Students listen to a read aloud of "If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln". Using the text, they identify examples of the five themes of geography and write them down. Using a map, they plot the places mentioned in the book and sort facts...

Learners study women's clothing in the 19th century as well as one prominent feminist of the time. They examine women's dress of the period from the picture book read aloud You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer! They provide adjectives...

Students explore the genre of poetry through centers. They listen to the sound of poems being read aloud, visualize individual poems and observe and apply line breaks in poetry.

Students read aloud the book "Courage" by Bernard Waber and discuss the examples that compromise the defintion of courage. They describe another word such as joy and work with a partner or group to brainstorm and write sentences of...

Students engage in a solar system activity, In this activity, students will read aloud as a class about the solar system. The students will then listen to the teacher read a solar system book prior to filling  out a worksheet about...

Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of Patricia Polacco's, Thank You, Mr. Falker! students examine the use of voice in the book, discuss the writing and theme ideas. They write a thank you not to their hero.

Students begin their study of insect life cycles by listening to a read aloud of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They learn the vocabulary of metamorphosis including egg, larva, pupa, chrysalis, and adult. They observe actual...

Second graders research the meaning behind Remembrance Day. In this Remembrance Day lesson, 2nd graders discuss peace and why Remembrance Day is significant. The book Why We Remember is read aloud to the students.

Students read aloud, "The Best Vacation Ever," by Stuart Murphy locate vacation spots on a map and describe their own vacations. Students illustrate their summer vacation spot and describe the vacation, placing it on a "vacation matrix"...

Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...

Learners read a book with each student having a specific job for the class.  In this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...

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...

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...

The African plains come alive as scholars learn vocabulary in context through Verna Aardema's story Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (tip: this strategy can be applied to any book). Precede reading by...

Lilly is jealous when her new little brother is born; explore vocabulary in context through Kenvin Kenkes' story Julius the Baby of the World. Suggested words for this text are: constantly, disguise, disgusting,...

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...

Students examine Beverly Cleary as a reader and an author. They write a letter to Beverly Cleary that details their personal journey as readers and writers after reading her work and keeping a reading journal.

First graders examine the culture of the ancient Gullah people. As a class, they practice saying and writing the days of the week and numbers in Gullah. They are read a Gullah folktale and put the events of the story into the correct...

Literature circles let kids interact with each other and hear different perspectives. explore literature circles. Group your class into small reading groups, and then assign each class member a specific role to keep them focused. After...

Students participate in a shared writing experience about rice. In this writing lesson, students listen to  Norah Dooley's, Everybody Cooks Rice. They write about, and discuss different ways their families and those in the book use...

Although this vocabulary strategy would work in the context of any text, it's a piece of cake if you're reading Judi Barrett's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Go over the terms they will hear so pupils are ready to...

Discover that Kenyan children aren't much different from your young scholars as they read Kelly Cunnane's story For You are a Kenyan Child. This story is an excellent resource for vocabulary in context, and introduces new words...

Ask budding readers, "How do you make an apple pie?" You may get many answers, but Marjorie Priceman takes the cake with her idea in How to Make an Apply Pie and See the World, an adventurous tale full of wonder and new vocabulary....

If you are reading Jane Yolen's fun story How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, use these strategies to enhance the experience for budding readers. What new words will they learn? Find detailed comprehension questions for these...