First graders practice their letter writing skills by writing to a fictional character.  In this formal writing lesson plan, 1st graders read the books The Jolly Postman and Frog and Toad are Friends to examine the different parts...

To get to the heart of a writer's purpose, remember to have some PIE (Persuade, Inform, or Entertain)! And, appropriately, here is a PIE chart that leaves room for pupils to identify each letter of the acronym and any other ideas or...

First graders engage in this interesting activity on letter writing and writing skills. In it, youngsters listen to the Jan Brett story, The Mitten, as a warm-up. They think of other animals of the world they could ask Jan Brett to...

Practice writing short letters with postcards. The resource includes two pages to make four postcards. The first page has space for drawing, and the second includes a place to write, address lines, and stamp spaces.

Young authors share all about themselves with this printable autobiography resource. Including 26 different sentence frames, one focusing on each letter of the alphabet, students write about everything from an adventure they...

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.

To better understand how the author Kevin Henkes uses the theme of friendship throughout his books, learners engage in several compare and contrast activities. The class reads several Henkes titles and discusses the similarities in...

Have you just visited an art museum? Or can you create a gallery in your classroom to visit? Pupils create an original drawing that reinforces what was learned in a visit to the art museum. They will view original art work and verbally...

Honor Dr. Seuss on his birthday with a read aloud of the story Oh! the Places You'll Go! and a variety of activities that inspire scholars to dream of their future endeavors. Readers take part in conversations, research the...

Learners write a friendly letter. They write a friendly letter to author, Cynthia Rylant, after reading a number of her books, and watch a presentation by the teacher that describes how to write the letter. They word process their...

Students study variations of classic folktales while deciding why the tales were so popular many years ago. They write a letter to an author.

Young scholars conduct Internet research about the studenT author and illustrator Patricia Polacco. They compose letters to Ms. Polacco and, after revising and editing their work, send them in the mail.

Providing a template for a discussion of Eric Carle and his works, this presentation has empty spaces left specifically for adding pictures and information about this author. This exploration of Carle is only rudimentary, but a novel...

The Magic Pot by Patricia Coombs is the theme of this multidisciplinary lesson plan. Early readers first take part in a read aloud and grand conversation about the story's details. Then, they get to work practicing their skills in...

Thud! Squiff! Create sound effects with words. Introduce your youngsters to onomatopoeia with these fun, rainy-day poems. They write down sound words, discussing rhythm and rhyme. You can also incorporate the author's use of capital...

Students read Treasure Island. They have a choice of a number of activities associated with the novel, including writing a review of the book. Students also participate in a National Geographic High Seas Adventure, going on an Internet...

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...

Students create a class alphabet book. In this letter recognition instructional activity, students use line and color to draw an object whose name begins with a specific letter. Students use adjectives to create a sentence describing the...

First graders summarize similarities and differences of life in England and America for the Pilgrims by reading a mini-book. Then, they write a journal entry in first person on what it is like to be a pilgrim in England and in America....

First graders study the postal system and letter writing. They exchange class letters with another class in a different area and become pen pals with residents in a local nursing home.

  Students listen to books written by Mo Willems each day and discuss the story elements of each.  In this reading strategies lesson, students decide after reading through the whole series of books, what their favorite book is...

Learners practice color coding in their writing. For this writing lesson, students work on a new technique to help with them with their formation of letters and numbers.

Learners research, write and publish an A,B,C book based on research of their own.

Students participate in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Big Sneeze" by Ruth Brown. They develop a list of farm vocabulary, sequence the events of the story on a graphic organizer, act out...