Six lessons comprise a unit about Roald Dahl's George's Marvelous Medicine. Over time, scholars explore themes such as the power of words, exciting writing, and mixed feelings. They examine the writing's literary devices, persuasive...

Eliminate the hard work of creating an entire literature unit with this reading guide for the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. From background information about the author and her motivation for writing the story to...

Maybe the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Ralph, a mouse character in Runaway Ralph, thought that summer camp had to be better than dealing with his mother, uncle, and cousins. However, camp has its troubles, too. Worksheet...

Students read or listen to a piece of literature to find the connections between people and their responsibilities. They participate in a variety of activities after experiencing the literature.

Natasha Wing's story The Night Before Thanksgiving is a great way to incorporate rhyme and literature into the Thanksgiving season. Learners make text-to-self connections, recall main events, and choose post-reading activities...

Students, using the Internet, communicate with peers around the world about winter-themed books. They study authors, write book reviews, re-write endings, interview book characters, create scene dioramas, paint murals, and write...

Students analyze the characters and events in fictional writing. In this literary elements lesson, students study the meaning of the words characterization and fiction. They listen to the story Pigsty by Mark Teague, or any other book...

Here is a worksheet presenting many ways to create topics and start sentences. The writing prompts are best used for young writers who are creating reading response journals or literature logs. Sometimes, all a writer needs is a good...

Students investigate bullying and discrimination and draw pictures of a personal response to being bullied. They read Thank You, Mr. Falkner by Patricia Polacco, to determine the philosophic act that the main character performs. They...

African American history during the Jim Crow era includes encounters with poverty, racism, disrespect, and protest. Harper Lee develops all four of these themes in her famous 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. To help students understand...

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...

Students complete a unit of lessons on families. They read and analyze various stories, label a map, assemble sentences, write letters to grandparents, analyze character traits, and write and illustrate a sheet for a class book.

Learners 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. 

Students explore philanthropy in literature. In this literature lesson, students read text from three different genres that all have a moral. Students compare and contrast these pieces of literature, focusing on the character traits that...

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...

In this story structure instructional activity, students read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and identify the characters, setting and main themes of the book. They answer a list of study questions about the book.

Students listen to stories about different philanthropic acts. They work together in groups to create a list of the needs of their community. They chose a service project which could be completed by their class.

Students read one book together about the immigrant experience. Teacher asks students to identify some of the themes around immigration contained in the book (example: prejudice).

Third graders read the story "Trapped by the Ice" which is about the Antarctic adventures of Sir Ernest Shackleton. They identify, write and share examples of respect and responsibility demonstrated by the stories' characters. Students...

Third graders read Pepita Talks Twice and define the character traits of respect and responsibility. They write their examples of the characters traits on a character trait doll. Students recognize the character traits of respect and...

Young scholars review beginning, middle, and end of a story and how details add to a story.

Students read and response to the book, Abuela's Weave. In this African-American literature instructional activity, students discuss pre-reading questions, that focus on family traditions and make predictions about the text. Students...

Positive character traits in literature are explored in this character development and literacy instructional activity. Learners listen to Cinderella by Charles Perrault and Little Gold Star by Robert D. San Souci, followed by a...