Why do authors write? Practice determining the author's purpose with a categorizing activity. Learners sort twelve short passages into three categories: persuade, inform, and entertain.

The memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is the focus of a unit designed for fourth graders. Scholars begin each lesson with a warm-up, then listen to a read-aloud of a section of the book. Pupils complete word work,...

Learners listen to the Magic School House Plants a Seed. In this locating information lesson, students discuss the various presentations of information in the book. Learners complete a worksheet of information.

Reading and understanding informational text is a key element to understanding every discipline. Elementary learners read three different articles focused on various animals and habitats in the Hudson River. They answer comprehension...

A read-aloud anthology focuses on astronomy. Each week for three weeks, first graders are introduced to and listen to a text, answer comprehension questions, then complete extensions that include a learning activity and skills practice....

A read-aloud anthology explores Colonial America. Third graders listen to informational texts, discuss what they heard, and participate in extension activities and writing. Take-home materials, assessments, and remediation opportunities...

Here is a instructional activity which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to...

A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...

Lesson 10 in a series of human rights lessons focuses on the skills of finding evidence and summarizing. Your young readers work to compare the two texts they have read in this unit: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Learning how to make accurate inferences by putting together facts found in multiple sources is one of those skills all learners must develop, but one that can be a challenge to teach. This resource is a must-have for your curriculum...

The unit offers second graders skills practice in tricky spelling and words, grammar—nouns and punctuation, reading decodable texts, and writing a personal narrative. Lessons begin with a warm-up and go into a concept review, word work,...

Study the features of nonfiction text with a set of comprehension and analysis materials. Readers learn about Alexander Graham Bell with questions about the text, writing prompts, and proofreading activities.

Prepare your pupils for Common Core testing with this practice test. The test includes one fictional text and four informational texts for learners to read and answer questions about. Also included are answer keys, an online version, and...

Students view different vocabulary cards with personal information words. They match pairs of cards with personal information vocabulary. They complete an information form and read their information to the class.

Support the acquisition of content area vocabulary with this foldable resource. With space for studying three new terms, pupils determine the definition, write a sentence, and provide examples for each word.

What is reflectivity, and what does it have to do with the Earth's climate? As reflectivity is measured by albedo, scientists can gather information on Earth's energy balances that relate to global warming or climate change. Budding...

Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.

Check out this packet of worksheets involving mapping activities, vocabulary logging, reading and comprehending informational texts, etc., which focuses on Italian city-states during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. There are also...

Get things moving with this extensive collection of physical science resources. Covering the fundamentals of measurement, graphing, lab safety, and experimental design as well as the specific scientific concepts...

Physics is phun in this instructional activity. Young physicists use a lightbox to test how and where light is refracted and reflected as it travels through transparent materials. Angles of incidence and refraction, sine of both...

Common Core testing on your mind? Ease your class into the test by requiring pupils to take this practice test. The focus of this test is reading. Learners read several passages, both literary and informational, and respond to multiple...

Students play "Trivia Pursuit" in order to review material in any subject area. Groups are chosen to answer a given question, they discuss the answer and orally give it together.

Use this information, presentation, and infographic to build several lessons on telling the time and expressing the date in Spanish. The information is broken into topics and includes many examples and exceptions to the standard rules....

Spanish learners can start with uno, dos, y tres and move all the way up into the millions and trillions on their way to learning all the numbers. The webpage includes information on cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers, fractions, and...