Curated OER
Blue Ribbon Readers: Making Connections
Model for young readers how to make the shift from passive to active reading by making text-to-self and text-to-text connections. After a series of activities that provide guided practice, the focus shifts to making text-to-words...
Teacher Printables
Making Connections
Encourage your readers to make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections with a graphic organizer that also asks them to detail how they made these connections. Reproduce the template for each learner or project the...
Curated OER
Paper Chain Connections
Make real connections in literature and in life. While reading, class members fill out links for a chain, circling the connection type, noting the page number, and commenting on each one. When they've completed all the links, they cut...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin and Learning a Lesson
Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...
Curated OER
Teaching Peace through Literature and Song
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...
Curated OER
Making an Inference from an Implied Message Within a Text
Show your scholars that they make inferences every day and might not even know it. Through scaffolded instruction, they break down the process of drawing information from context. Using example sentences and didactic questioning,...
Curated OER
James and the Giant Peach Comprehensive Guide
Each page of a comprehension packet that accompanies James and The Giant Peach requires learners to think, comprehend, focus on characters, make text-to-self and text-to-world connections, and build vocabulary through context. The...
Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the anchor text for a three week unit that focuses on responsibilities, ethics, and virtues. While specific lesson plans are not included in this overview, a focus and discussion...
Curated OER
Winning the Vote for Women
Students read and respond to the text, Mama Went to Jail for the Vote. In this literary response instructional activity, students are introduced to vocabulary terms and read the book. Students discuss various text-to-self connections...
Recorded Books
Teacher's Guide: The Pinballs
Dive your class into the novel The Pinballs by Betsy Byars with the support of this reading guide. Including short answer questions, a multiple choice comprehension quiz, and extension activities, a variety of materials are provided for...
Oxford University Press
The Jungle Book
Most every teacher dreams of a ready-to-teach and print book study. Well, here it is! The Jungle Book novel resource includes 12 complete lessons studying poetry, author's craft, themes, characters, and more. Scholars role play, research...
Novelinks
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Writing Response
Prior to reading chapter 15 of the book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, examine the painting, Shipwrecked by Edward Moran, and respond to the feelings that arise within and how it relates to the characters of the novel.
Curated OER
Story Think Tic Tac Toe
In this reading worksheet, students look at the cover of a book and make a prediction about its contents. Students write about whether or not they were correct after reading the book. Students choose one activity to complete in each row...
Curated OER
Finding Self-Reliance
Fourth graders relate what is read to their own experiences and feelings and use active listening to respond to other students' comments. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize an Active Listening Chart imbedded in this plan to gain...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Civil War on Sunday
Reading Mary Pope Osborne's Civil War on Sunday? Here's a packet crammed with activities, exercises, reading guides, and project suggestions. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Curated OER
An Author Study: Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes' books can be a great way to introduce students to an author study in the classroom.
Curated OER
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Fourth graders listen and observe the role play of the various versions of the poem. They take notes while listening and observing and develop their own versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".
Curated OER
A Taste of Blackberries
Fourth graders participate in a shared reading of Doris Buchanan's, A Taste of Blackberries. They read about grief in the loss of a best friend and examine the skills of a responsible family member.