After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...

Turn your passive readers into active readers with an engaging lesson on reading informational text. Focused on compare and contrast structured essays, the activity prompts elementary learners to jot down questions and think-aloud...

Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...

Use the Peace Corps to explore a different place and different perspectives. Your class reads the personal narrative "Cross-Cultural Dialogue" by Roz Wollmering, completing an attached story frame sheet in preparation for a class...

Old MacDonald had a ... dragon? A shared reading of this funny take on the classic children's song engages beginning readers as they learn about phonemes and alliteration.

Thanksgiving is a cherished tradition in the United States and Canada. Introduce the beginnings of the Thanksgiving celebration with a resource that features reading comprehension activities, vocabulary exercises, and a short...

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading...

Explore the world of textured landscapes through the eyes of the famous artist, Grant Wood. Here is an elementary art lesson in which scholars learn about Grant Wood's life, view his work, draw their own textured landscape, and then...

Elementary learners practice reading short passages to increase their fluency. They work in pairs to do repeated readings of Jane and Babe, recording their times. They switch roles and time one another in an effort to decrease the...

Get ready to boost fluency in the classroom with this lesson plan geared toward elementary readers. Listening to the first half of The Little Engine That Could,  learners focus on how voice changes create...

Understanding different verb tenses begins with knowing how to decode words. A lesson on the -ed suffix with unchanging base words introduces readers to the past tense. Teachers present the skill with oral reading and spelling...

Old, ild, ind, and ost may sound like a foreign language, but they actually represent common final consonant blends. Help learners recognize and pronounce consonant blends with step-by-step instructions, including scripted conversations....

Individually, letters have their own sounds, but when combined with other letters, those sounds completely change. Introduce letter combinations with a activity that asks learners to search for combinations in familiar words and use oral...

Looking to increase reading comprehension? Teach this lesson, which is flexible enough to use with either informational texts or with literature. Teams of boys and girls work together to answer a comprehension question after listening to...

Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...

Explore the hidden meanings behind the images on US currency with this elementary school activity on symbolism. Starting with a class discussion about symbols, children go on to brainstorm different objects that represent the Unites...

Who wouldn't love to get a letter from a blue bird? Elementary art enthusiasts analyze the social and historical context of Ason Yellowhair's Navajo piece, Bird and Cornstalk Rug. They examine the construction and images on the rug...

Students decode words as they construct meaning. In this writing lesson plan, students create a story using the software program Bailey's Book House. They listen to their story on the computer, print it out, and read it aloud....

With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...

After sketching an essential person and reading an article, scholars read the poem "In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles" by Francisco X. Alarcón. They listen to the poem in English and Spanish and record lines that stand out to them. Small...

Young readers practice looking words up in the dictionary. This lesson describes a simple, yet engaging, game that can be played as a whole-class activity.

Guide your class through reading various versions of The Three Little Pigs. Talk about the traditional story line and then discuss a different point of view: Maybe the wolf was just an innocent bystander! This lesson plan, which has...

Pupils answer questions, then after reading several bat books, students revisit the questions.

Just like scholars plug something in to close a circuit, they must plug a consonant onto a word to make closed syllables. Help learners distinguish between open and closed syllables with a series of activities that emphasize open...