New York City Department of Education
Theater Units for Lower and Upper Elementary Levels
Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons, assessment...
Reed Novel Studies
Third Grade Angels: Novel Study
A million things to do, a ton of homework ... hyperbole sure does help get the point across! With the novel study for Jerry Spinelli's Third Grade Angels, scholars practice writing their own exaggerated sentences. Additionally, they...
Curated OER
Problem-Solving Processes and Figurative Language
Nonfiction texts about people on the move provide young readers with an opportunity to examine not only the problem-solving strategies employed by immigrants, but to also find examples of figurative language these writers use to tell...
Curated OER
"Weighing the Elephant"
Can your class solve the problem presented in the Chinese folktale, "Weighing the Elephant?" Read your class the description before having them attempt to solve the problem. After they've come up with an answer (or attempted to!), finish...
K5 Learning
The Blind Men and the Elephant
Sometimes it's necessary to view the whole picture before making a judgment about a small part. Read a short story about five blind men who try to identify an elephant by feeling different parts and coming to their own conclusions....
Curated OER
Bean Project (Activity in Response to the Book Jack and the Beanstalk)
For this literature and science worksheet, students respond to the book Jack and the Beanstalk by planting their own beanstalk. Students gather the 5 necessary tools and follow the 5 directions for planting a bean seed in a pot.
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members explore...
Curated OER
Children's Literature and the Bill of Rights
Learners read a variety of well-known studenT books and discuss concepts presented in the books as they relate to the Bill of Rights. They discuss the books and compare them to the Bill of Rights Amendments.
Curated OER
Literature Blog
Students write online responses to the Literature they are reading in class using computers, internet access, and the Blog website www.blogger.com. This technology based language arts lesson can be adapted for many different areas of...
Curated OER
Amelia Bedelia Vocabulary
In this literature response worksheet, students complete a variety of vocabulary activities to demonstrate their understanding of the Peggy Parish book Amelia Bedelia.
Curated OER
Gettin' Through Thursday
Have your class explore active reading strategies! In this guided reading lesson, learners make personal connections to characters having a bad day as a prior knowledge activation discussion. After reading Gettin' Through Thursday, class...
ReadWriteThink
Literature Circles: Getting Started
Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...
Curated OER
Literature Study Contracts
Young scholars complete activities with a leveled chapter book. In this literature lesson, students read a novel and complete several graphic organizers and activities as they read. They focus on characters, settings, vocabulary, and plot.
Joel Heck
The Life of C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis is considered one of the greatest Christian writers of all time. A slide show presentation provides an overview of his life and work. It includes multiple perspectives to give your class a well-rounded view of an amazing author.
Curated OER
A Journey To Japan Through Poetry
Third graders gain an appreciation for writing, analyzing, reading and listening to poetry, viewing poems as a motivation for studying Japanese culture and tradition. They study and create their own haiku and tanka poems with illustrations.
Teacher's Corner
Is There a Wocket in my Pocket?
Accompany Dr. Seuss' Is There a Wocket in my Pocket? with this graphic organizer. Young readers make inferences about why the main character has certain feelings towards the creatures found in the story.
Curated OER
Dinosaurs Before Dark
In this literature response crossword activity, students read 8 clues. Students complete the puzzle with words found in the book, Dinosaurs Before Dark. No word bank is given.
Curated OER
Dear Peter Rabbit
Write dear old Peter Rabbit a letter with this lesson. First, youngsters listen to the story Peter Rabbit and analyze the story elements. Then they complete a story map graphic organizer in order to write a letter to Peter Rabbit using...
K12 Reader
Jo’s Boys
Louisa May Alcott's third novel about Josephine March, spunky-sister-turned-successful-writer, is the focus of a reading comprehension activity. As class members read an excerpt from the third chapter of Jo's Boys, they answer four...
Curated OER
Mini-Unit: Natural Resources
Young scholars explore how their choices affect others. In this character development and ecology activity, students debate choice-making issues. Young scholars listen to The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and identify choices the characters made...
Student Achievement Partners
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm - "The Fisherman and his Wife"
Help young readers learn to read and interpret complex text independently. Teach young children to ask interpretive questions and use the text itself to answer them. Use art, word play and drama to provide a deeper understanding of...
Curated OER
Reading Clinic: Use Predictions to Help Kids Think Deeply About Books
Learners learn to use prediction to think more deeply about literature. In this reading comprehension lesson, students chart predictions in order to more fully understand text.
Curated OER
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Students identify the cause and effect in the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. In this cause and effect instructional activity, students listen to the story If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and discuss what the cause and effect is. As a...
Curated OER
Helping Homeschoolers: Reading Critically and Analytically
Strategies for creatively monitoring reading to gauge comprehension and stimulate analysis without taking the joy out of reading.