Soft Schools
Similes and Metaphors
Do your kids a little more practice identifying similes and metaphors? This worksheet can be used as extra practice, for homework, or as part of a group activity
Dorling Kindersley
Punctuation Practice
Need some punctuation practice? Challenge your third or fourth graders' editing skills with a helpful instructional activity on punctuation. After naming different types of punctuation marks, they rewrite a paragraph that has multiple...
Curated OER
Build Masters: Identifying Details
Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...
Curated OER
Happy Birthday!: Internet Research and Historic Events
Talk about intrinsic motivation! Begin where your students' natural interests lie -- with themselves -- and launch a variety of projects with this activity. Class members research important events that took place on their...
Curated OER
What Kind of Ladybug Are You?
As a class, read different sentences prepared by the teacher, identifying the punctuation that is needed for the appropriate expression. In small groups, have each child assume the role of one or more character in The Grouchy Ladybug by...
Curated OER
American Flag History
Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...
Curated OER
George's Place
Here is another in the interesting series of lessons that uses money as a learning tool. This one is especially clever! During the lesson, pupils pretend they are eating at "George's Place" diner. Small groups are given one bag of play...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Some Birthday! (Polacco)
Patricia Polacco weaves an engaging tale for budding readers in her book Some Birthday!, an excellent resource for vocabulary in context. You can use this text to introduce the following words: investigate, snarl, and squawk....
Kathryn J. Davis
Abridged Short Vowel Spelling Workbook
Find 50 pages of worksheets to help emerging readers practice short vowel sounds using pictures, simple sentences, and word matching. They focus on CVC and two-letter words with short vowels.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Multiple Meaning Words in Context
Multiple meaning words is the focus of a lesson designed to reinforce the use of context clues. Scholars listen carefully to a variety of sentences using the words pool and cast to decide which definition best fits the...
Smithsonian Institution
Autobiography through Objects
Show youngsters how objects can tell a story! Here your class will learn about Cuban salsa dancer Celia Cruz by analyzing pictures of her dress, her shoes, and her marriage certificate. After describing Cruz's items and imagining what...
Curated OER
Fun With Fluency
Practice reading with fluency by blending words together. To start, prepare flash cards with pseudowords on them (words that can be pronounced but have no real meaning), and work with the class to sound out the words using known...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Thor and Sif
Expose your readers to the fascinating legends of Norse Gods Thor and Sif. They read a brief introduction about traditional stories and myths then read several paragraphs on these figures, marking unknown words as they go. Learners look...
Curated OER
Introduce: Main Idea
Begin exploring main idea in a text by telling the class an interesting story. Can they recall the main idea after you finish? What clues told them this was it? Explain that you will apply this concept as you read a nonfiction book....
ESL Kid Stuff
Wheels on the Bus
Take a trip all around the town! Kids go round and round with a fun set of lessons based on "The Wheels on the Bus." After singing the song together, little learners figure out the hand gestures, reenact the song, and read an...
Curated OER
Historical Figures
Second graders identify a historical figure, his or her societal contributions and basic biography using a Kidspiration graphic organizer and library resources. They use the Internet to conduct an historical treasure hunt in groups.
Curated OER
Figure Skating Spins Word Search Puzzle
In this word search instructional activity, students find the words about figure skating spins that are listed in the word search grid. Students may use the word bank for help.
Curated OER
Camel Similes
In this language arts worksheet, learners learn that similes compare 2 things using the words like or as. Students write 5 similes about camels and then illustrate one of them.
Curated OER
Mountain Magic: Identifying the Basic Physical Characteristics of Mountains
Students read about and identify on maps the physical characteristics of mountains. In this mountains lesson plan, students also write about the characteristics using personification.
Curated OER
Self-portrait Poem
Students practice naming various features or parts of their bodies using similes and vivid adjectives. The format is extended to poetic expressions as they develop a self-portrait and extend the creative experience through art.
Illustrative Mathematics
Size Shuffle
In the eyes of children the world is a simple place, objects are either big or small. This simple activity aims to expand the comparison language of young mathematicians as they use the words taller and shorter to compare their...
Tellagami Labs
Tellagami
Bring the world of video messaging into your classroom with this creative communication application. Offering the ability to create animations with customized characters, backgrounds, and recorded messages, this resource is guaranteed to...
American Institute of Architects
Architecture: It's Elementary!—First Grade
Build an interest and appreciation for architecture in your young learners with this fun 10-lesson art unit. Engaging children in using their five senses, the class first observes the environment around them, paying...
Curated OER
Homographs
There are eight homograph riddles here: can your scholars figure them out? For each, there are three definitions and a picture. Learners use the picture and multiple meanings as clues, recording a word that matches all three. They read...