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Reading to Learn
Students complete story maps in this lesson. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map for a book read...
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Loving Literature
First graders, after having "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman read to them, participate in group discussions or independentally work to analyze a spreadsheet to identify essential elements in the story and graph their data. In...
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Writing A Thanksgiving Day Story
Pupils write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...
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Comparing Monkey Story with Wizard of Oz
Students compare and contrast the characters in the Monkey stories with the Wizard of Oz story.
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Design a Book Cover
Class members take on the role of graphic designer and craft a cover for a book they are reading. Individuals formulate a proposal outlining the images they will use to not only grab the interest of readers, but hint at the mood and...
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Independent Reading Responses
Students participate in independent reading activities by reading a book at their independent reading level and selecting activities to complete after reading. Activities are broken up into C Level, B Level, and A Level activities.
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Short Story Framework
The class gets creative after listening to a short story containing a definitive structure. They are required to think about character, relationship, and setting, while attempting to show rather than tell, in their writing. Dialogue,...
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One Pager
Students read the novel, Freak the Mighty and describe and illustrate the setting. They create a graphic organizer that demonstrates the major plot elements and character development.
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From Seeds to Plants
Second graders review the process of plant reproduction and the role of seeds in that process. The students dissect a seed, analyze their finds, collect and record data, and make predictions about seed germination and plant growth.
Orange County Department of Education
The True Story of Abbie Burgess
First graders read a story about Abbie Burgess. They identify at least three specific actions exhibiting traits of courage and responsibility. Students explore ways children and adults become heroes by helping others out in a time of...
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Contemporizing Myths
Learners examine ancient Greek myths and illustrate origin myths scenes in a contemporary setting. In this Greek myth lesson, students analyze Rembrandt’s painting The Abduction of Europa and discuss how the artist took an...
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Reading the Biography
Learners explore the lives of famous Americans. In this biography lesson, students read biographies about famous Americans and keep reading journals as they read about setting, main events, and character sketches.
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Creative Writing: Halloween Theme
Second graders are read a book about different authors. They identify the parts of a story such as plot and setting. They brainstorm topics for their own paper and begin the writing process. They create a final copy of their story about...
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Across Five Aprils/Civil War
Eighth graders study the Civil War novel, Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt. They review vocabulary and literary elements and write a "Brother Against Brother" essay about coming face to face with a brother in one of the battles of the...
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Establishing a Point of View in Narratives
Fourth graders investigate the concept and take the opportunity to both identify and to construct point of view in narratives. Additionally, 4th graders practice identifying and sequencing main events.
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Story Writing
Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. In this story writing lesson, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two other...
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Storytelling
Pupils compose a story and tell it to the class. In this storytelling lesson, students work in small groups to create an illustrated story. Pupils are given a checklist of elements to include in the assignment. Students...
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What's So Nice About Fairy Tales?
Seventh graders modernize a fairy tale, then compare their version with he original version and determine whether or not they've changed the author's original intent.
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Imagery Instruction
Students study how imagery affects their comprehension of stories. They participate in a guided journey of The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body. They compare the information from the book and their guided journey.
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Where the Red Fern Grows: A 4th Grade Literary Focus Unit
Fourth graders explore the human and animal connection along with the idea that death is a part of the life cycle. They read "Where the Red Fern Grows." Students examine the feelings and emotions surrounding death and they discover the...
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Role Play on the Plantation of Ulster
Students participate in historical role play about the Plantation of Ulster. In this historical role play lesson, students work in groups to depict the characters of the Plantation of Ulster. They practice and perform a radio program by...
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Story Books
Students discuss a narrative work of art, then write stories describing the action and publish their stories and illustrations in books.
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Author Study - Mo Willems
Young scholars listen to books written by Mo Willems each day and discuss the story elements of each. In this reading strategies lesson, students decide after reading through the whole series of books, what their favorite...
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Fairy Tales
Students write and draw fairy tales based on modern themes and/or their own experiences. The class is divided into groups and are assigned a fairy tale. The groups develop a modern story based on this fairy tale through group discussion.