perspective
Help learners write a creative story from the viewpoint of a shoe. The teacher brings a variety of different types of shoes to the classroom and each person chooses one. They then write a story from the point of view of the shoe,...
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Create a Book with Student Treasures
You can't publish a story until after it has been revised and edited! Budding authors investigate the writing process while drafting an original story. They select a topic, complete a rough draft, edit it, revise it, and finally publish...
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Writing Lesson Plan: Stop and Go: Capitals and Periods
Examine writing using a fun, interactive format. Young writers choose a piece of their own writing to proofread for initial capitals and final periods they left out. They work independently using green stickers to add capitals and red...
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You Be the Editor
Young editors work in teams to find all the errors in a text. They identify grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. Use this activity to reinforce correct usage of prominent punctuation symbols, such as apostrophes and ellipses. You...
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Daily Academic Language Development
Five minute mini-lessons designed to expose learners to high-frequency academic language.
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Manatee
For this reading comprehension about Manatees worksheet, students read a paragraph and answer questions to demonstrate their understanding. Students write 4 answers.
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Alphabetizing
Typing is an essential skill in our day and age! Introduce your second graders to computer typing by teaching them the correct placement of the fingers on a keyboard. Then, they complete an assignment using the word processor.