Penguin Books
Gulliver's Travels Teacher's Notes
Who are "the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth”? Readers of Gulliver’s Travels will learn the answer, as the journey with Lemuel Gulliver to Lilliput,...
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The Important Thing About A Family
In this lesson students identify the ways families provide basic needs to their members. Students create and publish a booklet to display this information. This lesson is designed to have a class of older children buddy with the first...
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Mesoamerican Codex Books
Fifth graders recreate Mesoamerican Codex Books using brown paper bags, paints, glue, an iron, and books on Mesoamerican Glyphs in this 5th grade lesson in the Art classroom. Resource links and book references are provided for lesson...
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Jack and the Beanstalk: Plant a Bean and Watch It Grow
Young scholars plant bean seeds, watch them grow, and measure them with non-standard objects. They describe the bean's growth in a journal and record the growth on a calendar.
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Language Arts: Writing Lead Sentences
Sixth graders discover the importance of lead sentences and practice writing them. After reading lead sentences in books, they determine the qualities that attract and hold readers' attention. Finally, once they have identified the...
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Multimedia Book Reports
Young scholars read a chapter book of 100-200 pages in length. They create a story map and multimedia book report. Pupils review the elements of a story map such as: characters, setting, problem, important events, solution, etc.)...
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Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature: The Desert Alphabet Book
Students explore the geography of the United States. In this social studies lesson, students identify the major deserts on a map of the United States.
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Making a Solar Eclipse Book: The Sun and Moon During a Solar Eclipse
Students make book covers displaying the Sun during a solar eclipse and a labeled illustration of the Sun.
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Using Compare and Contrast to Write in Science
Fifth graders investigate and compare the behavior of magnetism using magnets. In this physics instructional activity, 5th graders write about the similarities and differences of a variety of magnet types.
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Under Over By the Clover: What is a Preposition?
Fifth graders study prepositions in everyday writing. In this identifying prepositions lesson plan, 5th graders read the book: Over Under By the Clover and identify prepositions in the story.
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A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories About Love
Students read an article about teenage pregnancy and the story, "A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories About Love," making notes about how the pregnant teens are characterized. They then compare and contrast the views of pregnant teens in...
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Ten Cents a Word
Students recognize the importance of summarizing in this lesson plan. They "sum up" an article about monarch butterflies. Students practice writing summaries of the article charging themselves 10 cents/word. They try to write the...
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I Grow
Students describe factors that influence relationships with family and friends. They write a book about themselves using personal knowledge.
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Book Report
For this book report form worksheet, young scholars write a short book summary, and then answer 2 questions about the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat.
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Creating a Bibliography
Third graders review the basic structure of a bilbliography and its importance in writing. They create a bibliography of materials used to complete a written report, and power point slide show and use the computer lab to create a final...
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Adjective Monster
Explore descriptive writing and visual art. Listen to the story Go Away Big, Green Monster by Ed Emberley and generate a list of adjectives used in the book. Name familiar shapes and create a shapes list. Choose an adjective and shape to...
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Making Independent Reading and Book Reports Motivating
Here are some exciting ideas to get your students motivated to read independently.
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"The Westing Game" Activities and Lesson Plans
You can use a novel, such as "The Westing Game", to teach reading concepts and skills in a way that keeps students interested.
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Third Grade Ecuadorian Rainforest
Third graders explore the Ecuadorian Rainforest. In this writing and research lesson students utilize several information sources to learn about the Ecuadorian Rainforest. Students also summarize and paraphrase information learned...
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Pick Your Favorite Author
Students use the Internet to access information about their favorite author after reading a book by the author. They write a brief summary about the author.
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Please Read Quietly
Learners become fluent readers by readling silently. They gain a better comprehension and discover that silent reading is a tool for understanding books. As an assessment, the class reads a decodable book. Each student then writes a...
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Quiet Please!
Learners practice reading silently. They discuss the importance of being able to read silently. Students discuss what it means to read silently. They practicing reading a variety of texts silently. Learners write a brief summary of what...
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Understanding Realistic Fiction
Students write a story. In this genres instructional activity, students learn the meaning of realistic fiction and write a short story in that genre.
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Japanese Festival Mask Making
Middle schoolers learn about Japanese culture and make a mask. For this lesson about Japanese mask-making, students use research and art to explore the Japanese culture. Middle schoolers research Japanese masks. Students design their own...