Curated OER
"Knot" the Whole Truth: Writing a Modern-Day Story with a Tall Tale's Voice
Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write their own...
Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
Curated OER
Literature-Based Skill Building: Freak the Mighty Chapter Three
Have your 5th or 6th graders read Freak the Mighty? Check their reading comprehension with this online activity. They answer 15 different questions based on chapter 3: American Flyer.
Curated OER
Determining Author's Point of View: The Sneeches
Determine the author's point of view in a text. Young readers read Dr. Seuss' The Sneeches and identify the author's purpose in the story. They identify persuasive techniques in writing, asking and answering questions to better...
Curated OER
Environmental Awareness and Children's Literature
Use an alternative setting for pregnant teens and young mothers, as well as special education children to examine environmental topics through literature. Included in this unit is a visit to neighborhood libraries to select children's...
Reed Novel Studies
The Railway Children: Novel Study
How can you prove your innocence? After being falsely accused and placed in prison, the father in The Railway Children is looking for the answer to the question. The children make friends with an elderly gentleman who helps them prove...
Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
Curated OER
Do You Want to Be My Friend?
Learners participate in a variety of emergent and early-literacy activities based on a "friendship" theme. Learners listen to the book Do You Want to Be My Friend by Eric Carle, then echo read, choral read, and independently read...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
All Together Now: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 1)
All Together Now is the theme of this series of extra support lessons. The collection aids the instruction of blending sounds and reading high-frequency words through writing and reading sentences. Support also engages pupils in...
Curated OER
Archetypes
Ideal for a college-level children's literature class or in a story-writing unit, this presentation defines not only the archetypal characters in literature but provides ample examples from fairy tales to modern films. The slideshow...
Curated OER
Children's Book Creations
Students create a children's book version of the Japanese folk story "Momotaro Boy of the Peach" and present the story to elementary students. In this children's book lesson, students design their book to explain Japanese culture to...
Curated OER
The Reasons For The Seasons
Students investigate the different seasons that occur and how the weather is characterized according to the regions of The United States. They conduct research using the internet and then conduct classroom discussion while considering...
Curated OER
Miss Rumphius
Students engage in a literature study in order to appreciate the world around them and create an innate instinct of working for the cause of conservation for the environment. They answer guided questions that use the story as a resource.
Curated OER
Children's Picture Books
Fifth graders will enhance their typing skills and practice using Pages, a software for Mac computers, by writing their own children's book. Note: This lesson plan refers to a template that is not included, however, you can adapt this...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record interesting...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Dinosaurs Before Dark
Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading comprehension,...
Curated OER
Developing Presentation Skills by Using Authentic Literature
Advanced level ESL students engage in an increasing verbal communication skills through children's literature. The focus of these activities is for children to develope presentation skills. Each activity would compliment any class room.
All for KIDZ
Giraffes Can’t Dance Concepts: Giraffes Can't Dance
Teach young children that with a little perseverance and the help of a good friend, anything is possible. This two-part lesson series based on the book Giraffe's Can't Dance starts with a shared reading about Gerald and his attempts to...
American Battlefield Trust
The Home Front
Women and children played key roles during the Civil War, even if their voices are often lost in history. By studying letters and personal testimony from them, budding historians get a glimpse into the day-to-day life of civilians during...
Curated OER
The Children of Eric the Red Explore the West: The Norsemen Encounter Indigenous People of North America
Students read about Viking exploration and complete activities based on the Indigenous people they encountered. In this Viking exploration lesson plan, students compare and contrast stories, write a character sketch, and more.
Curated OER
Writing Prompts for High School
Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...
Curated OER
How Can We Write A Story Using Dr. Seuss' Writing and Illustration Style?
Students write a story. In this writing style and illustration instructional activity, students review elements of Dr. Seuss' writing and illustration style and read a few more books written by him, examining the writing style. ...
Curated OER
Writing a Letter to a Friend
First graders practice their letter writing skills by writing to a fictional character. In this formal writing lesson, 1st graders read the books The Jolly Postman and Frog and Toad are Friends to examine the different parts of a...