Every book has a few great characters, but James and the Giant Peach is the only one whose characters travel in a piece of fruit. The class creates T-charts for the main characters of the novel, while reading the book. They write actions...

Third graders analyze the importance of characters in fiction writing and performances.  In this theatre lesson, 3rd graders identify the important characteristics of a fictional character and how to portray a character through many...

There are few things as frustrating to a teacher as a disrespectful student. Luckily this collection of activities, worksheets, and writing exercises is here to help eliminate this problem by teaching young leaners...

Benjamin Franklin may be known as a Founding Father, but he was also a prolific writer. Scholars examine his better-known pieces to learn about genre, voice, and early American history. The resource includes options for various...

Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...

Use a vocabulary asssignment as a quick activity between reading chapters of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Young readers choose their favorite words from the vocabulary word list to describe Sal, Phoebe, or any other character from...

Students engage in four separate friendship-building activities. They develop social skills and ethical responsibility by role playing and interacting with each other through reading, art, music and dance.

Pages and pages of engaging activities, worksheets, and writing projects on teaching folktales and fables await you! You don't want to miss this incredible resource that not only includes a wide range of topics and graphic...

Third graders practice the skills of identifying the main message in a story, describing the main character, and sorting the key details of a story into specific categories. The story they read is, The Boy Who Loved Words. Using a...

Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...

Reader's Theater is a great way to build fluency, intonation, and dramatic flare. The class reads the theater piece, "The New Friends" paying attention to how they express emotion and feeling as they read. They discuss the use of plot,...

Build unity in the dojo or the gym with an activity that not only teaches the importance of stretching and flexibility but also offers class members an opportunity to get to know one another. After warming up and engaging in a Medicine...

Help learners on the autism spectrum build awareness of their feelings of anxiety through a hands-on learning activity. Using a set of cards with examples of the different types of anxiety someone might face, learners discuss ideas...

Practice being concise. Exercise your vocabulary. Improve your editing skills. The contention in this lesson is that by imposing a 140 character limit, the Twitter format actually helps improve writing skills. And of course class tweets...

Here is a way to build your pupils' public speaking abilities. The instructional activity describes a reader's report chair, which is used each week by a student who has just finished reading a book. The featured reader sits in the chair...

Sometimes a teacher reading to a child doesn't think to stop to ask questions about the text. For those of us who don't engage the learners during reading activities, here is a set of cards that contain the questions all teachers need to...

Students explore the concept of comprehension.  In this comprehension lesson, students use a bookmark to mark a place in a story they want to "stop and think" about what they are reading.  Students practice this skill with a...

Extend the exhilarating learning experience of Dr. Seuss with five activities designed to reinforce literacy skills—site word reading, dialogue writing, story mapping, and more! Featured stories include The Lorax,...

Fourth graders read about Rose Freedman, a famous American woman. In this famous women in American history lesson, 4th graders read a story about Rose Freedman, answer comprehension questions, and complete an associated worksheet. They...

It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...

Students persevere to build character. In this philanthropy lesson plan, students consider how to put forth their personal best in all areas of their lives as they participate in a physical activity.

Students discover story analysis by discussing a book the class reads together.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the book The Keeping Quilt and discuss the different characters and plot points among the...

Fourth graders use the text, "Fair's Fair" to examine how characters' feelings and motives are built throughout a text through descriptive phrases. They look at what a character does and says to record on their writing frames. Finally,...

Seventh graders examine the characteristics of philanthropists.  In this cross- curricular lesson, 7th graders evaluate the character traits of people from a film. Students write a metaphor about responsibility to community.