Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Bookend your study of Peter and the Starcatchers with a KWHL centered around treasure and power. Pupils work in small groups to compile knowledge and questions and then revisit this chart after reading and research.

Prepare your class for a unit on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with an activity that works for pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading. Learners fill out a K-W-H-L chart to reflect on what they already know, what...

What does your class know about the 1960s? Introduce your unit on S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders with a K-W-H-L chart, which encourages kids to list what they already know about the time period, what they would like to know, how they...

As part of the introduction to Edward Bloor's Tangerine, class members generate a KWHL chart listing what they know, what they want find out, how they plan to find this information, and what they have learned or still want to learn.

To prepare for a reading of Christopher E. Crowe's Mississippi Trial, 1955, class members create a KWHL chart and begin by generating questions they have about the civil rights movement, slavery, and the death of Emmett...

If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...

Learners discuss an ecosystem. In this coral reef instructional activity, students fill in their own KWL chart and contribute ideas to a whole class KWL chart. They read an article as a class to spark ideas for facts they can add to the...

While the focus of this instructional activity is on writing about tornadoes, any topic could be substituted. The instructional activity provides a well-thought out overview of the writing process. Learners come up with a thesis...

What would your class like to learn about Japanese culture? Prepare them for a novel unit about Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter with a KWL chart. After listing what they already know about Japanese culture, they write questions...

Help your researchers as they begin to develop a topic for research with these worksheets. Included are two nicely designed graphic organizers that assist young scholars in narrowing and researching their topic, and an efficient...

Use a graphic organizer to get readers thinking about main ideas as they record the who, what, where, when, and why of a story. Consider modeling this process completely before kids do this independently. They fill in five boxes charting...

Prior to reading Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, class members use the provided worksheet to list what they know about the Holocaust, what they want to know, and how they will find the information they seek. After...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. As a class they read a paragraph and answer the five W's. Students then read an online paragraph, and complete a chart online, then in small groups write a short summary.

What, where, how? Readers hone their analysis skills as they determine the narrator's point of view in Eight Days. They complete a literary analysis chart and essay to describe what and where events take place. Individuals then discuss...

Let the journey begin! Fifth graders take their first steps down the road of self-discovery during the first of five career and college readiness lesson plans. After taking an interests inventory, groups create a graphic representation...

Students compare George Washington's foreign policy to the policies of presidents who followed him. In this primary source analysis lesson, students compare Washington's Farewell Address to the Roosevelt Corollary, the Monroe Doctrine,...

Students preview the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep, make connections between the novel previewed and their prior knowledge, other texts, and the world. They utilize graphic representations including charts, graphs, pictures, and...

Lesson 7 focuses on building academic vocabulary and writing an explanatory letter with supported textual evidence. For the first five minutes of the lesson, the educator reminds the class of how to read and refer to the accordion...

Learners learn about the parts of the eye.  In this eyes and vision lesson, students the story Arthur's Eyes and create a KWL chart about eyes.  Learners label the parts of the eye, examine the eyes of different animals to...

Third graders use K-W-L charts to brainstorm a list of questions they would like to answer about sports. While visiting a Web site, 3rd graders research a chosen sport and complete their K-W-L chart.

Pupils work to develop comprehension strategies. They focus on the five 'w' questions for summarizing: who, what, when, where, and why? Through modeling and guided practice, they apply these questions to summarize several passages.

What is a philanthropist? We can all be philanthropists! After assessing the needs of the school and listening to literature about how they can help others, primary learners develop a class project and maintain a journal of their...

Anchors aweigh, it's time to write! After viewing an anchor chart detailing the parts of a position paper, pupils share their plans for their essays with a partner. Next, they write the rough draft of their body paragraphs.