Fourth graders make predictions and go over vocabulary for the story The Secret School. In this reading lesson plan, 4th graders use comprehension skills as they read the story and have to read to them.

Students read short stories containing Dolch sight words and describe the scenes and answer comprehension questions. After relating the stories to their own experiences or observations, they draw pictures illustrating a scene from the...

Students, after listening to Janelle Cannon's picture book Stellaluna, explore a variety of living things through three distinct activities. They make a list of what they know and want to know about birds and bats. Orally and in writing...

Students consider the structure of folktales. In this writing skills lesson, students list the attributes of folktales that they read in class. Students then complete handouts based on the elements of the tales as well as types of tales...

Students explore the concept of starfish.  In this starfish lesson, students identify the parts of a starfish and how their body works. Students create a starfish using paint and a cornmeal mixture.  They then glue on Cheerios...

For this lesson, you will need access to "Notes from the Trail." Your learners will read the day's text, and identify the most important or significant event in the journal entry. Not many prompting questions are provided, and some of...

C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength provides the model for using dreams in narrative writing. After a discussion of the purpose of dreams in Lewis’s tale, class members craft a story in which their dreams play an essential role.

Fifth graders, after reading Island of the Blue Dolphins, explore map making using the Whole Language Approach.

What factors help people achieve goals? What factors prevent people from achieving goals? What are the elements that need to be in place to make a team function well? Using Damien Lewis’ Desert Claw and John Francome’s Winner Takes All,...

Students write set of written directions from their craft area in either chart or paragraph form, and give the directions orally to a third party who will listen to the directions and complete the task.

Students utilize newspapers as a resource to complete various tasks. They read articles, write summaries, investigate the classified section, write commercials, and circle spelling words.

Being an informed citizen requires distinguishing fact from opinion and understanding persuasion methods. Secondary learners evaluate newspaper editorials. They read opinion pieces, identify the writer's purpose and position on an issue,...

Explore the sounds, importance, and effectiveness of dialect in literature.  Active participants read, listen to poetry, and explore dialect by developing a formal definition, discuss the benefits of its use, complete a Venn diagram...

Show your young researchers how to find information, brainstorm a topic, map or outline their own stories, and create rough drafts. This lesson also shows learners how to peer edit, conference with the teacher, and write their final...

Students are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in their...

Students explore the role of workers and their jobs in the community. They write a friendly letter to a community worker expressing appreciation for the work they do and their importance to the community.

Fifth graders discuss their future plans with the counselor and then complete the True/False survey. They read through the tobacco fact sheet and answer questions asked by the counselor. As a group, they calculate the cost per cigarette...

Understanding time signatures and rhythm counting are two very important parts of playing an instrument well. Here are three basic lessons rolled into one that prompt upper graders to play their instruments with care. They'll practice...

Prior to reading Fever 1793, class members are introduced to vocabulary drawn from the text of Laurie Halse Anderson's novel with a bingo-style activity. The vocabulary list, a teacher copy with definitions, and the bingo template are...

How does poetry differ from other forms of writing? Class members view two writing samples, decide which one is a poem, and then identify the criteria they used to distinguish between the two samples.  

Fourth graders listen as the counselor reads statements. They receive a tic-tac-toe worksheet and complete it with two different color crayons. Students look at the overhead projector and check their tic-tac-toe game card. They discuss...

Seventh graders are read the story "EMS Code Blue" and asked to share what they would do in the different situations. As a class, they discuss the importance of getting help for mental or social problems and are given a list of resources...

Students read a novel and write short journal entries about the characters, setting and interesting facts. Using email, they share their responses to the novel with other students at a different school. Student also create slide shows...