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...

The subject matter of this lesson is intended for a mature academic audience. Please review to determine if it is suitable for your class. Young scholars create a working definition of sexual abuse, read a scenario, and then break up...

After reading Pat Hutchins’ Rosie’s Walk, have your young cartographers create a map of Rosie’s walk. Then lead them on a walk around the school. When you return class members sequence the walk by making a list of how the class got from...

Author Faith Ringgold uses quilts to illustrate her books Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet's Underground Railroad. For this integrated trio of activities, young scholars read stories, identify and create patterns, and design quilt squares of...

Examine the process of making Indian patua-style narrative scrolls. Look closely at the images in the scrolls and have your young artists create an original patua painting. Using ink and watercolors, the class can illustrate their...

Fling your class members “into the heart of things primordial” with a Venn diagram activity that highlights how the same themes are treated in the film and book versions of The Call of the Wild. Consider extending the exercise by having...

Students read If You Made A Million by David M. Schwartz. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of earning, saving and spending money. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social...

Students use iPhoto to create their own counting books. They come up with objects that can illustrate each number to 10. Working in pairs or individually, students use a digital camera to take photos of sets of objects to use in their book.

Here's a strategy that can be used with any narrative, whether read by the instructor or as independent reading. At the end of each chapter, learners predict, using prior knowledge as clues, what will happen in the next chapter. Readers...

Eighth graders discuss the flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. They study artwork of various sculptors showing the concept of flight. They write a paragraph and design a papier-mache' sculpture that shows movement.

Students conduct research in order to use primary and secondary sources. They interpret and analyze information from textbooks and nonfiction books for young adults, as well as reference materials, audio and media presentations, oral...

Create a "Double Bubble" to organize information in a Venn diagram-like graphic organizer.   There are a few options included to differentiate this assignment, but unfortunately, there are no topics for selection. Provide your...

Students choose a math fact or number sentence to illustrate. They then use KidPix to illustrate a story problem for the math fact or number sentence using pictures, stamps, numbers, and symbols.

Students read a story with the teacher to reflect upon their own family history. The application of the story is when children create their own family tree and complete the questionaire.

In this reverse T Chart learning exercise, students are given free reign to fill in each side of the chart. A vertical line runs the length of the page, and three horizontal lines sit at the bottom. This learning exercise lends itself...

Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

Challenge learners who have mastered the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on animal adventures with the activities and exercises suggested in this packet packed with ideas.

Young grammarians demonstrate their understanding of the eight parts of speech by creating a scrapbook that uses personal stories and photos to illustrate each term. After defining a term, individuals relate and illustrate a personal...

Penny, Polly, and Peter are planning a picnic but end up pigging out instead in this fun printable book. Including dozens of p-words and amusing illustrations, this is a great resource for teaching emergent readers about the sound...

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the best-known pieces of American literature. An eBook from the Library of Congress provides access to an early edition of the text. Original layout and illustrations are preserved within.

Students complete a variety of activities related to the folktale from India, "The Drum." They listen to the story and answer comprehension questions, construct a coffee can drum, and complete a phonics and matching worksheet.

After listening to a story called The Pot that Juan Built about Mexican clay pot maker Juan Quezda, learners discuss this artistic process. Then, they discuss the special techniques used to make clay pots. And, finally, they make their...