All for KIDZ
Giraffes Can’t Dance Concepts: Giraffes Can't Dance
Teach young children that with a little perseverance and the help of a good friend, anything is possible. This two-part lesson series based on the book Giraffe's Can't Dance starts with a shared reading about Gerald and...
Curated OER
How Do Adjectives Improve Writing?
Using adjectives to create vivid descriptions is the focus of exercises in this resource. A cloze reading activity asks class members to add missing adjectives to passages from Mark Teague's The Lost and Found. They then read...
Facing History and Ourselves
The World the War Made
The United States Civil War forced Northern and Southern societies, as well as the people who made up those societies, to reconstruct their vision of themselves and their identities. A series of video-based web lessons look at the great...
Curated OER
Make Way for Readers
Students practice reading fluently and with expression. They explore different techniques for reading quickly when coming upon unknown words. They also participate in a paired reading activity in which they read "Make Way for...
Curated OER
Hatchet: Predicting the Outcome Guide
What will happen in Hatchet by Gary Paulsen? Kids read a series of possible events that will occur in the novel and mark whether they agree or disagree with the probability of each event happening.
Curated OER
Just Off Mainstreet by Elmaz Abinader
Eighth graders read writings from Elmaz Abinader. For this author analysis lesson students read an essay from Abinader and discuss the story "Just Off Mainstreet." Students re-read the text and complete close reading activities.
Curated OER
Book Nook
A reading of Dr. Seuss's My Many Colored Days provides a great intro for a discussion of colors and how they can represent emotions and moods. Kids share the feelings they associate with various colors
ReadWriteThink
Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...
Mississippi State University
The Five Senses
Your learners engage their five senses every day without knowing it. Help them identify their experiences and extend their understanding with a month full of lessons designed for the five senses. Kids focus on a different sense every...
American Chemical Society
Surface Tension
A drop of dew holds a sphere shape even when sitting on a seat thanks to the surface tension of water. Learners observe the phenomena of surface tension in water. Through demonstrations, hands-on activities, and discussions they explore...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Syllables, Syllable Say
Counting syllables can be fun when it's done with a friend. In pairs, learners say words as their partner counts the syllables they hear.
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency: Letter-Sound Correspondence, Letter Flash
Scholars work in pairs to drill and practice alphabet sounds, keeping track of their progress on a chart. Working one at a time, each partner flips letter cards, saying the sound and letter. If they get it correct, it goes in the YES...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Rhyme, Rhyme or No Rhyme
Rhyming is fun, builds phonemic awareness, and is a tried and true pre-reading skill. This activity helps learners identify words that rhyme. Young scholars listen to a song, locate a rhyming word they hear by clapping then draw a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Hundred Chart Digit Game
Math games, especially in the primary grades, provide great opportunities for developing the number sense of young mathematicians. Working in pairs with a deck of single-digit cards, students take turns drawing two cards and reading the...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Words in Context, Ask-Explain-List
Engage young readers in using context clues with this collaborative vocabulary activity. In pairs, children draw from a deck of cards, with each card asking a question about a context involving a specific vocabulary word. After...
Curated OER
After Reading: "Plot the Plot" Activity in the Library Media Class
"Plot the plot" of "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" with your young readers. Take a few days to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as a class or in pairs, having learners write down what they consider to be the most important...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Morphemic Elements, Root-A-Word
In pairs, scholars draw cards, read the word, and identify its root. Learners place the card on a tree-themed worksheet to sort words by their roots.
Curated OER
Pre-Reading Preparation
Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research instructional activity, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Meaning, All For One
Given a deck of cards with different words printed, pairs draw cards and work together to locate definitions for each multiple-meaning word. Learners complete a worksheet that challenges them to write the word, two of its definitions,...
PBS
The Little Red Hen: A Tale of Cooperation
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...
Curriculum Corner
Book Study: The Polar Express
All aboard! Pair a reading of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg with a set of literacy activities. The packet of worksheets includes task cards, sorting activities, a synonym match, comparing and contrasting activities, writing...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Onset and Rime, Sound Detective
Play letter sound detective with your class, and snoop out sounds, onsets, blends, and rhyme. In pairs, children take turns choosing a card from the pile; as they sound out part of the word, their partner attempts to figure out which...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Segmenting, Phoneme Photos
This great activity incorporates counting, phoneme segmenting, and class photos. In pairs, learners take turns saying, counting, and checking the number of phoneme segments found in their classmates' names. They count the phonemes and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Making a Clock
Have a fun time teaching children to read analog clocks with this whole-group math activity. Using large sets of the numerals 1-12 and 0, 5, 10...55, the teacher creates a large clock on either the carpet or the white board, explaining...