Curated OER
Newcomers
Explore emotions associated with moving to a new home with young learners. First they listen to the books Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki and Going Home by Eve Bunting. Then they are invited to share their experiences as well as...
Curated OER
Tangerine: Anticipation Guide
Encourage your readers to make predictions about Edward Bloor's young adult novel, Tangerine, with an anticipation guide that presents statements that introduce key issues in the novel.
Curated OER
Dental Detectives
First graders explore the theme of dental health and hygeine. They make tooth loss predictions, count lost teeth, and graph tooth loss. In addition, they listen to dental health stories, read online stories, create spreadsheets, and play...
Curated OER
Unwind: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
To generate interest in reading Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel Unwind, class members engage in a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) that asks them to examine the front and back covers, the blurbs, and "The...
Reed Novel Studies
The Railway Children: Novel Study
How can you prove your innocence? After being falsely accused and placed in prison, the father in The Railway Children is looking for the answer to the question. The children make friends with an elderly gentleman who helps them prove...
Curated OER
Just Another Lock on the Fence
Learners make predictions regarding the subject of a news article, based on its title. They read the article and discuss it, answering various comprehension and thought questions.
Curated OER
Night of the Twister
Young scholars use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies instructional activity, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Young scholars complete a vocabulary section, make inferences...
Busy Teacher
The Phantom of the Opera
It's no masquerade! If Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera is part of your curriculum, check out this three-page packet loaded with suggestions for before, during, and after reading activities.
Blake Education
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The motto for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry warns that one should never tickle a sleeping dragon, but learners will definitely be tickled by the activities in a packet of materials designed to accompany a reading of the...
Curated OER
Summertime
Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.
Noyce Foundation
Cut It Out
Explore the mathematics of the paper snowflake! During the five lessons progressing in complexity from K through 12, pupils use spatial geometry to make predictions. Scholars consider a folded piece of paper with shapes cut out....
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XIV: Lady Catherine and Elizabeth
Is your class reading Pride and Prejudice? In order to link scenes to the themes in Austen's novel, pairs take on the confrontation between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth (Chapter XIV). After writing their own version of the...
Reed Novel Studies
The Library Card: Novel Study
Books open up the world. Four main characters in The Library Card discover the amazing things that happen at a library. Scholars complete sentences with 10 new vocabulary words, create similes and alliterations, and give a prediction for...
Reed Novel Studies
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp: Novel Study
Wild feral hogs and an alligator wrestler are just two interesting aspects of Kathi Appelt's novel The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp. Using the novel study, scholars search the text for examples of the eight parts of...
Film English
Fear of Flying
A bird that's afraid of flying? See what happens to this character when it's time to fly south. Over the course of the instructional activity, pupils discuss fears in general, share their fears, make predictions about the film, and view...
Curated OER
Introducing Setting and Accents
Fourth graders discuss the concept of setting and how it affects the events and tone of a story. They observe the cover of the book they are reading and make predictions about the setting. They read the first chapter and then refine...
Curated OER
The Night Before Thanksgiving
Natasha Wing's story The Night Before Thanksgiving is a great way to incorporate rhyme and literature into the Thanksgiving season. Learners make text-to-self connections, recall main events, and choose post-reading activities...
Curated OER
The Outsiders: The K-W-H-L Strategy
What does your class know about the 1960s? Introduce your unit on S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders with a K-W-H-L chart, which encourages kids to list what they already know about the time period, what they would like to know, how they...
Springfield Public Schools District 186
Form and Structure of Poetry
If anyone suffers from metrophobia—the fear of poetry—the PowerPoint on the elements of poetry may help alleviate their worries. The presentation introduces learners to poetic elements, including simile, metaphor, and personification....
August House
Anansi and the Tug o' War
Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
Is it possible to have too much concern for others? Can we be trapped by our expectations as well as those of society? Edith Wharton's chilling tale of Ethan Frome asks these and other disquieting questions. Signet's guide to Ethan Frome...
Curated OER
The Gift of the Magi
Test the true meaning of giving - and irony - with this lesson plan about "The Gift of the Magi." Using textual analysis, details, and text organization, middle schoolers make predictions about future events in the story and determine...
Curated OER
Is it Partly Cloudy or Partly Sunny?
Students investigate the concept of weather and how it is created. They review relevant vocabulary related to weather. Students predict weather given slight background knowledge. The lesson includes background information for the...
Curated OER
The Little Engine that Could Mini Unit Plan
The best part about teaching little ones is setting up fun, thematic learning stations. Here is a full day of activities that all relate to the story, The Little Engine that Could. Included are six different activities that cover...