Learners study the dynamics, the challenges, and the rewards of adjusting to a new culture, as illustrated by the author's account of his father's coming to terms with Sri Lankan customs. They reach the enduring understanding, "It is...

Students hear a story and use a graphic organizer to identify problems and solutions. They also identify main characters, setting and simple plot. They illustrate one situation when they should listen to their parents.

Students analyze changes between winter and spring. In this seasonal changes lesson, students read the story "Spring is Here." They record changes between winter and spring on a large chart paper. Students compare and contrast the...

Students engage in a lesson plan which introduces the definition of a community and challenges them to explore the characteristics of their own community. This lesson plan uses the true story of Humphrey the Lost Whale as an illustration...

Students examine the narrative forms and tales unique to the U.S.-Mexico border. They discuss the possible sociological meanings of these stories, and then write their own versions to demonstrate that they explain the forms.

Students listen to an African folktale about an animal character that can walk and talk and retell the main events of the story in their own words. They illustrate the folktale utilizing a relief printmaking method as a replica of an...

Students determine that a quest is central to many folk stories. They name stories from their own literary traditions that involve quests and write their own, incorporating a quest. They design a board game that illustrates the czar's...

Students compare and contrast the stories of "Cinderella" and "Little Gold Star." Students discuss the magic helper in both stories. Students become the magic helper by bestowing random acts of kindness on others. Students receive stars...

Students recognize how numbers are used in number stories.  In this Rooster's Off To See the World lesson plan, students participate in the story. Students complete a number activity and work on the computer to illustrate a number...

Students listen to The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and use a teacher created puppet for a listening activity.  In this Hungry Caterpillar lesson, students recall the order of events in the story with the puppet and cards of the...

First graders create their own pumpkin stories on the computer.

First graders define a ballet as a story told through dance. They listen to melodies and demonstrate beat and accent through body movement. They watch the ballet.

Students explore Chinese culture by performing a shadow puppet play. They create the puppets, develop a script, and rehearse and perform a play which illustrates an understanding of Chinese stories and traditions.

Students focus on the creation of personal metaphors, which are first illustrated in pictures and caricatures and then extended to descriptive/analytical paragraphs. They teach the lesson to others using their own personal metaphors as...

Learners practice creative writing. They write an imaginative story in which quarters escape from the space shuttle and ends up in the hands of an alien. Students brainstorm ideas, write a draft, revise, and edit their composition.

Students draw a picture related to the book "Today I Feel Silly" using a computer drawing program. They listen to the story and answer discussion questions, view drawings on the teacher's Paint website, and create an illustration of...

First graders complete activities with the story The Great Big Enormous Turnip by Alexel Tolstoy. In this language arts lesson, student view the story as a Cloze passage and work with a partner to fill in the blanks. They check to...

Students study the context of The Ponder Heart through Welty's photographs. They analyze how illustrations and photographs interact with written text and create their own images to illustrate a well-known Welty short story....

Students explore the relationship between the form of books and the content inside. For this book exploration lesson, students use a piece of their creative writing as inspiration; they author a written book and design a cover that...

Students complete activities based on the book Read It, Don't Eat It! For this library rules lesson, students are read a story that illustrates library rules, then match the rules with pictures and complete a maze.

First graders read two stories.  In this literary elements lesson, 1st graders read The Hat by Jan Brett, notice patterns of prediction, identify the setting, problem and solution and compare the story to the book The Mitten.

Students create a photo-biography of someone they consider a real life hero.  For this character sketch lesson, students define a hero and identify heroic characteristics in short stories.  Students use descriptive words to...

Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree.  In this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences. 

Students observe their environment and write detailed, sensory-specific sentences about that environment. This lesson can be extended to include the creation of a personalized story or movie of the experience (student examples are...