Students investigate the significance of the Powwow to the Native Americans. They write a story about a special tradition or custom from their own family, play Native American children's games, prepare Indian fry bread, and participate...

Students create Native American dream catchers to represent the Native American culture. After reading and discussing the origin of the Dream cather, they begin to construct their dream catchers using wire hoops, thread, beads, and...

In this interpreting photos checklist worksheet, students use the checklist to self-evaluate their presentation on the family photograph. The checklist is also used by the student's peers and teacher.

Students read and retell a story form out of the newspaper. They write to communicate ideas, stories, letters, simple explanations, and short reports. They edit and perfect their projects for homework, and they share their work with the...

In this writing activity, students are instructed to write a story about a favorite trip with their family. Worksheet is designed to be signed by parent and student upon completion.

Adding details and figurative language makes any story more fun to read! After reading two versions of the same story, one devoid of figurative language and one embellished, young writers are asked to add alliteration, hyperbole,...

Learners read and discuss an article about Olga Loya, a modern storyteller. They watch a videotaped performance of a story and then create a storytelling experience for a story of their choice to share with the class.

A special education classroom examines a variety of literature from Latin American authors. In groups, they read excerpts from many autobiographies and compare them with their own life. After writing their own autobiographies, they...

Investigate the significance of adjectives with a newspaper activity that addresses effective language. Readers probe teacher-provided articles in search of the mighty modifiers, and practice by replacing them with a different word, and...

Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.

Young mathematicians use bags of Skittles to help them gain practice in graphing and organizing data. They work in pairs, and after they have counted and organized their Skittles, they access a computer program which allows them to print...

During read-aloud of Kindergarten Count to 100 by Jacqueline Rogers, children listen for context clues about vocabulary that includes the words "first," "second," and "third." I love the way vocabulary development skills are integrated...

Combine counting and vocabulary in context using Jacqueline Rogers' Kindergarten Count to 100. Suggested words for this text are: first, fountain, salute, second, and third. By introducing the terms before reading the text,...

As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...

Kids explore the world of news media by creating a wiki page. They will create a wiki page on the Internet in order to comment on and question the stories that take place in the world. They will practice creative writing by summarizing...

Use this multiple-choice vocabulary assessment with your advanced English language learners or your native speakers. There are six sentences provided, and your class must determine which word best completes each sentence. Example words...

Get to know the bugs around us with emerging readers who use Jerry Pallotta's informative book Icky Bug Colors to learn vocabulary in context. Address terms before reading the text aloud, preparing kids to listen for them later....

Do any of your budding readers have parents who work the night shift? Eileen Spinelli's book Night Shift Daddy, which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it, examines this family dynamic in a positive light and is an...

When it comes to William Shakespeare, there seem to be more questions than answers! Using the fact sheet, pupils uncover information about the Bard's home and family life, as well as his schooling and career. Readers also learn about his...

First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...

What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...

Young scholars categorize studenT toys by intelligence types. They review toy safety and function and identify the appropriate play age of various toys. They read and evaluate studenT books and write one of their own.

Third graders first begin the activity by reading Vera B. Williams Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea. This book is a collection of postcards that Stringbean Coe and his brother Fred write to their family while they were on a summer...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...