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Magical and Mystical Details
Identify magical and mystical details in the tales The Legend of Bluebonnet and The Legend of Old Befana. Talk about seemingly impossible details and illustrations in order to demonstrate the qualities of legend and magic....
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Using a Title to Determine Main Idea (Nonfiction)
Young readers explore a nonfiction text for its main idea. They will listen to the book Animal Sight by Kirsten Hall, and then observe as the teacher models a main idea think-aloud. Later, for independent practice, they listen to the...
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Identifying Story Elements
Help your class identify story elements. They will discuss character, setting, problem, and solution after reading a story. A graphic organizer will help them to identify various elements with guided practice and independent practice...
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Sorting Characters in More Than One Way
Introduce your class to characterization. Familiar story characters are sorted into "good" and "bad" categories based on the characters' personalites and actions in the story. The class discusses and describes characters they have read...
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Prefixes
Learners explore prefixes, and how they help us decipher unknown words. Decode and define the meaning of boldface words with prefixes used in context on a classroom chart. Writers complete a worksheet practicing the same skill.
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Dictionary
Discovering different ways to use a dictionary to find the meaning of unknown words is the focus of this language arts lesson. Everyone reads a story and practices finding unknown words in the dictionary.
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Lesson 3: Proving Facts and Forming Opinions
Time for Kids: Butterflies is used to model the process of determining if a text is based on fact or opinion. Children are taught how to skim for key words, and use headings or chapter names to locate proof of whether or not what...
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Analyzing Sequence with Exception Questions
Can you build comprehension by reading about sports? Third graders read and analyze the story, Game Day. They work through the book to better understand the sequence of events, they practice eliminating incorrect answers to questions...
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Lesson 5: Theme Matters
Young scholars explore themes in fiction with this literacy comprehension instructional activity. They generate ideas for possible themes developed in the fairy tale of The Ant and the Cricket. Next, they examine the plot of The Great...
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Events and Effects
Explore the plot structure in biographies. First, read the biography The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball and identify specific events that possibly changed the life of Jackie Robinson. As you guide your listeners, they...
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A Poem's Theme
Show young poets how to use the main idea and voice to determine the theme of a poem. Model the steps using Listen Children. Lucille Clifton’s This Morning provides guided practice. Finally, class members use Nikki Giovanni’s...
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Figurative Language
Fifth graders identify and categorize figurative language in poetry.They read a poem and find an example of figurative language, then read the included hand-out on figurative language, and describe each type of figurative language. They...
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Thinking about Theme
Sixth graders explore theme in science fiction texts by examining how plot conflicts are resolved. This resource focuses on Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, but the approach and guiding questions could apply to a variety of texts.
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Multiple Perspectives
Analyze multiple perspectives in short stories. Sixth graders examine the point of view of each major character in three different short stories. After reading the stories, they role-play characters and hypothesize about the character's...
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Using Plot Elements to Retell a Story
The stories in Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street form the basis for a lesson on plot elements. The class examines introduction, sequence, problem, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution and identifies these...
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Genre Lesson: Historical Fiction
Take a trip through history with a instructional activity on historical fiction. With instructions for games, reading activities, and literary analysis assignments, this resource would be a great addition to any reading unit with a...
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Identifying Author's Purpose
The multi-lesson, 47-page packet contains everything you need to ensure kids can recognize the clues provided to identify the type of text, the intended audience, and the author's purpose in writing the passage.
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Sorting Into Predetermined Groups
Sort pictures of items into categories of at school and at the grocery store in a classification lesson plan. Kindergartners start by sorting pictures into categories of in the sky and in the ocean. Use the lesson for any story or unit...
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Creating Groups and Sorting
Students practice classifying. In this classifying and oral language lesson, students listen to the story My Big Truck Book by Roger Priddy and identify similarities between the trucks described. Students sort the children in their class...
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Similarities and Differences in a Text
Create a T chart of similarities and differences between the past and present from the story Long Ago and Today. Using their handy T chart, youngsters will chart things that are the same or different today and long ago. They'll draw a...
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Short Story
Young scholars draw conclusions from the short story Ssssssilent Hunter and listen to the clues to find out what animal is being described. In this drawing conclusions lesson plan, students explain why they think the animal is what they...
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Lesson 1: Identifying Information
Factual books about animals are great for sparking interest in non-fiction text. Little ones will love learning about the foods animals eat as they practice identifying facts in a text. They chart the information they've learned by...
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Fact
Students read about polar bears and discuss and identify the facts they learn about them. In this facts lesson plan, students explain why their facts are not opinions.
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Onomatopoeia
Young scholars identify onomatopoeia by identifying sound words in a book and drawing the animals that make those sounds. In this onomatopoeia lesson plan, students read the words as if they were the animal indicated.