Shadow puppetry has an ancient past, it is also a great way to build oral expression and reading fluency. Young thespians research folk tales, compare and contrast reality and fantasy, then create and perform a shadow puppet play based...

Explore character, plot, and setting through dramatic puppet play. Second graders discuss basic story elements and then practice making a character with their sock puppets. After they've crafted a dynamic puppet, they pair up to create a...

Inspire first grade artists to learn about abstract and realistic art while reading Eric Carle's Where are you Going? To See My Friend. Young artists design and make a mural collage by tearing shapes of paper while comparing English and...

Primary readers predict and check for understanding by using comprehension strategies. Prepare readers the first day by frontloading vocabulary and using pictures to visualize the words. On the second day, read the story The Old Woman...

Make predictions and recall details while reading A House For Hermit Crab. While you read the story, discuss aspects of the plot and encourage listeners to respond. Extension activities such as crafts, counting, puppets, and...

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Who is Mo Willems? Explore the author with your class. Learners read books written by Willems, compare and contrast the characters therein, and make predictions about what will happen. Finish off this author study by having small groups...

It can be awfully hard teaching young children how to read, but this phonics resource will make the job a little easier. Focusing on the au and aw vowel digraphs, this collection of engaging activities teaches beginning...

This packet, the first in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on our earth, contains enrichment activities for learners who have mastered the basic concepts of the lessons. Kids...

Support young scholars' oral language development with the use of four early childhood activities. To reinforce proficiency, pupils read with an adult, play a game of telephone with their peers, put on a play with puppets or stuffed...

Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...

Puppets showcase the importance of being a good friend. Following a discussion about positive character traits, scholars create a paper-bag puppet and role-play scenarios with a peer. 

Kids get up and act! To promote inventiveness, timing, and clowning, they pair up and act as though they are looking in a mirror. Child A does a move while child B attempts to mimic it as closely as possible. This is a fun activity that...

If you give teachers a few good ideas, they can really bring a story to life. Included in this resource are dozens of activities to use as your class reads books in the If You Give... series. From holding puppet shows and creating...

"Let the hunt begin!" As an introduction to synonyms, second graders generate a list of word pairs that have similar meanings. The words pairs are written on sentence strips, cut apart, shuffled, and distributed to class members who must...

A lesson help scholars identify emotions through facial expressions. After a friendly puppet reads scholars a poem all about feelings, learners act out how they would feel when a specific action happens to them. Participants watch and...

Immerse your class in a good story with an extensive resource featuring reader's theater techniques. The worksheets are designed for both teacher and student, and carefully explain how to organize, write, and perform stories in a...

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...

Little ones are provided with all the tools needed to begin segmenting phonemes. There are twenty Elkonin box picture cards, five blank Elkonin box cards, and full instructions on how to help pre-readers practice splitting and saying...

If you are working on colors, printing names, introductions, and other projects in the first few weeks of school, use a series of activities designed for English language learners. It includes cute ways to wish your little ones...

Counting syllables can be fun when it's done with a friend. In pairs, learners say words as their partner counts the syllables they hear.

For those class members who have mastered the basic concepts and need extra challenges, here's a packet of activities sure to engage them in stories about American immigration and exploration. Kids may design a dramatic...

Learners hone their acting and imagination by playing tug-o-war with an imaginary rope. Each group works together and pretends to pull the other group over the imaginary line with an imaginary rope. This could be a good improve warm up...

Develop social awareness with a lesson that challenges scholars to properly communicate with their peers. Standing in two lines, participants practice introducing themselves, asking how their partner is feeling, asks if they want to...