Looking for an activity to increase fluency? Third graders will practice reading comprehension by expanding their reading level. They will demonstrate for their teacher their current reading level and then decide on a goal to be reached...

Students practice fluency. For this reader's theater lesson, students practice their fluency by rehearsing a script with their group. Once the group is ready, they create a background and props and are videotaped performing their script.

Here is a instructional activity that incorporates music writing, and reading literature. The class reads chapter eight from the C.S. Lewis classic The Magician's Nephew. Then, just like in the story, they use music as inspiration...

Explore English by identifying word structures. Learners find many words that end with a vowel, consonant, and then an e. The class will participate in a word flash card game in which they correctly pronounce vowel-consonant words.

Learners participate in a variety of emergent and early-literacy activities based on a "friendship" theme. Learners listen to the book Do You Want to Be My Friend by Eric Carle, then echo read, choral read, and independently read...

Fourth graders explore reading strategies through roleplaying. In this reading lesson, 4th graders read Wings, Stings, and Wiggly Things by Martin Jenkins. Student groups pretend to be a law firm and identify words as their evidence to...

First graders develop skills in reading music notes. In this reading music lesson, 1st graders clap and chant rhythm patterns and learn music vocabulary. Students also match patterns by listening to the teacher perform the pattern.

The perception of rhythms by reading and the ability to auditorily discriminate these rhythm patterns by listening to them performed by the teacher is practiced here. your students will work to create an eight-beat long rhythm pattern.

Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...

This is not just a New York Time article to read, this is a set of amazing activity ideas all related to the slide shows "Breaking Bread Everywhere" and "Where Children Sleep." Your class can view each show, read about what they mean...

Spruce up a class reading of the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this fun series of activities. Starting with a list of reading comprehension questions and key vocabulary to address during a teacher...

Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.

Reading is reading, whether it's for drama or English class. Boost reading fluency, accuracy, intonation, and comprehension while fostering creative acting skills. Kids read the provided tale of "The Lion and the Mouse" several times in...

Reader's Theater is a great way to build fluency, intonation, and dramatic flare. The class reads the theater piece, "The New Friends" paying attention to how they express emotion and feeling as they read. They discuss the use of plot,...

This was written for ESOL learners, but could work for any elementary class. Learners read about the American dance style known as Square Dancing. They explore its use in literature, write a friendly letter about it, and then use their...

How do you represent a tragic event? Are stories of tragic events better left untold? After reading chapter two of Maus and studying other representations of the Holocaust (suggestions are included), class members create a representation...

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

Utilize your learners' spare time by having a "password" that learners must recite before they enter or leave the classroom. As suggested here, provide an irregular word that your first graders are trying to develop. How efficient! 

Students find ways to share their favorite books. In this reading strategies lesson, students advertise books, create a top ten countdown, give a video book talk, simmer story stew, make book medals, play name that book, design a...

Scholars summarize sections of a book and compile them to create a book trailer. They are assigned sections of a book to read and summarize before recording as short video segments. The segments are put together in order to create a book...

Budding instrumentalists take on the task of reading accent marks and playing them correctly. They practice playing the provided rhythm or beat, focusing on emphasizing notes that have accents over them. The handout included provides...

Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the...

Shadow puppetry has an ancient past, it is also a great way to build oral expression and reading fluency. Young thespians research folk tales, compare and contrast reality and fantasy, then create and perform a shadow puppet play based...

Students complete poetry analysis activities. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students consider the use of imagery and sound devices in poetry. Students translate poetry into another art, read a diverse selection of...