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

What steps did Henry "Box" Brown take while planning his own escape from slavery? Learners work in groups to analyze segments of Brown's narrative and identify the sequence of the most important events of his story.

Authors are constantly leaving clues that help the reader to understand the sequence of events in a story. Teach young readers how to pick up on these key temporal words and phrases with this slide show. After an introduction to commonly...

Enhance a reading of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this collection of learning activities. Starting with general background information about the book and author,...

Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....

Here's a packet designed especially for those kids who need extra support with the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on American stories.

Ensure that your kids don't even consider saying "Not me!" when it comes time to read by engaging them in this set of lesson plans based around "The Little Red Hen." The class reads the story together before starting in on additional...

Create a cross-curricular learning experience based on the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat with this collection of learning activities. Starting with a class reading of the story, children go on to learn about the...

Spruce up a class reading of the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this fun series of activities. Starting with a list of reading comprehension questions and key vocabulary to address during a teacher...

Imagine a packet packed with reading resources designed for every grade and reading level. Imagine worksheets, graphic organizers, flash cards, activities, and exercises. This is just such a packet and is well worth...

Scholars participate in chants, grand discussions, and complete practice pages in a We Can Do It! themed unit. Designed to provide extra support, the assortment of lessons cover topics such as r-controlled vowels, comparatives...

Get the most out of your guided reading lessons with this collection of literacy materials. Offering a system for using color-coded tags to mark pages while reading books, as well as an assortment of comprehension and grammar...

For scholars who need a challenge in the classroom, here is a unit for you. Learners explore topics such as animals, sports, helpers at home, the past, and funny things that have happened in their lives. Youngsters also engage...

A series of hands-on activities follows a reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Learners create a paper collage to explore the beginning, middle, and end of days of the week, numbers, and more. They grow a butterfly...

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...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss on Read Across America Day with a collection of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics activities, each linked to a popular Dr. Seuss story. 

Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

From seed to jack-o-lantern, young scholars walk step-by-step through the life cycle of pumpkins with this fun art and science activity. After first participating in a shared reading of the children's book Pumpkin,...

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...

How does HIV operate at the molecular level? Pupils discover the progression from a healthy immune cell to one infected with HIV, watch an animation of the HIV life cycle, and finally identify each of the stages with illustrations...

Explore the impact a narrator's point of view has on a story with a reading of the children's book, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Written in four different voices, the story is told and retold from different perspectives to...

Use this multidisciplinary lesson plan to delve into these subjects: English language arts, math, science, drama, and character education. After reading, discussing, and making interpretations about Go To Sleep, Gecko!: A Balinese...

Let's see how the story unfolds. Scholars examine paragraphs of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to determine how King unfolds his analysis of the church. Before arriving at an answer, learners work in pairs and...