Curated OER
Ready, Set, Action!
Fifth graders explore sequential dramatization through children's literature. In this drama lesson, 5th graders act out and record scenes using digital and video cameras. Students create a digital poster using pictures from their...
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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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Lonely Fish
Students read the book The Rainbow Fish. In this citizenship instructional activity, students discuss how the characters in the story resolved conflicts. Students create a rainbow fish from foil and cotton.
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Reading Pattern Books
Students investigate pattern books. In this literature lesson, students read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and use echo and choral reading strategies. Students identify the pattern in the text and write about the...
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Give a Mouse a Cookie
Young scholars listen to the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. As they listen to the story, they fill in a progression chart. Then students write and illustrate their own story to share with the class.
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10 Apples Up On Top
Stuents make class books as a follow up activity to the Dr. Seuss book Ten Apples Up On Top!
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Reading Clinic: Use Predictions to Help Kids Think Deeply About Books
Students learn to use prediction to think more deeply about literature. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students chart predictions in order to more fully understand text.
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Drama from Animal Characters
Learn about animal habitats, characteristics, and writing in a different perspective. The class composes a narrative from the perspective of a fresh water animal, they include a problem and the animal's reaction to the problem. The...
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Students read and discuss the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and design a structure that will withstand a clay bear's force sitting on it. They develop a list of activities that the three bears do that real bears can't do, and in...
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Lesson Plan for The Little Red Hen
Cultivate young performers while teaching them about helping one another with this interactive storytelling lesson. Elementary schoolers read or listen to the story The Little Red Hen by Mike Lockett and then act out the story while...
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Where Do We Begin?
Primary learners grasp sequence of events by discussing morning routines and reviewing the story of Little Red Riding Hood. They explore the necessity of correct order of events. As a class, create a story with a beginning, middle, and...
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Follow the Leader
What are the qualities of a good leader? Of a good follower? A reading of Leo Lionni’s Swimmy launches a discussion of leadership and cooperation. Class members brainstorm how they can be leaders at home and how they can encourage others...
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Red Riding Hood in China
Inspire young writers to compose their own version of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood." They begin by reading "Little Red Riding Hood" and the Chinese version <i>Lon Po Po</i>, then they compare and contrast the two...
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He Said, She Said, So: What's the Point?
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Upper graders and middle schoolers read the story The Three Little Pigs and other tales related to the story from various points of view. They use the Internet to find more stories...
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Bats
Use Stellaluna by Janell Canon to discuss bats and other types of animals. Learners identify the differences between bats and birds, list the traits of mammals, create a Bat Facts game, and go on a written scavenger hunt. Fun,...
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for The Lions of Little Rock
Schools in the 1950s and 60s looked very different from the schools we know today. An educator's guide explores the civil rights movement and, specifically, the process of integrating schools. Questions cover key themes in the novel and...
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KWHL Questioning Strategy for Briar Rose
Whether new to the KWHL strategy or not readers of Briar Rose will benefit from the detailed procedures and templates designed for Jane Yolen’s novel. Links are provided for research into the Holocaust and activities reveal the many...
Illustrative Mathematics
1.OA, NBT, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
First graders are exposed to addition of three whole numbers in a math activity centered around Eric Carle's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As the teacher reads, young mathematicians use counters and ten-frames to symbolize the number of...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Twits Get the Shrinks
Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The House, the Tree and the Monkey Cage
A house with no windows and a garden full of stinging nettles make the perfect home for Mr. and Mrs. Twit. The seventh lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl takes a closer look at the Twits' home...
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If You Give a Mouse A Cookie
Young scholars are read the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and develop their own story. They use a literature wheel to determine what the mouse will want next. They share their wheels with a friend.
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Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors
High schoolers practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
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Global Diversity Through Literature
Students investigate Southwest Indian Reservations. In this Native American instructional activity, students research Southwest Indian tribes on the Internet and by reading the book, Arrow to the Sun.
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Literature Themes: Bullying
Students read and discuss books with bullying themes. They take a pledge against bullying and watch an animated movie on the subject. They inspect tips for dealing with bullies and consider how people become bullies.