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Reading Comprehension
After listening to a story learners engage in a kinesthetic activity to answer comprehension and critical thinking questions. Finally, the students identify three main facts about the story. Extensions include a fact and opinion...
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Left-to-Right Reading
Left-to-right, left-to-right, that's the way we read and write! Watch this short video clip and teach your young learners this chant before they start writing!
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Do You Want to Be My Friend?
Learners participate in a variety of emergent and early-literacy activities based on a "friendship" theme. Learners listen to the book Do You Want to Be My Friend by Eric Carle, then echo read, choral read, and independently read...
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Inspector Readers: The 002 Book Club
This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...
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Chapter Tableaux: Visualizing The Call of the Wild
Do your young readers have difficulty visualizing what they read? Although the activity described here is for The Call of the Wild, the strategy could be used with any narrative. At the conclusion of each chapter of Jack London’s novel,...
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A Reading Graph
Students construct and interpret a "favorite classroom books" graph. In this literacy and math graphing lesson, students choose a reduced size copy of the book cover that corresponds with the book(s) they chose to read during their...
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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
Second graders interact with the story of Alexander's horrible day by connecting it to their lives. They practice predicting, writing paragraphs, reading aloud, discussing his problems, making a card to cheer him up, and designing a pair...
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The Three Sisters
Students read about the Three Sisters of the crops that helped the Native Americans and plant a garden based on companion planting. In this crops lesson plan, students complete garden designs and then create their garden.
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Epic Improvisation
Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....
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A Novel Ending/ Closure Activity
Students summarize a story, identify the plot structure, and create a symbol that represents the essence of the story.
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Activity Plan 3-4: Dreamy Rhymes
Students write a story about an animal using rhyme. In this literacy lesson plan, the teacher shares different versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" with the class and that becomes the basis for the creation of a picture and story for...
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Close Up and Far Away
Students use magnifiers and telescopes to view things close up. For this magnifiers and telescopes lesson plan, students use the tools to identify things that are close and far away. Students tell details of things they can see closer.
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Just Off Mainstreet by Elmaz Abinader
Eighth graders read writings from Elmaz Abinader. In this author analysis lesson students read an essay from Abinader and discuss the story "Just Off Mainstreet." Students re-read the text and complete close reading activities.
Newspaper Association of America
Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
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Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Creatures in the Coral
Young scholars describe unique adaptations of organisms that live in the coral reef habitat, read various books pertaining to coral reefs and ocean life, and construct a wheel demonstrating the relationships between certain coral reef...
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Japan Writing Activity
Seventh graders explore the current tensions in Asia by completing a graphic organizer. In this Asian politics lesson, 7th graders examine a Powerpoint slide and news article which gives them the information needed to fill in their...
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The Game is Afoot - A Study of Sherlock Holmes
Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre. Based on what...
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Activity Plan 5-6: Let's Create Stories!
Students examine wordless books and other pictures in order to learn how the teacher "reads a picture" to tell a story about it. In this early writing lesson, students then create their own picture for story telling by painting....
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Talking Trees: Earth Day
Students complete a tree poster activity to learn about Earth Day, stewardship, and the environment. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students read The Story of the Tree and discuss stewardship with trees. Students act out tree...
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Where in the World is Flat Stanley?
Second graders analyze the proper form of a friendly letter and send flat Stanley letters all over the United States. In this letter writing lesson, 2nd graders read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and create their own Flat...
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Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
A thorough lesson introduces learners to Hans Christian Andersen, the nineteenth-century author who created wonderful tales. They read the original texts of several of his stories, including "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid,"...
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Reading in Preschool
Students read along with their parents to promote their own reading and fluency. In this reading lesson plan, students look at picture books and follow along with their finger.
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Meter Reading Using Place Value
Fourth graders read gas meters to measure cubic feet and learn place values. In this place value lesson, 4th graders watch a video about meter reading and discuss place value on the gas meter dials. Students study a related chart and...
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders read the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Reader's Circle, they also are writing a variety of pieces for the Writer's Workshop that is closely related to the novel. The quality and the quantity of work that...