Kids who need extra support with the concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit on silly stories, will benefit from this packet packed with skill builders, activities, exercises, and practice sets.

It's amazing the complex figures that can be made using only a few simple shapes. Following a class reading of the children's book Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert, young mathematicians use sets of tangrams to create models...

Sixth graders create a slide show presentation of a popular children's storybook. The story will be retold by the "villain" in an effort to explain his side of the story. This activity is based on "The True Story of The Three Little...

How did the Great Depression affect children? Sometimes studying the Great Depression means only studying about how it affected adults, however, relating the experiences of children and peers their age to themselves may make the...

Hiding in the filth of a sewer, as a child, to avoid capture by Nazi soldiers—sounds scary! Scholars investigate the youngest victims of the Holocaust, the children. They research video clips and written sources from the Holocaust...

What a terrific exploration of writing! This resource focuses on how to write a great beginning for a narrative piece. It is a thoughtful and helpful look at this topic.

Fairy tales seem like quick, fun children's stories, but asking compelling questions about characters, plot elements, and literary themes can transform them into rich and complex tales. Use a series of eight lessons on Hans Christian...

Using a Venn diagram, class members generate similarities and differences between narratives and summaries. Next, pupils co-create an anchor chart to capture their thinking about how an author zooms in on a particular part of a story. 

Here is a nicely designed lesson with everything you need to implement it in your classroom. First, pairs of learners get together and each write their own version of a classic fairy tale. They then peer edit each other's stories, taking...

A great way to publish students' stories is by having them create a picture book using Pages. This simple instructional activity has them take a short story they have written and create a book with a title page and dedication. After they...

This story is bound to motivate your class. Learners read a story called Elena by Diane Stanley. The story is about a young woman who marries for love but is soon widowed during the Mexican Revolution. She takes her children to...

Students examine the common themes and characteristics of children's literature. They develop a list of characteristics, read and discuss examples of children's literature, and create an original children's book.

Students, while analyzing children's literature works as a vehicle for a multitude of insights, practice analytical reading and writing scenarios about older adults. In retrospect, they read books aloud to young children as well as write...

Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study. 

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...

Guide your class through a reading of the popular children's book, Frindle, with this comprehensive literature unit. Starting with a brief introduction to the guided reading process, the class goes on to read the story two chapters...

Once upon a time are four words most children are familiar with when reading a fairy tale. But do they know that fairy tales are a great way to learn the literary elements of reading and writing? Use a thorough fairy tale unit...

Which is more likely: 130 children followed a magical piper out of Hamelin and disappeared forever, or that they died of the plague? Or could they have escaped from Hamelin via a secret tunnel to Transylvania? Learners investigate...

First graders read a short story on cooking. Then they respond to questions based on interest and practice writing.

All good stories must come to an end. Writers review teacher feedback from their Children's Book Storyboards and make plans for revision. Next, they begin writing their final drafts and putting them together with their illustrations. 

Students look at picture books and describe the story elements. In this picture book lesson, students retell a story and begin to understand the story elements of plot, setting, and characters. Students complete graphic organizers to...

Students explore expressive reading. In this literature lesson plan, students read the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and interpret key themes. Students perform a different version of the text.

First graders discuss story events and characters. In this story event or character lesson, 1st graders work in tiered groups to read George Ella Lyon's, Together. They complete reading the story before talking about their favorite...