What is war? Students discuss the ethical dilemma of war by viewing Picasso's painting entitled "Guernica" and write down everything they see in the painting. Then they choose one emotion that best summarizes their emotional response to...

Students respond to the story of Little Red Riding Hood. In this Red Riding Hood lesson, students retell and discuss story elements.  Students practice phonic sounds.  Students role play, make predictions, use picture...

Learners view the wordless book The Snowman.  In this Snowman book lesson, students discuss the events in the pictures of the book.  Learners write a sentence with illustration to respond to the book.  Students paint CD's...

After reading and discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, pupils compare/contrast the concept/theme of love within several multiple pieces of literature. They must support their claims with textual evidence. In addition, they analyze...

Use the Caldecott Award-winning book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it) to guide budding readers through vocabulary in context. Although the...

Explore rural and urban environments over the course of four days. Each day offers a new look into how both environment compare and contrast. Activities include the observation and analyzation of images, a read aloud and grand discussion...

Practice using the Turn the Question Around (TQA) method to answer reading comprehension questions based on short narrative paragraphs. Instructions and materials are included for direct, guided, and independent instruction. Responses...

Students use children's literature in order to think about the concept of creating a garden. This is done through conducting simple research about types of plants that could be grown in the area and how to care for them. Then the garden...

Distinguish between textual features of non-fiction in the book The Lewis and Clark Expedition and in the non-fiction story "Ta-Na-e-Ka." Third graders create posters and participate in group discussions to show their...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

By digitally organizing research, your class leaves a legacy for future students on the life and times of Mark Twain. Before reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, scholars conduct group research projects on one of six (listed)...

Can authors speak to each other across works, genres, and centuries? Study the conversation between Christopher Marlowe in his poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and the responses by Sir Walter Raleigh and William Carlos Williams...

Examine the fables of Aesop with your class. Pupils identify the morals of fables and role-play a scene from their favorite fable of Aesop. Additionally, they compose letters to a favorite character in the fable. Learners role-play again...

Give young scholars a chance to practice making inferences after reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. They confirm whether or not their conclusions are true, have a class discussion, and then independently complete an...

Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

In these literature response worksheets, students complete activities which reinforce vocabulary in the book Thank You, Amelia Bedelia.

Nazi policies shifted from deportation and imprisonment to extermination of the Jewish people in death camps in the "Final Solution." Learners examine photos of artifacts, read poetry written by survivors, analyze testimony from...

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

Use this packet as a companion to your study of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. The resource breaks the novel up into several chunks, and for each chunk provides activities, background information, vocabulary, graphic organizers, and response...

Standing up for beliefs sometimes leads to trouble! The father in Flush takes knows this all too well when he sinks a boat in protest to its illegal dumping. With his dad behind bars, the son, Noah, takes matters into his hands by...

If only all best friends could be like Lassie! Lassie Come-Home offers a glimpse of the special relationship between man's best friend and a beloved owner. Scholars complete worksheet activities while reading about Lassie's...

Ever known the feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place? Jody, a character in The Yearling, knows this feeling all too well. Nature forces Jody to choose between his beloved pet and his family's food supply. Readers...

The varying responses of the characters in Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to the discrimination they experience or perpetrate provides readers with an opportunity to not only examine the feelings of the characters but...