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Music: Sounds on the Farm
Singing is a great way to build memory, music, and verbal communication skills. Little ones sing the song, "Old Mac Donald had a Farm." They make the sounds of each animal on the farm paying attention to signaling cues, singing high, and...
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Animal Adjectives
In this reading and writing worksheet, learners read 3 stories about farm animals that have acted intelligently or even heroically. Students think of 2 adjectives that describe the animal in the story and write them on the lines.
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"Oh, Kingdom in the Sky"
Students write a poem. In this historical figures instructional activity, students learn about Mary Ann Camp, read an interview, read vignettes about life in her host countries and read her poem "Oh, Kingdom in the Sky." Students answer...
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Magic Pencil Story Starters
While mentioning adult learners in the description, this instructional activity could be used at any grade level. This activity gives a list of procedures and writing prompts to help unlock the writer in everyone. Learners of all ages...
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Ending a Famous Fairy Tale
Altering the ending of a famous fairy tale is a really fun way for kids to experience creative writing. The lesson here has them do just that! Learners listen to the famous fairy tale, "The Twelve Brothers," and change the ending of the...
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Create Your Own Hero
Chinese legends are the focus of an interesting activity that combines social studies with writing. Learners read the Chinese folk tale, "Li Chi Slays The Serpent." After the story is over, they make a list of the courageous things...
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Build a Tasty Sandwich
The subject doesn't sound to interesting, but with a child's imagination even a trip to the store can be an adventure. The class writes a narrative story about a trip to the store. They organize their stories to include an introductory...
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The Talking Goat
Students read and analyze an African folktale. They read and discuss the folktale, analyze a map of Africa and Liberia, complete a worksheet, answer discussion questions, and analyze the patterns and analogies of the folktale.
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Letter Writing - Formal
Although rarely used these days, letter writing is still a form of writing reviewed in schools. After examining written letters, middle schoolers discuss characteristics of a formal letter and its parts. They choose a famous person to...
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Dual Existence
Read an excerpt from Sonia Mycak's short story A Dual Existence in a Seemingly Singular Country and consider the emotional and social implications of not being able to speak English in Australia. This would be a great lesson for EFL...
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Prewriting
As a class, 7th graders observe examples of brainstorming and then complete brainstorming worksheets themselves. They compose and describe planning strategies. Prior to writing an essay, they identify the purpose and the audience.
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Main Idea
What could you pack for a trip if you don't know the destination? After writing a list of items they would want to bring, fourth graders learn that the "trip" is to the South Pole - revealing the need to understand all available...
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Classroom Fun with Flat Stanley
Complete a series of activities based on the Flat Stanley books in this literature study instructional activity. Introduce the book with a discussion of supernatural qualities, then studentscan create character webs, write news articles,...
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Breaching the Gulf Between Cultures
Students explore the dynamics, the challenges, and the rewards of adjusting to a new culture through the reading of "Help! My Father is Coming" and "The Visit to Vijay's". For this social culture lesson, students carousel brainstorm...
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Encountering Very Different Ways of Life
Learners explore the concept of crossing cultures through reading the stories "Help! My Father is Coming!" and "The Visit to Vijay's." In this culture lesson, students predict what will happen next in the stories. Learners discuss the...
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Storytelling in the Classroom
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...
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Summarizing Key Information
Imagine the surprise when small groups present their Evidence Charts to the class and discover that each group has studied a different version of the Cinderella story. Irish, Ojibwa, Egyptian, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Mexican, and...
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Introducing Literary Elements in Fiction
Identify literary elements in fiction. For this reading comprehension lesson, learners read the book Pigsty and record literary elements onto a graphic organizer. They specifically discuss the main characters and events in the text.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Informational Writing
Emerging writers identify an informational piece of writing. They are provided with examples of informational writing and view a PowerPoint on narrative writing. Then, they design their own informational writing with a brochure,...
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Third Grade Reading Comprehension Practice
In this reading comprehension worksheet, 3rd graders complete a set of 25 multiple choice questions, reading passages and answering questions after each. An answer key is included.
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Experience This!
What would you do if you had to go to school all day every day? Tillie tackles this problem in Sharon Creech’s A Fine, Fine School. After a discussion of how Tillie got the principal to change his ways, brainstorm with your class...
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Think of an Ending
Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of their...
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"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write...
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Bud Not Buddy Pre-Reading Activity
Before you embark on reading Bud Not Buddy with your class, have them imagine they are in Bud's shoes. They must prioritize which of 13 items listed on a printable worksheet they would take with them to survive as a Depression-Era...