Get young writers thinking about how to write a great beginning for their narratives. After examining examples of solid beginnings in literary text, young writers discuss the criteria for a compelling introduction. Then, independently,...

Young writers compose a gripping ending to their historical fiction narratives. Following the previous lesson plan, where learners wrote a bold beginning, class members examine exciting endings from a literary text. They then draft their...

Practice sounding out multi-syllable words with this scaffolded lesson. Learners decode words by segmenting them into phonemes and combining the sounds. Your lines are in bold here, but you can easily use this simply as an outline...

Put another set of eyes on your class's historical fiction narratives with one of the final lessons in the unit. Fourth graders use feedback from their peers to annotate their drafts for revision, particularly their bold beginnings and...

Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...

Reading often times starts with phonemic awareness and letter sound correspondence. Get little ones blending those letter sounds together to read and write simple words. As the teacher sounds out each word, learners count phonemes, and...

Students demonstrate beginning reading strategies. In this letter recognition lesson plan, students match letter sounds to a variety of pictures using the program "Kidspiration".

Elementary learners create an ABC grammar book. The project begins with class members taking digital pictures of items that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Depending on level, they then add a word or a complete sentence to...

Are you in need of a 5-day unit intended to teach little learners how to count to 20? This is a well-structured complete set of lessons which employ a variety of methods to instruct learners about various ways to count from 1 to 20. They...

Tackle multiple-meaning words with your youngsters using this scaffolded lesson which features a detailed script. Begin with the word shoulder, using context clues to help scholars understand the meaning. Next, they observe a second...

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...

First graders match letter sounds to pictures they represent. In this matching letter sound lesson plan, 1st graders use the computer program Kidspiration to match the letter sounds to the corresponding pictures. This can be used for 1...

Second graders examine The Learning Page Fact Files about ocean life and categorize the data by weight and group. They distinguish between fish, mammals, and invertebrates and which weigh the most and the least. Students record their...

Students experience the strategy of phoneme recognition to recognize /s/ in spoken words, including plurals, and in writing. They encounter the book Summer Fun by Lucy Lawrence and the tongue twister "Miss Sam saw a sneaky slimy snake in...

Students participate in phonemic awareness and phonics activities and develop a list of vegetable vocabulary words. They break up words into beginnings and endings, and trace and write the letter s. Students then create a Vegetable...

Young scholars explore plot development and how conflicts are resolved. In this plot development and conflict instructional activity, students discuss antonyms and list the ones they find in their story. Young scholars complete online...

Learners research the art of John Baldessari. In this art history lesson, students examine Baldessari's drawing of a beetle and discuss the characteristics of these bugs. They write a story from a bug's perspective and create their own...

Learners participate in various activities using the story There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. In this reading fluency instructional activity, students read the story and then practice comprehension, fluency, and writing. An...

Students work together to brainstorm using a software program. Individually, they decide on a topic to write about and begin their pre-writing activities. They write about their topic using the pictures they previously drew and...

First graders write sentences based on their spelling words that appear on their word walls. In this writing lesson plan, 1st graders create sentences that include their spelling words. They do this on the computer. Then they pick out...

Students consider building design. In this architecture lesson, students read an article titled, "MAXXI." The reading is not provided with the lesson. Students discuss the reading and design their own buildings, with attention to...

Students practice recognizing a letter and its phoneme by utilizing the alphabetic principle while working with and identifying the sounds of /b/. They assess a big book, objects in the room, a timer and the tongue twister, "Billy...

Students create "Garden Journals" using construction paper, poster board, and general art supplies in this Art, Science, Reading, and Writing lesson for the early-elementary classroom. This activity may be done at the beginning of the...

Students read any play (A Midsummer Night's Dream, for example.) They participate in a teacher-led relaxation exercise designed to help the students review specific lines from the play. They write about the experience and answer other...