Young scholars investigate factions in society. In this factions lesson plan, students learn the definition of factions before breaking into groups. They listen to a read aloud of The Butter Battle Book and describe what happens to the...

Students create a time line. In this biography lesson plan, students define biography and autobiography and then read short examples of each. Students create a time line using a read aloud.

Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...

Students demonstrate reading comprehension by drawing a picture and writing a sentence about giraffes. In this early reading comprehension lesson, students listen to a read aloud and watch a video about giraffes before drawing a giraffe...

Young scholars examine Beverly Cleary as a reader and an author. They write a letter to Beverly Cleary that details their personal journey as readers and writers after reading her work and keeping a reading journal.

Are you working on an Outsiders unit? Use this list of activities to deepen your middle schoolers' understanding of the novel. After reading S.E. Hinton's novel, young readers work on three required activities, including participating in...

Explore the cultural heritage through of your class through reading, writing, and speaking exercises. They create illustrated mini-books that express their unique cultural and personal experiences. They share their stores with the class...

Learners recognize and identify onomatopoeia. They will read the book All Aboard! A True Train Story, by Susan Kuklin. After reading the book, they list and illustrate examples of onomatopoeia. Then they write a poem or...

Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details...

Help readers understand the roles of authors and illustrators and why they have been recognized by medals of excellence. Your class will discuss and then create illustrations for a book. When they have finished, you can hold your own...

Students explore the life cycle of a butterfly. For this life cycle lesson, students read the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Students use this book throughout the year to create a year round bulletin board showing the stages of the...

Students explore the genre of poetry through centers. They listen to the sound of poems being read aloud, visualize individual poems and observe and apply line breaks in poetry.

Students read aloud the book "Courage" by Bernard Waber and discuss the examples that compromise the defintion of courage. They describe another word such as joy and work with a partner or group to brainstorm and write sentences of...

Third graders participate in a demonstration lesson that shows a map of the Caribbean Islands. They examine a natural resource that each island is known for. Next, they listen to a read aloud of Gail Gibbons, "Pirates: Robbers of the...

Third graders read the book, Jumangi. Then they divide into groups of four or five and choose a habitat - desert, wetlands, Arctic/Antarctic, etc. Then each group can research the habitat to learn what kind of animals live there.

Students participate in a shared writing experience about rice. In this writing lesson, students listen to  Norah Dooley's, Everybody Cooks Rice. They write about, and discuss different ways their families and those in the book use...

Third graders do a hands-on activity after being read aloud the story of The Rag Coat, in cooperative groups.

Third graders read aloud a book about a favorite place. They make and share a list of favorite places and then use a graphic organizer to write a description of a favorite place so that the reader can imagine being there.

Second graders research the meaning behind Remembrance Day. In this Remembrance Day lesson, 2nd graders discuss peace and why Remembrance Day is significant. The book Why We Remember is read aloud to the students.

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

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

Link language development to literacy skills. This lesson template provides a comprehensible way to use the Braidy Web to maximize language and reading skills. It would be appropriate for developmentally disabled pupils reading at a K-2...

Here is a game intended for use at home that could easily be adapted to the school environment. The class reads an informational story about emperor penguins and then they watch a clip from the film, March of the Penguins. They focus on...

Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of Patricia Polacco's, Thank You, Mr. Falker! students examine the use of voice in the book, discuss the writing and theme ideas. They write a thank you not to their hero.