After you read Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, use these character cut outs to retell the story with your young readers. The characters include the witch, her cat, and the animals that join them on their adventure, as well as...

First graders create a diagram of a story by using the computer program Kidspiration. In this diagramming lesson plan, 1st graders will pick a book to write about. They then will plug in story elements of the book into the computer...

Primary readers predict and check for understanding by using comprehension strategies. Prepare readers the first day by frontloading vocabulary and using pictures to visualize the words. On the second day, read the story The Old Woman...

After reading about a book that leads two friends on a treasure hunt, class members respond to four short answer reading comprehension questions. Skills include describing the characters, retelling the story in their own words, writing...

Engage students in setting and character with this story and craft activity set. To begin the activity, learners read the short story "The Too Small House." They then cut out and color a picture of the house and paper figures of the...

Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...

Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey...

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...

Identify main events in a text. Readers will read The Kissing Hand and discuss the main events of the story. They will use sentences strips to write down events and place them in order. Alternative books are suggested.

An activity work alongside a narrative text of your choice. With reading comprehension at its focus, readers complete worksheets covering character descriptions.

Students read several fairy tales of Russian origin. They brainstorm common elements of a fairy tale and identify those elements in several examples. They retell a favorite fairy tale through a skit, oral storytelling, a sketch, or a...

"You are pigs." With those three simple words, the lives of the Piggott family were changed forever. Read aloud the children's story Piggybook by Anthony Browne and teach your class the importance of personal responsibility,...

Breathe life into a reading of the children's story Clever Jack Takes the Cake with this Reader's Theater script. Offering speaking roles for nine students plus a sound effects chorus, this is a great activity that engages the whole...

First graders use question words to answer comprehension questions.  In this reading strategies lesson plan, 1st graders use picture cues and predict events in a story. Students use context clues to understand unfamiliar words....

Students retell a story by filling out a record sheet. In this retelling lesson plan, students fill out a record sheet that gives them prompts about the beginning, middle, and end of a story.

Second graders participate in guided reading and writing experience in this set of five lessons. They complete a picture walk of Michael Rosen's, We're Going on a Bear Hunt before listening to the story and retelling it. Working with a...

While this resource is actually attempting to sell a product, the foundational ideas may be worth looking into. Using Braidy the StoryBraid doll, learners will gain a better understanding of beginning, middle, and end, as well as story...

Young scholars explore story structure. In this multicultural literacy lesson, students discuss common elements of folk tales and then listen to the story Tiger and the Big Wind: A Tale from Africa. Young scholars identify the problem...

Left-to-right, left-to-right, that's the way we read and write! Watch this short video clip and teach your young learners this chant before they start writing! 

If you're reading Jez Alborough's Duck in the Truck, use these cute felt pieces to act out the story. The set features a duck, several animals, a truck, a rock, and a boat.

Here is a very age appropriate idea that can be stretched, modified, or used as is. Learners review plant parts, discuss pollination, read the story The Tiny Seed, and write a retell sentence. Their sentences describe to way a seed...

Reading aloud is a great way to engage learners in pacing and pronunciation! They practice using voice, pitch and intonation correctly. The teacher introduces the lesson by example, correctly stressing punctuation and using appropriate...

Sixth graders write a paper. In this writing and retelling lesson, 6th graders read the book The Black Snowman and answer comprehension questions. Students learn how to write good paragraphs and how to retell a story. Students write a 3...

In this retelling important events instructional activity, students write about two important events that happened in a story and read them aloud to someone in their families. Students write three short answers.