A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

This scripted lesson suggests using the journalist’s five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) to teach readers how to summarize a story and to how to distinguish between significant and supporting details. A template and rubric are...

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 listen for specific information during summary presentations. They practice giving feedback on given topic according to a set of standards. The speaker reports to the rest of class from a report and listeners determine if...

Bring history to life for your young scholars with a Fourth of July lesson series. After a class reading of the Declaration of Independence, students translate this pivotal document into layman's terms before working in small...

Students participate in a game-like format to identify characteristics of genres. They categorize stories into genres bases on story summaries after a class discussion of the characteristics.

Third graders complete book reports. They are given the following jobs; chef, who organizes them into genres; maître d', who calls students to share the menu; and waiters/waitresses, who take orders for books from customers, pass out...

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...