Indiana Department of Education
Indiana K-12 Educators’ Resource Toolkit
Imagine a tool that magically engages readers in the classroom. A handbook for Indiana educators doesn't guarantee success, but it does offer a variety of strategies for teachers to try. The handbook opens with research-based theory...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Building
Scholars become architects in an engaging unit on building structures. The Reading Adventure Pack features Roberto: The Insect Architect by Nina Laden and Construction Zone with photographs by Richard Sobol and text by Cheryl Willis...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Arthur's New Puppy (Brown)
Learn new words as you read Marc Brown's story, Arthur's New Puppy. This is focused as a vocabulary-in-context activity (though this strategy could be used with any book and set of words). Introduce the new words you will focus on:...
K12 Reader
Narrator and Point of View
Point of view is important when choosing a narrator. Help young writers distinguish between first and third person point of view with an activity that features excerpts from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. After reading four...
Curated OER
I Went Walking Lesson Plan
Students study writing structure and patterns in repetitive texts. In this writing structure lesson, students read portions of a story and predict what will come next based on the repetitive text. Students create their own repetitive...
Curated OER
Regions of the United States
Students explore the regions of the United States. In this geography lesson, students read the text When I Was Young in the Mountains and compare the setting of the story with their geographical setting. Students use a physical map to...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Robots
Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...
Curated OER
Wild Christmas Reindeer
Students listen to the children's story "The Wild Christmas Reindeer" while using the pictures from the story to help analyze the plot. In this reading comprehension lesson, students discuss the text and pictures of a story as they read....
National Council of Teachers of English
A Bear of a Poem: Composing and Performing Found Poetry
Scholars work collaboratively to compose a found poem from one of their favorite stories. With a finished product in hand, class members form a circle and perform their work for an audience by taking turns reciting one line till the poem...
Curated OER
Learning Life Lessons through Fables
Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...
Curated OER
Storytelling
Show young readers how to put some personality and voice into their storytelling with an in-depth assignment. Kids practice saying the same thing, such as counting from one to ten, in different tones and perspectives, and then work on...
Lerner Publishing
Teaching Vowel Combinations
Need some fun activities to augment your lessons on vowel patterns and phonemic awareness? Peruse a series of worksheets designed to help little ones with their early reading skills.
Penguin Books
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity Booklet
Enter the colorful world of The Very Hungry Caterpillar with a booklet filled with activities to celebrate Eric Carle.
University of Virginia
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Students engage in a activity that is concerned with the skill of reading comprehension while reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as a class. They read the story while identifying the different types of food with the help of food cards.
Curated OER
Poetry in Motion
Students expand their understanding and appreciation for poetry. In this poetry unit lesson, students complete 5 unit sections of multiple day activities to learn about poetry and its devices or forms.
Curated OER
Poetry
Learners write a poem. In this language arts lesson, students discuss what they hear and see in a garden. Learners write a poem about the sights, sounds and smells of the garden.