Help your youngsters frame their thoughts and begin to organize notes for their next book reports. This template includes space for a book citation, author background, synopsis, and critique

Young learners examine different places in their neighborhood using informational texts. First they identify a place that they like to play and predict if it will be in the nonfiction book Community at Play.They will share their favorite...

Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.

Brian Jacques’ novel Redwall provides the focus for a series of lessons involving the analysis of folklore. Adopting the persona of a character, groups write letters in the voice of their character, assemble a collage using Microsoft...

Capture the engagement of young readers with this collection of activities based on Jane Yolen's book, Owl Moon. Following a shared reading of this children's story, the class explores the geography of the American Northeast,...

A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...

Students use their personal experiences to create students's books for younger students on topics to which they can relate. Students observe a guest speaker who talks about different formats of students's books that are available, then...

Fourth graders examine the contributions made by famous Americans during the American Revolution. They conduct research using a variety of resources, and create an informational page in the form of "Incredible Books" to contribute to a...

Students read a chapter book of 100-200 pages in length. They create a story map and multimedia book report. Pupils review the elements of a story map such as: characters, setting, problem, important events, solution, etc.) Students...

Fourth graders research three topics from the book, either Village Life, Sea Life, or San Nicholas Island. They research independently and meet in a jigsaw format to share what they learned. As group they create a poster for class...

Embark on a journey of writing several different types of poetry. Fifth graders read several examples, and use the examples to model their own writing. Each poem is to be accompanied by a different art visual representation. In the end,...

Third graders complete a variety of reading and writing activities related to the book "Flat Stanley." They create an illustration and write a short summary for each chapter, and write a letter and send a "Flat Stanley" to a friend or...

Young scholars read a book with each student having a specific job for the class.  For this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...

After conducting research on a given scientific animal name, group members take a walk around their school and look for the specified animals in that classification. Then, they come back to their worksheets and create five creative clues...

Partners choose, research, and analyze fictional or historical characters and design character life boxes to represent them. They also compose a rhyme royal, which they understand inductively by deconstructing examples. Based largely on...

Third graders explore the operation of a Christmas farm and how trees are shipped. After taking a tour of a Christmas tree farm and researching transportation, location and cost issues, 3rd graders create a map to show the distribution...

Fourth graders listen to the story, THE CLOUD BOOK by Tomie De Paolo and then use a hotlist to research cloud types and formation, then use the information to create a Kid Pix movie which they will present to the class.

Second graders compare and contrast gymnastics in 1859, 1900 and today. Students contrast differences in gymnastics for boys and girls today. Students pretend that they are interviewing a famous gymnast and write up their interview....

Third graders review and expand their discussion of job training and education resources. They work in small groups to find information about the types of training people need to do specific jobs and use data from interviews carried out...

Students study several different types of Chinese sports played throughout history in China. They examine the historical perspective of the importance of sports in Chinese culture and create a final project using information about three...

Fifth graders investigate biomes of the earth. In this biomes lesson plan, 5th graders explore eight different biomes which include the tropical rain forest, deciduous forest, grasslands, and taiga. They design an artistic scrapbook that...

For classes tackling To Kill a Mockingbird, this lesson plan sets readers up for discussions or essay writing with questions and prompts. The prompts encourage individuals to explore beyond the novel itself, looking at...

Third graders summarize information.  In this Hall of Fame lesson, 3rd graders gather information on inductees and paraphrase the information.  Students use this to create decorate and create a sample plaque.