Novelinks
The Little Prince: Brainstorming Activity
What do you think of when you hear the word adult? Or friend? Learners brainstorm with a group of peers to list the words they think of when they hear seven words from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.
Choose My Plate
MyPlate Word Blanks
Create a silly cooking themed story using nouns, adjectives, verbs, and more! Pupils fill in the blanks using their knowledge of different types of fruit, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy, then read the story aloud to hear a...
K5 Learning
Dessert Time!
First do this and then do that. Next do this and after do that. Young readers read about the order each person in the story gets dessert, before answering the who, the what, and the how in the reading passage.
Curated OER
What Kind of Ladybug Are You?
As a class, read different sentences prepared by the teacher, identifying the punctuation that is needed for the appropriate expression. In small groups, have each child assume the role of one or more character in The Grouchy Ladybug by...
Jumpstarting Journeys
Vowel Digraph Activities for au and aw
It can be awfully hard teaching young children how to read, but this phonics resource will make the job a little easier. Focusing on the au and aw vowel digraphs, this collection of engaging activities teaches beginning...
K5 Learning
Treasure Hunt
After reading about a book that leads two friends on a treasure hunt, class members respond to four short answer reading comprehension questions. Skills include describing the characters, retelling the story in their own words, writing...
California Education Partners
Eleven
It is difficult to articulate how growing up feels as accurately and beautifully as Sandra Cisneros does in her short story "Eleven." After seventh graders read the story and note the author's use of figurative language, they respond to...
Michigan Farm Bureau
The Little Red Hen
No one will be saying "Not I" with a lesson that combines The Little Red Hen with the life cycle of a wheat stem! After reading the story in your class, pass out wheat stems to your learners and have them examine the plants closely,...
K5 Learning
Luke, Jay and Zach's Winning Game
There's nothing like the thrill of winning the big game! Fourth graders practice reading comprehension skills with a short story and series of questions.
US Department of State
Reader's Theater: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The opening chapters of Mark Twain's masterpiece, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, can be daunting for some readers. A reader's theater assignment divides the second chapter of the novel into a seven-role script, allowing...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Chato's Kitchen
Through an exploration of Chato's Kitchen by Gary Soto, learners practice sequencing skills, retelling a story, and Spanish vocabulary words. All of the necessary resources, worksheets, and other materials are provided in order to give...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 6 Close Reading
Look back at the third chapter of The Cay with your class. Pupils will conduct a close reading, taking a second look at a chunk of text and responding to a series of text-dependent questions. Wrap up with an analytical writing prompt...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 11: Setting
Encourage your learners to examine the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay. Pupils work in small groups to put together a description of the setting before reading two more chapters of the book. They use their double-entry journals to...
Prestwick House
Understanding Language: Slant, Spin, and Bias in the News
We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?
Curated OER
Middle Ages Cross Curriculum Project
Middle schoolers complete several projects on the Middle Ages. In this world history lesson, students complete language arts, social studies, math, and science projects. Some of these include: comparing a teenager's life now to that in...
Curated OER
Describing Paintings: Calm or Stormy
Young writers use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to describe details in two paintings. One depicts a sunny landscape, and the other shows a cloudier view. They write a narrative inspired by the paintings, paying attention to transitional...
Curated OER
Creating Interesting Characters
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...
Great Books Foundation
Discussion Guide for Jane Eyre
The ambiguity in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre makes the novel a perfect choice for a shared inquiry discussion. Readers respond to open-ended questions with evidence drawn directly from the text.
PBS
Copyright and Fair Use
When is using someone else's copyrighted material appropriate? Learn about copyright and fair use with a lesson from PBS.org. Scholars read through a reference sheet about authors' rights and users' rights, and then create posters...
Curated OER
The Noble Eightfold Path
Learners gain an introduction to Buddhist teachings about moral behavior by exploring a depiction of the Buddha and by writing a speech inspired by their interpretation of the Noble Eightfold Path.
Ask A Biologist
Viral Attack
Can you catch the same cold twice? Elementary and middle schoolers learn about what happens when a virus attacks their bodies, and how the immune system never forgets a virus, with an entertaining comic book. The packet includes...
Rahmah Muslim Homeschool
Basic Arabic Letters
Whether you're reviewing the Arabic letters or teaching them for the first time, a thorough packet can help learners form the building blocks of another another language. Explore the beautiful symbols of the Arabic alphabet rather...
Curated OER
Yakety-Yak
Do talk back! The transcript of one side of a telephone conversation launches a study of dialogue. Class members imagine the response of the speaker on the other side of the conversation and record these responses on the provided...