August House
Anansi and the Pot of Beans
Anansi is a tricky character, but can he realize he's wrong and write an apology letter? Learners use Anansi and the Pot of Beans to practice writing, art, and figurative language. A series of activities are engaging for both advanced...
Curated OER
Shoes and the Backyard Landscape
Your shoes get a lot of mileage in familiar places. Represent the places you have traveled the most with an art project based on a print of Indian People Wear Shoes and Socks by Juane Quick-to-See Smith. Kids trace their shoes and draw...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
Curated OER
Recalling History by Pulling Strings
Students investigate the role and nature of story-telling as it preserves history and culture and discuss how puppetry serves as an effective method of presentation. They create basic outlines for puppet shows that relay important...
Curated OER
NOT WASTING
Students brainstorm and analyze creative ways to not waste materials and recycle more as an individual. The theory and importance of conservation is also stressed within this activity. In addition, silent sitting is exercised, story...
Curated OER
The ABC's of Sunshine
Students produce an ABC book of photographs. In this alphabet book lesson, students think about items around their school that correspond with letters of the alphabet. They take pictures of those items, print them, and develop a...
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Sequencing Life Cycles and Daily Activities
First graders sequence story situations. In this sequencing instructional activity, 1st graders read Charlie the Caterpillar and sequence his life cycle. Students role play the story parts and sing a song about metamorphosis.
Curated OER
Camera Investigations
Learners listen to a read aloud, participate in word work and work with video clips at a website. They make a zoetrope to demonstrate animation.
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Spelling and Reading
First graders participate in a lesson in order to improve spelling and writing skills. They take words from an assigned list and create their own sentences. They also write a story taken from an illustration.
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Touring the Museum
Second graders create a living sculpture using their peers. Working with a partner, they manipulate their partner's arms and legs to create a living statue. They create a story to go along with their sculpture, explaining what the...
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Creating A Story
Second graders practice the necessary steps that should be taken in order to create a story from scratch. They brainstorm as a class in order to come up with different ideas. Students write a story that includes a plot, characters, and...
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Understanding A Culture Through Storytelling
Students explore Japanese folk tales and create a performance that tells one of the Japanese folk stories.
Curated OER
Activity Plan 5-6: Let's Create Stories!
Pupils examine wordless books and other pictures in order to learn how the teacher "reads a picture" to tell a story about it. In this early writing lesson, students then create their own picture for story telling by painting. Pupils...
Curated OER
Retell A Story Through Dance
Students tell stories through dance. In this ballet lesson, students learn pantomime dance skills and examine "The Nutcracker" ballet performances as they examine ballet as storytelling.
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Literacy & Art: The Story behind the Quilt
Students examine the many ways quilts were used to chronicle the history and experiences of African slaves and African-Americans in America. They analyze a story quilt using the elements of storytelling, then create a class quilt.
Curated OER
Local Heroes
Students investigate heroes in their community by presenting a story of a true hero to their class. In this storytelling lesson, students interview a local person who has performed a heroic deed and create a presentation with Windows...
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Keeping the Past Alive
Students read about the oral histories of West Africa and complete related activities. In this oral histories lesson, students read about the importance of oral customs in African cultures. Students interview a family member about oral...
Curated OER
Learning About Emotions
Pupils participate in a series of activities about identifying different feelings and emotions. In these oral language and discussion lessons, students use pictures and photographs to get them involved in oral storytelling activities....
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Literacy through Photography
Students photograph scenes from their lives and use the images to become a catalyst for related writing exercises. They explore the themes such as self portrait, family, community, visual storytelling, and dreams to encourage them to...
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Japanese Folktales
Students listen to examples of Japanese folktales and identify universal themes. Students construct a 'kamishibai' - a traditional Japanese storytelling prop - and dramatize a folktale through puppetry.
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Cotton Ball Lamb
Students are encouraged to recognize animal and the sounds they make. They create a hands-on craft, story-telling and song. Students share each creation with their classmates.
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Shhhh! I'm Hunting Wabbits!
Students identify the consonant digraph -sh in words and phrases. They practice recognizing the digraph /sh/ through tongue twisters and storytelling. Students read and spell words and pseudowords containing the -sh digraph.
August House
The Clever Monkey Rides Again
Use a West African folktale to practice several different skills in your first grade classroom. Learners read The Clever Monkey Rides Again and focus on rhyming words, reading comprehension, measurement, art, movement, and word order.
Curated OER
"The Clever Monkey"
Second graders complete a variety of activities related to the book "The Clever Monkey" by Rob Cleveland. They answer story comprehension questions, and rewrite the story. Students also complete a comprehension and fact or opinion...