Hummingbirds and seagulls—how different and alike are the two birds? At her brother's birthday party, Camelea taps into her inner bird as she dances like a zippy hummingbird. But when it is time to sleep, she thinks of the calm seagull...

Charles Schulz' Charlie Brown and Friends, a collection of Peanuts comic strips, provides young readers with an opportunity to engage in full-class discussions, work in groups to examine how Schulz develops his characters, and...

The children's book Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann is a great story for teaching young learners about teamwork and the importance of following rules. In a detailed, read-aloud lesson, children learn to use both the words and...

One of my favorite things about this resource is that they use a standardized lexile to help you determine who should be reading what book. I also love this great teacher's guide for the book, The Class Election from the Black Lagoon. In...

Boost reading comprehension skills with a lesson designed around the story, Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio. A KWL chart introduces the story's topic—running for president—followed by a read-aloud. The class analyzes the main...

What exactly are those glowing eyes in the night? Learners run an experiment to attract local wildlife and then document the number of visitors by identifying their tracks. They then analyze the data to draw conclusions about the types...

Would a duck make a good president? This one would! Read about a fowl's ascent to the highest office in the land with a lesson based on Doreen Cronin's Duck for President.

That substitute teacher looks awfully familiar! Clear up any cases of mistaken identity with a lesson that compares Miss Nelson to her similar-looking (but differently behaving) counterpart, Miss Swamp, in Miss Nelson is Missing....

That's not rain, it's ... meatballs! Young readers retell the story of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett with both a verbal and written summary of the plot, characters, conflict, setting, and solution.

Budding artists get to know Eric Carle's artistic style reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and viewing several other titles. Using similar blending techniques, scholars create a collage based on the story. 

Your students may be more familiar with Disney's Frozen than its source material, "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen, but after a theater lesson on the story's characters, author, and adaptation to the stage, they'll understand...

A colorful PowerPoint is a great way to introduce the topic of visual literacy. The eye-catching presentation begins with an overview of visual literacy and then provides some specific strategies to help enhance reading comprehension. As...

All aboard! Pair a reading of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg with a set of literacy activities. The packet of worksheets includes task cards, sorting activities, a synonym match, comparing and contrasting activities, writing...

Before reading Chapter Six, "The Platinum-Blond Man" in Matilda, readers preview the illustration of Mrs. Wormwood dropping her plate of food, and think about what may have happened to cause the scene. After reading the chapter, class...

No more summer reading lag! Give young readers a set of graphic organizers and worksheets to keep track of the books they read over the summer and to keep reading comprehension skills fresh. The graphic organizers include identifying...

Inferencing is a necessary reading skill to uncover non-explicit messages in text. Use the set of resources as a way to guide learners toward becoming expert inferrers through reading prompts and literature with text and without text.

Celebrate poetry month all of April with a guide that uses six of Shel Silverstein's most famous books as a basis for the lessons. Discussion questions and writing activities are provided for each of Silverstein's books.

Eleven engaging activities make up a story guide that accompanies Dr. Seuss' Hooray For Diffendoofer Day! Scholars design a fictional classroom setting including scary face tests, writing job descriptions, adapting the book into a play,...

The written word has a magical way of evoking the most descriptive images in one's mind. Encourage scholars to write descriptively with a worksheet that challenges young writers to show, not tell, what traits make up a character. 

Camelea loves the ocean air, breeze and beautiful things she sees on the beach. Her brother and mother both want her to swim in the ocean, but she doesn't want to get water in her nose. Follow along with the story to see how Camelea...

A hero is not always dressed in uniform. Here, scholars gain insight into traits of heroism through images and a survivor's story about the heroic actions his colleagues took to save him from the September 11th terrorist attacks. With...

What does it take to be a hero? On 9/11 heroes came in all shapes and sizes. Learners write a mini biography about their chosen hero from that fateful day in a collaborative and thoughtful lesson. Then, as a class, learners build a...