Could the history of bread really be interesting? Yes, it could! An informational text gives scholars wheat production background from 8,000 years ago, discussing different types of bread and the current industry in Oklahoma. Learners...

Bring Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Mad Libs, and cloze activities to your college class with this lesson. They complete a cloze instruction activity in which the students choose words that would fill in the blanks and create their own...

Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...

Primary readers read books in order to practice word recognition, rhyming, and play reading games. They will "read" simple books to reinforce basic reading skills in order to create a foundation. Readers are available to print out along...

Middle schoolers receive a handout that lists the five types of context clues. The class divides up into groups of three or four, and each group chooses five unfamiliar words. They write a multiple-choice question for each of their five...

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...

Leaners read the book Let's Make Tacos and draw a line from the sequence clue words to the step-by-step actions in the book. In order to complete this exercise, they use words such as first, next, last, after, and more. Excellent ideas...

Readers will read a text and fill out a character map based on the characters in that text. They will explore different qualities of each character for their map. this can be modified to support younger learners. They will learn about...

With What Do You See at the Pond?, young readers explore pond life and practice reading strategies. Learners first make predictions and then read the simple story independently. After a second read-through with a partner, kids come...

Fourth graders explore reading strategies through roleplaying. For this reading lesson, 4th graders read Wings, Stings, and Wiggly Things by Martin Jenkins. Student groups pretend to be a law firm and identify words as their evidence to...

Kids read The Grouchy Ladybug and predict what the outcome will be based on picture clues and repeated text. Next, they draw their predictions. A great way to use both prediction and context clue skills in your kindergarten class.

Middle and high schoolers identify how to discover a word's meaning by exploring context clues and any pictures, diagrams, photographs, and charts that might be included. They continue this process with other examples and locate one on...

Using context clues, synonyms, antonyms, dictionaries, and original sentences, middle schoolers work through a new list of vocabulary words. A SMART board file guides them through the process of learning and reinforcing the words. After...

Model for emergent readers how to write a story by interpreting picture clues. For guided practice a second book is used, and then pupils work independently or with an adult to write their own stories based on illustrations.

Practice sequencing with your 2nd graders via Patricia Polacco's Civil War book Pink and Say. Begin with a blindfold and a bag of mystery items. Connect their use of clues to identify what they can't see with the skill of making...

Youngsters listen to the story, "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." After discussing the story, going over new vocabulary, and repeating the rhymes in the story, they study the parts of a fly. They finish by creating a fly on...

Do figures of speech enhance a play or story? In small groups, learners locate and describe figures of speech they find while reading a reader's theater play. After making predictions, they describe how the figures of speech make the...

Primary learners complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book First Day of School. They will  complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have discussions, and much...

In this language arts lesson, 8th graders verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not directly stated. After a class discussion on how to use context clues, students pairs are given a worksheet of "mystery...

Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...

Students explore ways to use technology. They create pictures with Kid Pix software to describe something about themselves. They create pictures os something they did over the summer and write sentences to accompany their pictures. They...

Clever clues provide an entertaining way to help learners memorize the location of each letter and symbol on a keyboard. No computers, keyboards, or charts are needed, yet this game reinforces keyboarding skills. Your class will beg to...

After reading the story, David, No! and creating a chart of David's feelings, youngsters discuss how they knew how he felt throughout the story. They discuss using prior knowledge and picture clues to determine how the main...

Writers create an original mystery and have a chance to put it into movie format. The classic elements of a mystery must be present: the crime, the suspects, the motive, the solution and clues. Use iPhoto and Quicktime Movie to integrate...