Students use descriptive strategies such as physical descriptions, background, and comparison of characters when writing narratives. They develop the topic with supporting details and precise diction to paint a visual image in the...

Students discuss hero tales. In this character education lesson, students identify heroes from the movie Star Wars and explain how the hero showed courage. Students reflect upon their own definition of courage and present it to the class.

Students find ways to share their favorite books. In this reading strategies instructional activity, students advertise books, create a top ten countdown, give a video book talk, simmer story stew, make book medals, play name that book,...

Middle schoolers discover the meaning of fairness. In this character education lesson, students create their own meanings of fairness and compare them to their classmates' definitions. The middle schoolers discuss fairness in different...

Set the tone for a successful school year with a list of strategies to instill respect and responsibility. With tips for classroom management and ways to get parents involved, the resource is valuable for new and veteran teachers alike.

Keeping a journal can be one of the most enjoyable writing tasks that children engage in. They get to write about what they want to write about - not what the teacher tells them to write about! Here, young writers pretend they are a...

Students examine healthy food choices and the benefits of growing their own food for consumption. They read the story "Favorite Things" and illustrate 5 favorite things. Students discuss types of foods that are healthy choices and why it...

Arthur, the main character in Marc Brown’s books, is the star of this lesson. Pairs of researchers select one character from the Arthur series and use the internet to access Brown’s web site and learn more about their chosen character....

Popcorn is a tasty part of a culminating activity designed to motivate readers to share important literary elements. The popcorn fills the inside of a white paper bag that is transformed on the outside into a presentation tool with the...

Here is a way to build your pupils' public speaking abilities. The lesson describes a reader's report chair, which is used each week by a student who has just finished reading a book. The featured reader sits in the chair and talks about...

After reading a book on their own, pupils prepare an oral report on the book,  and sit in the "Readers Report Chair" when giving the report to the class. They are taught to briefly summarize the book by talking about one of two...

Complete a series of activities based on the Flat Stanley books in this literature study lesson. Introduce the book with a discussion of supernatural qualities, then studentscan create character webs, write news articles, build kites and...

What makes story telling special? Young readers demonstrate how to tell a story to others. Kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders read biographies of "Building Blocks" characters and tell a story about a character to their...

One of the keys for successful teaching is connecting curriculum to real-life experiences. This lesson on blogging does this, by making writing, revising, and publishing a reality. Pupils create a character for a story, write about their...

Read the story Gingerbread Baby and use these various activities to connect to grammar, art, and point of view. In one activity, learners create character masks. They practice writing verbs on the back of the masks to tell what each...

An online worksheet bases on chapters 45-50 from the Louis Sachar favorite, Holes. Fifth and sixth graders respond to 12 short answer questions regarding each chapter.

Although the title suggests this resource is devoted to Gulliver’s Travels, the materials and templates can be used with any work of literature. Readers fill out a reading schedule chart, write a summary, keep a vocabulary word list, and...

Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...

Youngsters visit the classroom library to complete various reading activities, pushing their motivation to read! They will discuss different library books and read two specific books that use "Building Block" reading skills. They also...

What makes a novel a novel? Class members select a favorite novel, record their impressions on a worksheet, and then come together in groups to discuss the elements common to narrative writing. Next, they identify the characters, the...

Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...

Students research literary elements of fables. In this literature instructional activity, students analyze literary elements of fables. Students work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.

Invite your young writers to take the reins with writing dialogue. Using two characters of their own creation, kids work with partners and then individually to write short conversations.