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Point of View and Mentor Relationships
Tenth graders analyze the role of mentors, point of view, and prejudice using the texts of To Kill a Mockingbird and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literature analysis lesson, 10th graders review Scout's...
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CHARTING NEPTUNE'S REALM
Students design a twenty-first century book cover based on the concepts and designs of the eighteenth century.
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Western Medieval European Poetry and Literature
One of the Common Core standards requires learners to make connections between literature or media of the past and the present. Provided here, are key elements found in medieval poetry and literature that are connected to several more...
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Rhythm
One of the most fun characteristics of a poem is rhythm! Little ones will clap along as you read a poem, to determine the rhythm of the piece. The book In the Swim is used throughout the instructional activity; it contains fish themed...
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Labeled Diagrams
Let's learn about bats! Those flying creatures of the night inspire a instructional activity about non-fiction books. They start by charting characteristics commonly found in informational texts, specifically charts, diagrams, and...
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Ingredients of a Mystery
Students explore the concept of mysteries. In this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book. Students also discover the...
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Comparing Fiction and Nonfiction
Fifth graders compare and contrast an informational article with a fictional story. They read the story "The Contest" as a class, and discuss the different types of literature genres. Next, they complete a vocabulary worksheet and a...
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Finding Nonfiction Features
Students review the differences between a fiction and non-fiction book. In groups, they use different non-fiction books to identify the eleven features that distinguish it from a fiction book. To end the lesson, they create a chart...
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Transcendentalism and Epiphany in Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine
Twelfth graders examine the characteristics of transcendentalism. For this transcendentalism lesson, 12th graders determine what this type of writing entails before reading a passage from, Ray Bradbury's, Dandelion Wine. They cite three...
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Realistic Fiction
Explore the characteristics of realistic fiction by reading and then analyzing the book, Allie’s Basketball Dream by Barbara E. Barber. Using the I do, we do, you do model, learners practice identifying realistic fiction based on how...
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Table of Contents and Index
Have your class investigate the use of a table of contents and index to find information. They identify characteristics of informational books and add them to a chart, then demonstrate how to use the index and table of contents by trying...
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2105
Students read excerpts from Jon Scieszka's novel, 2095, prior to presenting their vision of the future in a creative project accompanied by written explanation. They design a museum exhibit which shows a scene from a science fiction book...
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Author Study
Students examine and identify the characteristics of the different genres of literature. After being read and reading various stories, they identify how different books by the same author carry the same story elements. They discuss how...
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Come On, Rain!
Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students research the time...
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Harriet The Spy
Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...
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Egg-ceptional Poetry Writing
Students recognize that eggs have nutritional value. In this eggs lesson plan, students create poetry for a shape book on eggs. Students participate in additional games and activities about the egg.
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All About Me Poster
In this biography/autobiography lesson, young scholars read a few biographies and discuss the term and it's characteristics. Students then brainstorm what makes a good biography/autobiography and create an 'All about me' poster....
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Most Wanted Villians
Young scholars review the characteristics of various characters in fairytales. As a class, they review the story details and create a concept map using a software program. They create their own wanted poster of the villians in the...
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The Library Dragon
Third graders examine the role of the library media specialist in the school by listening to a read aloud of The Library Dragon and visiting Carmen Agra Deedy's website. They talk about respect for the books and the others using the...
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YANG AND THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR
Young scholars perform a web scavenger hunt to find information about the author of the book, YANG THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR. They develop an understanding of how writers use personal experience to add voice to their writing.
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What's In A Name
Second graders read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. They then discuss where various names come from. They create a individualized biopoem and publish it on word processing software. Their poems are compiled into a class book and presented...
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Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
A thorough instructional activity introduces learners to Hans Christian Andersen, the nineteenth-century author who created wonderful tales. They read the original texts of several of his stories, including "The Ugly Duckling," "The...
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Twenty-one Balloons
Fifth graders determine what the Newbery Award is and why it is importance. They examine a number of Newbery Award winning books and listen to a book talk about William Pene DuBois', Twenty-One Balloons while watching a PowerPoint...
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Seven Chinese Brothers
Fourth graders identify the characteristics of a tall tale. They read "The Seven Chinese Brothers" and analyze it for these characteristics. Students complete a comprehension worksheet and discuss why "The Seven Chinese Brothers" can be...