Identify the main idea and the supporting details of a story in a literacy resource from Discovery Education. Complete with procedures, vocabulary, and assessment activities, this is a great way for pupils to practice their outlining...

Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....

Learners explore West Virginia history with regard to Mountain and Appalachian Culture. They compare and contrast life now with life 100-150 years ago. They write and illustrate a short story about the life of children 100-150 years ago....

Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...

Students design a campaign to encourage paper recycling at the school.  For this recycling lesson, students try to persuade other students and staff members to adopt a new recycling program.  Students work together in groups to...

How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...

What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.

Stella Louella’s Runaway Book launches a study of point of view and storytelling. After reading the tale, class members retell the story from the point of view of another character. The scripted plan, developed by a teacher candidate,...

Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...

Students make an accordion book to show information that is associated with a particular learning event. In this accordion book lesson, students follow paper-folding directions to make the book. They fill the book with key facts and...

If your class loves movies, this lesson is sure to interest them. After discussing the purpose and structure of movie reviews, young writers compose a movie review and discuss why people may read a review before they go see a film. The...

Direct instruction on punctuation rules for titles is followed by collaborative practice in class. Two worksheets with aesthetically engaging graphic design provide practice. For 12 examples, small groups either underline, italicize, or...

Fluency is crucial to reading success. This lesson provides a great technique for increasing fluency. Using Inspiration or Garage Band, learners record themselves reading a passage at their reading level and repeat the process to monitor...

Using ichat or Edmodo 4th -6th graders participate in an inter-school literature circle. Students from two different schools pair up online through ichat and use a blog to conduct a book circle. This lesson is wonderful; it fully...

An Alaskan quarter and a book of fables is what you'll need to start this lesson. Learners will use the image of the bear and the salmon found on the reverse side of the Alaskan quarter as inspiration. They will compose a fable about the...

The first of a three-part series on bullying, this plan has class members present skits about bullying, write and sign an anti-bullying pledge, and complete a service project. For the skit, learners use information from previous lessons...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

When choosing what foods to eat, there are a lot of factors to consider. To help make the decision a little easier, young learners work in small groups developing short plays, stories, or advertisements that address the different issues...

Elementary schoolers develop an awareness of the literary form known as the fable. They explore how authors write fables to pass along moral lessons. After reading and discussing many famous fables embedded in the plan, learners attempt...

By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...

Here is an ambitious and engaging lesson that should help elementary schoolers begin to develop a basic understanding of human rights. Pupils are asked to think about their own rights, the rights of others, and how an individual's voice...

Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....

Combine informational reading skills with fictional text in an innovative historical fiction lessons. After reading a fictional text related to diseases, class members read non-fictional text to gain knowledge about specific infectious...

Art and architecture go hand-in-hand. Kids watch clips from the Hayo Miyazaki film Spirited Away to better understand Japanese customs and architecture. The discussion questions included are very good, and will help you lead the class in...