After listening to a story about Martin Luther King Jr., first graders answer questions about the text. They discuss the importance of the illustrations, identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and complete a writing...

Young learners examine different places in their neighborhood using informational texts. First they identify a place that they like to play and predict if it will be in the nonfiction book Community at Play.They will share their favorite...

Students participate in a shared writing experience about rice. In this writing lesson, students listen to  Norah Dooley's, Everybody Cooks Rice. They write about, and discuss different ways their families and those in the book use...

How many people and animals can cram into a single bed? Find out with this cross-curricular math and language arts lesson. Following along with a reading of the children's book The Napping House by Audrey Wood, young mathematicians...

How is energy transferred within an ecosystem? What would happen to a food web if one of the organisms was removed? Elementary or middle school ecologists examine these questions and more in a comprehensive 5E learning cycle lesson....

Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...

Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...

Mostly discussion, this activity explores the importance and methods of hand washing. A few true stories of community illnesses spread by the neglect of washing hands serve as an anticipatory set. The activity is most memorable if you...

As the instructor reads aloud several quotes from five chapters of the story Matilda, class members mime their interpretation of the scenes. Then, after reading "Miss Honey" and "The Trenchbull" (chapters seven and eight), the...

After reading the 11th chapter in Matilda, class members take on the role of Bruce Bogtrotter and re-enact the cake eating scene. Here's the catch: they must come-up with an impromptu re-enactment of the scene from the story, and...

Full truth, or an exaggeration? How can you tell when a storyteller is exaggerating a story? Readers analyze a story told by Hortensia, and identify the exaggerative language she uses. Then, learners write their own narrative story using...

Students turn cardboard boxes into outdoor dramatic play. In this early childhood visual arts activity, students explore cooperative and dramatic play outdoors by challenging children to create a train from cardboard boxes.

Explore genre, subgenre, and author's purpose in this helpful worksheet. Middle schoolers read several summaries of books and short stories, and identify the genre and subgenre. They also determine if the author's purpose is to...

Learning how to deliver good literacy instruction is key to becoming a successful teacher. This resource isn't so much a lesson plan as it is a guide to leading children in an interactive read-aloud session to increase fluency,...

If you are reading Judy Freeman's Oh No! or your class loves animals, use a reader's theater exercise to bring the story to life. After assigning 12 parts to your young actors, have them act out the story with a script that will be...

Lead discussion and thoughtful analysis as pupils view Rabbit Proof Fence, a drama based on true story about three aboriginal girls who ran away from Western Australia to return to their Aboriginal families in 1931. Here you'll...

For this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the popular children's book, Madeline. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Penny, Polly, and Peter are planning a picnic but end up pigging out instead in this fun printable book. Including dozens of p-words and amusing illustrations, this is a great resource for teaching emergent readers about the sound...

Introduce young learners to the idea of disabilities and making friends with children who are different than they are. Using Don't Call Me Special - A First Look at Disability by Pat Thomas, learners are guided through the new...

Students explore a variety of colors and shapes after reading the story, "Planting A Rainbow," by Lois Ehlert. The tracking and reading of labels attached to diagrams form an experience in vocabulary development in this lesson plan.

As children observe the teacher reading Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, they take note of the role punctuation plays in the emotion or expression used. They then take turns reading a book with a partner so they can...

Follow up a reading of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl with this collaborative lesson on teamwork. Starting with a fun team game, learners go on to investigate examples of teamwork in the story before...