Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Two stuffed animals open a lesson plan that examines two types of touch. Scholars discuss the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable touch. They offer examples then brainstorm ways an individual can keep safe from uncomfortable...

Fourth graders define the four types of bullying and define harassment. They complete a True/False survey, student notes, and question and answer.

Children can learn to analyze expository or informational texts at nearly any age. This scaffolded and scripted resource provides teachers with the support needed to facilitate a thoughtful lesson on summarizing informational text...

Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 

Considering creating a Profession Learning Community at your school? Here's a seven-page glossary of key terms and concepts, everything from action orientation and adaptive to values and vision, that all members should know to...

A review of decoding words is incorporated in a discussion on reading with expression in order to increase fluency. The teacher gives several book options for readers to practice smooth and inflected reading, giving a short book talk on...

The most effective way to support an argument is with clear and relevant evidence. As seventh graders read and listen to Cesar Chavez's California Commonwealth Club Address, they work through five sections of a textual analysis unit,...

Warning: reading your paper aloud may cause bystanders to think you're talking to yourself. However, as the 14th installment of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from UNC explains, it is one of the best strategies for revision. Through...

Using the resource, learners share their essay revisions with a partner. Afterward, they participate in a Fishbowl discussion, receiving peer feedback about their editorial essays. 

Fourth graders examine the statistics when it comes to teens and drug and alcohol abuse. In groups, they research the side effects of four different drugs. Using the information, they perform a skit, or puppet show to share their data...

Fifth graders review definitions of bullying and harassment, respond to real-life bullying scenario from news, television, or movie, brainstorm possible solutions and consequences for negative behavior, and discuss how their peers...

Scholars explore graphing. They will listen to and sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and estimate how many gifts were mentioned in the song. Then complete a data chart representing each gift given in the song. They also construct...

Practice the strategy of decoding to become fluent readers with young scholars. They interact with the correspondence ee=/E/ as it deals with speech and text. The tongue twister, "Why did Lee and the bee flee to the tree?," is also...

Inform your class about teen dating abuse. This resource lays out a comprehensive plan for helping teens become aware of the signs of abuse. The lesson is complete with vocabulary, worksheets, a PowerPoint presentation, and videos....

Neil Gaiman's award winning children's fantasy novel, The Graveyard Book, is the focus of a literary analysis overview. Those new to the novel can decide whether the book is appropriate for whole-class discussion or as a book circle...

First graders examine the culture of the ancient Gullah people. As a class, they practice saying and writing the days of the week and numbers in Gullah. They are read a Gullah folktale and put the events of the story into the correct...

Students discuss and write about different feelings they or someone else may have. In this feelings lesson plan, students discuss different ways they express their feelings. Then they get a picture with someone who is demonstrating a...

After completing Juliet Marillier's young adult novel Wildwood Dancing, class members rewrite a traditional fairy tale, making three significant changes to illustrate a theme of their choosing.

Students observe and demonstrate a variety of reading expression strategies. They listen to the teacher read different sentences with and without expression and discuss the difference, then in pairs read an "I Can Read" book using their...

Young scholars practice the techniques and strategies of how to ask questions. They assess how to generate a question that corresponds to the reading that they have done recently. A PowerPoint is shown to the students to instruct them on...

Practice reading strategies using Elizabeti's Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. Readers utilize decoding and comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading the story. A detailed list of text features, high frequency words,...

One of my favorite things about this resource is that they use a standardized lexile to help you determine who should be reading what book. I also love this great teacher's guide for the book, The Class Election from the Black...

Share a classic novel with your class using this resource. After reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, learners answer questions involving the narrator's point of view, make and confirm predictions, and sequence events in the story.