Students explore storytelling by participating in an image analysis activity. In this story structure activity, students read the book Cookie's Week by Tomie dePaola and retell the story to their teacher in sequential order. Students...

Seventh graders write a few sentences explaining the most important events of their lives during the past year. As a class, they discuss why they chose the elements they did for their sentences. To end the instructional activity, they...

Sequences are all about recognizing patterns. A module of 11 lessons builds pupils' understanding of sequences through pattern analysis. The practice connects the analysis to linear and exponential equations. This is the first module in...

Third graders explore language arts by analyzing a children's story in class. In this story structure lesson, 3rd graders read the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and write a brief summary. Students identify the beginning,...

What does a philanthropist do? Help your class explore philanthropy using character development and literacy ideas. Learners will define and give examples of philanthropy, listen to The Lion and the Mouse, discuss how the characters help...

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

Young readers use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and story maps, to analyze a variety of folktales and the elements of a story. They use writing, sequencing activities, and creative art to identify the morals learned from a...

What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...

Here's a fabulous lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly. Youngsters are able to identify and understand the four stages of life. They construct models of a caterpillar and write a sequence story about the life of a butterfly. This...

Young scholars investigate the steps of the silk-making process through a reading of the story, "The Empress and the Silkworm" by Toy Hong. Sequencing cards are utilized to enhance the process and a silkworm's cocoon is unravelled.

Third graders discuss the importance of putting events into the correct sequence. In groups, they put the order of events of different stories into the correct order while completing a worksheet. To end the activity, they identify the...

Whodunnit? Find out who killed Mr. Brooks through a logical examination of evidence. Class members fill out a couple of data tables to help them pin down the suspect. After they've figured out just who the culprit is, pupils compose...

First graders identify the characteristics of a fairy tale and share a fairy tale they are familiar with. They are read a story that is similiar to the "Three Little Pigs" noting the differences between the original and this story. ...

It's a fact: kids love bugs! With this instructional activity, young learners explore reading informational texts and conducting research while learning about their favorite insects. Spark learners' interest by reading a book about one...

Groups plan their escape carefully. Three three-tiered puzzles help a story character escape their situation, each involving integer sequences, transformations, and geometric constructions. The teacher resource includes...

Teach kids how to watch television, specifically the news, with this creative idea for learners of all ages from the Media Awareness Network. The elementary school plan focuses on presenting news as a story and uses Jon Scieszka's story...

This comprehensive unit investigates transformations of quadratics, having learners follow "Optima" through the development and growth of her quilting business. Deftly weaving the story into the mathematical mechanics, the unit gives...

Students are read the story "The Cat Came Back". Using Spanish, they communicate the context of the story with each other. They practice using new vocabulary, identifying main characters and putting the events into order. They use the...

First graders listen to traditional and nontraditional Cinderella stories and watch a video entitled "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters." Individually, children draw and illustrate the stories they have heard, create a story sequence, and...

Second graders describe the sequence of events in the life cycles of a butterfly, frog, and a deer. They observe the differences and similarities of parents and babies. They also discover that at different stages the animals can be...

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...

First graders access prior knowledge about pumpkins and read the story Pumpkin, Pumpkin. They will sequence the life cycle of the pumpkin through the use of picture cards and then sing a song about the life cycle of the pumpkin and plant...

Upper graders read the book Holes as a class or by themselves. In groups, they identify symbols and discuss how they are connected  among the many plots in the story. They create a timeline in which they sequence the main...

Act out the African folktale Abiyoyo. Kindergartners listen to the tale and discuss the characters, dressing as their favorite characters in order to retell and perform Abiyoyo using props. They will gain an understanding of...