A unit focuses on prewriting skills. Over 10 days, young scholars practice drawing lines and shapes, use play dough to build shapes, and track from left to right. Pupils put their sense of hearing to the test by listening for words...

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...

A two-day assessment challenges scholars to read an excerpt from the story, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis then complete a series of exercises in preparation for a writing assignment. Day one includes an independent...

A lesson centers itself around the topic of family roles. A whole-class discussion uses puppets and posters to go in-depth into the following character traits; caring, responsibility, respect, and cooperation. The discussion closes with...

Students draw pictures while following simple instructions. They discuss the importance of following directions explicitly. They discuss the differences between each child's work. They follow a second set of directions.

This fun presentation includes instructions for a grid game, where the child must follow directions to uncover the hidden treasure. They make Mr. Smiley move up, down, right, and left on the grid until he's reached the...

Students listen to the book Mouse Shapes and identify the shapes in the book as it is being read. In this shapes lesson, students identify the shapes in the book, and then play with cut out shapes that they can hold in their hands.

When Europeans first came back with tales of China, they provided vivid written accounts and minimal visual imput. This resulted in art rendered mostly from descriptive language. Learners explore this phenomena by listening to...

Hold a discussion in writing about coping strategies to prepare your pupils for reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman. After journaling, pupils come up in an organized fashion and write...

During this lesson, which is all about making connections, learners watch a documentary about the teenage brain and connect it to Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, their own lives, and the world.

Students create an airplane by listening to directions. They also to measure the pieces for the airplane and compare and contrast their test flights.

To launch a reading of The Dark is Rising, the second novel in Susan Cooper's award winning contemporary fantasy novel sequence for young adults, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise that asks them to visualize the...

A three-part assessment tests scholars' reading and writing capabilities. Young readers listen to and read an excerpt from Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel. After drawing pictures of what is memorable, learners discuss...

Elie Wiesel's "Hope, Despair and Memory" provides ninth graders an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyze complex text. Individuals craft an essay that draws evidence from the text of the speech to show how Wiesel develops...

Here, young historians compare their early lives to that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s. They listen to a read aloud of a story by Dr. King's sister, and then write in the provided reflective journal template. Lastly, they share their...

Turn your class' focus on how wheelchairs assist individuals with disabilities to become more independent with this disabilities lesson plan. Scholars listen to a read aloud of the book, Zoom! by Robert Munsch, answer...

Students practice following directions. In this listening activity, students play a game of "Follow the Leader" while coloring in an activity page. They must color their page according to the directions given by the teacher or leader.

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

Scholars become STAR deputies in a lesson that encourages them to be problem-solvers. Small groups gather to complete a worksheet by answering questions. A discussion presents a scenario in which a problem occurs on the playground. Small...

A lesson instills the importance of how empathy has the ability to aid in stopping bullying behavior. Scholars discuss, in-depth, a series of three questions. Using class input, an anchor chart is made then displayed for reference.

Infection prevention is the focus of two lessons. In lesson one, scholars take a brief quiz, survey peers, and discuss prevention techniques to stay healthy. Lesson two examines how germs work—transmission, symptoms, treatments, and...

Students create a computer slide show of pictures representing directional words. After listening to several books with examples, they pair words such as inside and outside, below and above, or high and low. With older students or...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...