Students read a given play. They choose the key scenes from the play and write a narration to carry the plot line between those scenes. They create a comic book that depicts these key scenes, complete with pictures and text balloons.

Surprise! is the theme of a unit covering such topics as consonants, blending, short vowels sounds, high frequency words, and number words. The unit's lessons also include teachable moments covering story structure, illustrations,...

Animals are the theme of this series of English language development lessons. Scholars take part in grand conversations about woodland, jungle, and grassland animals. They also go on picture walks, read poems and high...

Enjoy this thematic friendship unit compiled with ESL lessons to develop strong language development while listening, speaking, looking, and moving. Class members participate in activities covering topics like making friends, asking for...

Help young readers find the setting in the story. They will review what a setting is with a modeled example by the teacher. After reading The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down by Paul Brett Johnson and completing a practice sheet,...

Here's an awesome unit that uses The Cay as the anchor text. The 16-page packet is loaded with teaching ideas, activities, and suggested adjustments.

Why do writers choose the language they do? Here's a resource that has the poet himself answer that very question. Joseph Coelho explains why he chose the words and images he used in his poem, "If All the World Were Paper."

Introduce young writers to the process of writing a book. Start by reading a book of your choice and discussing the essential elements of any book such as the cover, story, and illustrations as well as who is responsible for each...

Students discuss their favorite book. In this book discussion lesson, students name the title and tell what makes the book special. Students also review the setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Students make a book that tells all of...

How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty...

Using Movie Maker, sixth graders make an eight frame movie based on a story they have written. They choose music clips, select pictures from PowerPoint, and make their movie. The lesson should take about ten days to complete.

Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...

Blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler ... what other recipes use blackberries? Scholars hunt for an interesting blackberry recipe to copy and share with friends after using the novel study for A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan...

The Bradys, the Flintstones, and the Simpsons are some of pop culture's most memorable families. So how do the Applewhites stack up? Using a novel study for Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, scholars answer text-based...

Inspire young readers with this printable biography of Helen Keller. Including a timeline, glossary, and realistic illustrations with supporting captions, this is a great resource for not only teaching children about this amazing...

Start off your young English language learners with this packet of materials, which covers three weeks of instructions. After completing the unit, kids will have practiced the letters K through Z, read several story books, talked with...

The titular Matilda from Roald Dahl's famous novel adored books above all things. Discuss why it is important to read stories from across cultures and around the world using the first chapter from the ever-loved story Matilda.

Can you create a poem without writing a word! With found poetry, you can! Practice one version of found poetry with a lesson on book spine poems. Learners create poems by stacking books and reading the lines created by their spine titles.

The rich language of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is only appreciable if you understand the words. A short lesson reviews 13 words from the story and prompts class members to apply each word and its definition to other situations.

Bring the 1904 version of the classic kid's tale, The Story of the Three Little Pigs to your young readers. With original drawings by L. Leslie Brooke, young reader take a step into a world where pigs can talk and a wolf is big and bad.

Second graders see how to identify and describe character, setting, and plot in various stories from picture books and story videos. They use picture books and story videos to practice identifying and describing the story elements.

Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...