Prior to reading Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen, present your class with a KWHL. Although the actual chart isn't included here, you can easily find or create one on your own. Give your class a specific topic and start by brainstorming...

More vowels? Elementary schoolers recognize how vowel patterns change a short vowel sound into a long vowel sound. With an emphasis on the /oo/ that makes the long U sound, kids identify the phoneme and letter combination through...

Students read about the history of cattle trails and complete language arts, math, social studies, and more activities about barbed wire. In this barbed wire lesson plan, students read poetry, research changes over time, draw cattle...

Read aloud your choice of books about counting on and counting back (a list is provided, or tell stories of your own). Your learners will write horizontal equations to portray what happens in the story. They build a paper chain and...

Use the power of primary sources to help young historians understand the conditions Africans endured while being shipped during the slave trade. After reading an excerpt from Eyewitness Accounts of Slavery in the Danish West Indies,...

Here's a formal plan for what many effective teachers already do: Provide a week's worth of aphorisms and have learners choose one to write about in their journals each day. They reflect on the meaning of each aphorism and project how it...

"The Star Spangled Banner" became our country's national anthem, but why? Second and third grade musicians read about the song, analyze the lyrics, and discuss patriotism. They then complete a related word search.

Students investigate pattern books. In this literature lesson, students read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and use echo and choral reading strategies. Students identify the pattern in the text and write about the...

In this complete sentences activity, students improve their reading skills by reading the sentences and select the word that best completes the 10 examples.

Let your eager learners practice their basic arithmetic and spelling skills with this fun interactive resource! For any primary grade teacher with access to an Apple mobile device, this is a must-have application.

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

Explore the relationship between U and I with a video and related activities. First, pupils have some fun with the alphabet and discuss text message language. Next they practice coming up with words that have the same sound a I and...

Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. In this context clues lesson, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories are peer edited...

Students assess and critique a wide variety of writing samples for each of the traits of writing strands from literature, composition writing, reading and assessment tools. They create and design a descriptive definition piece of writing...

Students complete assessments to determine strengths and weaknesses in their reading and writing skills. They use an educational software package to complete a computerized assessment. Afterward, they write a narrative about a memory in...

Students choose a book and read it with a partner throughout the week. They discuss and evaluate the text with their partner as well as complete a question form. They desing and choose a way to present their book to their peers in the...

Students get an introduction to using KWL Charts as tools for reading nonfiction. They study unfamiliar words and share what they already know about the topic of the non-fiction selection and use this knowledge to help prepare to read.

Learners observe the pictures in non-fiction books that focus on animals in the winter. In addition, they also listed to some read aloud books about hibernation, migration, adaptation and dormancy. Students draw pictures and write notes...

Students explore the rhythm of words. In this reading skills lesson, students read Bedtime at the Swamp and use rhythm instruments to find the cadence in the words of the story. Students listen for rhythm in other written text as they...

Students explore the life of Ernest Hemingway. They complete a KWL chart about him and then complete a webquest about his life to find out about aspects of his life they wanted to learn. They follow by reading a novel Hemingway wrote.

In this language arts worksheet, 4th graders read a question or comment that might be made in conversation. From a list of 4 responses, students choose the one that best answers the question or responds appropriately to the comment.

Learners explore story-grammar. They discuss story-grammar and read That Mean Man. A story map is created and a Venn Diagram is used to compare and contrast concepts within the story. They retell the story and use a story pyramid to...

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...

Creatively develop and reinforce new vocabulary from the book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, using these vocabulary squares. Each square is divided into four quadrants asking scholars to input the word, a...