Elementary learners identify the main elements of story structure and form questions to summarize their reading. They listen as the teacher reads a story and then write questions to determine (1) main characters, (2) setting, (3)...

Students participate in a reader's theater about the Civil War. In this performing arts lesson, students review the Civil War through a reader's theater. They practice reading their parts to work on expression and fluidity before...

This is a really good lesson. Learners explore US Foreign Policy, the Reagan Administration, and the Iran-Contra Affair through various documents and readers theater. Worksheets, script, and web links are all included. Teaching can't get...

Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...

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...

What would it have been like to have heard the debate on the issue of slavery at the Constitutional Convention of 1787? With this resource, you are given the opportunity to read through a reconstruction of speeches on the topic with your...

Students act as reporters to develop interview skills. In this interview lessons, students develop the skills needed to use anecdotes and quotes to make an interview interesting. They practice asking questions over and above the 5 W's so...

Pupils draw cards from a pile and the student that draws the number card gets the first opportunity to answer the question. For example, if a student selects twenty-two from the pile and question twenty-two is, "why is government divided...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

Readers participate in activities designed to increase their fluency with language. They collaborate in small groups to complete stem sentences about themselves. They write facts about themselves and answer questions asked by the other...

Students work in co-op groups to create a Reader's Theater production of the story. Students create a flow map that sequences the major events in the story. Students research the island of Martinique and create a travel brochure...

Interested in a "how and why" story to read with young students? In this storytelling lesson, readers will discuss sea creatures, focusing on practicing new terminology through retelling the story. This resource provides a list of...

What makes story telling special? Young readers demonstrate how to tell a story to others. Kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders read biographies of "Building Blocks" characters and tell a story about a character to their...

Students read a play and create their own play using Thornton Wilder's Our Townas a resource. In this play lesson, students analyze how theatrical elements contribute to a play's meanings and effects. Students recognize differences...

Students explore dramatization. In this literacy fluency and drama lesson, students listen to the story Mop Top by Don Freeman and add related sounds at the appropriate times. Students role play, pantomime, and add sounds to  create...

Students analyze the literary element mood in Chapter 10 of the novel Number the Stars. They explain why the literary element mood is a feeling that a story creates in readers. Students share their thoughts on the topic of mood and its...

Fifth graders investigate the qualities of a good reader by participating in a role play with the provided scripts. They focus on the five main strategies of good readers -- predicting, clarifying, questioning, summarizing, and...

Students understand ideas about civic life and government. In this census lesson, students participate in a First We Count Reader's Theater and answer reading questions about the script in order to gain a better understanding of the...

Students watch a video on how marketers plan their strategies in supermarkets. In groups, they are given a set amount of money and asked to go through a grocery store simulation with a list. After the simulation, they discuss the...

Students practice listening to math problems in a foreign language.  In this number sentence lesson plan, students listen to the teacher ask them a question in a foreign language that has some type of number combination for an...

Fifth graders explore communication by analyzing manners. In this social skills lesson, 5th graders review the different forms of communication and how to present yourself in a phone conversation, face to face meeting, e-mail, etc....

Students investigate the disease that is causing the global decline of bats.  In this animal health instructional activity, students read an article which discusses white-nose syndrome, the number one killer of bats.  Students...

How can you tell if someone is happy? The lesson works with elementary and middle school scholars to activate their schema and pay attention to details to make inferences in their daily lives, poetry, and other literature. Cleverly...

You might not be able to put a girdle around the earth in forty minutes but you can generate interest in A Midsummer’s Night Dream in that length of time. As an introduction to Shakespeare’s comedy, pairs of students assume the roles of...