Literature Logs

Reading Island of the Blue Dolphins with your class? This reading guide, though not a complete lesson or curriculum, will provide you with all the information you need to develop an excellent literature unit for this award winning book....

A thorough, straightforward guide for organizing literature circles in your unit on Elizabeth George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver is both enriching and educational. It includes activities that activate prior knowledge, discussion...

The story of Rama and Sita is one of the best-loved and most retold stories from the Ramayana. Learners in grades one through eight learn about heroes, anti-heroes, and Indian literature by reading story cards that summarize the story...

Use centers to support study of folktales and writing. A "Jack Tale" refers to a retelling of the classic fairy tale "Jack and the Bean Stalk." Pupils rotate through literature centers in groups. They listen to a "Jack Tale," revise a...

Here is a learning exercise presenting many ways to create topics and start sentences. The writing prompts are best used for young writers who are creating reading response journals or literature logs. Sometimes, all a writer needs is a...

Negative effects of bullying come to light through listening to the book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. Class members identify philanthropic acts portrayed in the story and make illustrations to connect them to their own...

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and make...

Examine how to participate in Literature Circles. Your students will create Literature Logs including illustrations, definitions, characterizations, and strategies used in studying literature.

Highlighters and Post-it notes bring purpose and fun to marking important ideas and details in a text. Readers keep summaries of texts they have read in a journal or log, and can use this to retell main ideas and supporting details. This...