Students examine and draw conclusions from an excerpt from a slave narrative. They analyze excerpts from two recently discovered slave narratives. They draw connections among the narrative excerpts and historical texts by investigating...

Students think about ways in which they can spread joy during the holiday season. They create poems in the shape of a Christmas tree. Pupils use formatting tools in Microsoft Word to format the text of the poem. Students discuss ways...

First graders read a book with the teacher while encountering unfamiliar words and learning how to use context clues and visual clues to understand the material.  In this reading comprehension instructional activity, 1st graders...

Students read the story Ancient Ones about a forest that is connected to all the life around it. In this reading lesson plan, students also create a tall folding book about the forest.

Students examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character lesson, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. Students make personal connections to the characters and create a brochure...

Sudents compare specific excerpts from The Red Badge of Courage to first-hand accounts of Civil War battles, in text and images and list elements of Crane's style in The Red Badge of Courage that contribute to its realism.

Make connections about animal characteristics and the animal's environment. In this animal characteristics lesson, students use a piece of art as a springboard for a discussion about animals and camouflage. Students choose an animal that...

Learners practice their fluency skills. In this fluency lesson, students read aloud stories to their peers and they help to coach one another on their fluency, pronunciation, phrasing, and inflection. They discuss what makes a good...

Students write a context paper.  In this teaching the novel in context instructional activity, students view a primary sources to recreate the cultural and historical context of the novel.  Students make the connection between...

Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...

Students write positive sentences about their classmates.  In this describing a classmate lesson, students discuss a picture presented by the teacher.  After the teacher tells why she likes this person, students write sentences...

Fifth graders examine how to respond to literature. In this literature response lesson, 5th graders discuss how to respond to literature. They write a response in a literature log each night based on their reading and the connections...

Elementary learners practice reading with expression to understand text better. They identify punctuation marks to see how each sentence is to be expressed with a certain emotion. Then they practice their new skills by working through...

Student increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing good reader strategies , young scholars complete an initial read of a novel text. With the instructor, they read complete a timed assessment of...

Students summarize a piece of text. After reviewing the correct way to read and summarize, students work in groups to summarize a piece of text assigned by the instructor. They write a summary paragraph by creating a story map and the...

Pondering Rembrandt’s portraits provide readers of The Chosen an opportunity to “listen to [the] silence and learn from it,” as they consider Reb Saunders from a different perspective. After examining several paintings, viewers write...

Students use a variety of print media to copy words from. They listen for facts while the teacher reads to them. They listen to a book about eggs and write a book of their own.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

"Eneke the bird says since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he has learnt to fly without perching." As part of their study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Paul Hernadi and Francis Steen's essay, "The Tropical Landscapes...

After reading and discussing chapter 10 of Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida with a partner, individuals write about a time they had to exhibit real courage.

As part of a Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) class members are asked to predict events in Patricia Polacco's Pink and Say based on illustrations in the story, on their knowledge of Steven Crane's The Red Badge of Courage,...

"What are Henry's options?" "What do you think Henry will do?" To better understand the central conflict for the main character in Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members engage in a compare-and-contrast activity that...

Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...

New to using Bronte's Wuthering Heights in the classroom; check out this overview of themes, characters, settings, and project suggestions.