Tone and Mood are not synonymous! Introduce young readers to these literary devices with a series of exercises that not only point out the significant differences between the terms but also shows them how to identify both the tone and...

Middle schoolers discuss the story The Pied Piper.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students participate in a variety of activities designed to enhance and further their understanding of the story.  Middle schoolers...

Story elements: the problem and the solution. Help your youngsters identify these elements by reading Bringing Down the Moon, by Jonathan Emmett. After a class discussion and chart creation discussing problems and solutions from past...

Students discover how to identify historical fiction. In this historical fiction lesson, students read the story Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Porter. Students listen to the first chapter of the book read aloud. Students list...

Students explore patterns involving objects or figures and geometric shapes. They identify the missing shapes in patterns and discuss what would come next in the pattern, analyze patterns using different objects, and complete a...

Students explore the life cycle of a butterfly. In this life cycle lesson, students read the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Students use this book throughout the year to create a year round bulletin board showing the stages of the...

Fifth graders read a book.  In this informational text features lesson, 5th graders define captions and their purpose.  Students view an article and discuss the graphic aides that assist comprehending the information...

Tackle multiple-meaning words with your youngsters using this scaffolded lesson which features a detailed script. Begin with the word shoulder, using context clues to help scholars understand the meaning. Next, they observe a second...

Using everything they have learned about writing paragraphs over the past few lessons of the unit, class members compose an informative paragraph independently. This is an authentic assessment of their ability, since learners have...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This lesson includes several culminating project...

Use online resources to aid young readers' phonemic awareness. They will look at various sources to practice letter-sound relationships. They also are assessed using a rubistar rubric. Quite a few resources are given for this...

Link language development to literacy skills. This activity template provides a comprehensible way to use the Braidy Web to maximize language and reading skills. It would be appropriate for developmentally disabled pupils reading at a...

Young scholars examine the role of agriculture in everyday life. In this agriculture lesson, students read books such as Harvest Year and identify products which from from the farm. Young scholars fill in a word web using the knowledge...

Lend a helping hand. Pupils read two informational articles about international aid organizations and how they help areas affected by natural disasters. Scholars attempt to uncover the gist of each text, discussing their thoughts in...

Pupils examine similarities and differences between cultures. They'll see that literature, reading, and story telling is something all cultures have in common. They should construct Venn diagrams to help them compare and contrast the...

Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...

Children can learn to analyze expository or informational texts at nearly any age. This scaffolded and scripted resource provides teachers with the support needed to facilitate a thoughtful lesson plan on summarizing informational...

Designed to be spread across multiple days, this mini-unit gives learners an opportunity to develop family related vocabulary. Start by reading selected pages from "Family Pictures-Cuadros de familia" by Carmen Lomas Garza, and then...

Second graders identify the main idea of a selection of text. For this creating a chapter title lesson, 2nd graders discuss how to find the main idea of a chapter, listen to a chapter read aloud, and create a title with explanation. 

Students listen to the story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe read aloud and answer prediction questions at designated stopping points during the reading. Students discuss and write either an acrostic poem or a comic strip in...

Have you ever seen a Mexican yarn painting? They're beautiful! Create a Mexican yarn painting with your class using this lesson. Start by discussing Mexico's culture and viewing different yarn paintings. After reading about important...

Scholars use four different children's books by Dr. Seuss to analyze microeconomic concepts. Group presentations and research help them better understand simple economic concepts through simple stories.

Good Night, Moon is a classic little ones absolutely love. It's a sweet book that can be used, as in this lesson, to start a conversation about the difference between night and day. After reading the story, the class brainstorms...

Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...