If you are reading Jane Yolen's fun story How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, use these strategies to enhance the experience for budding readers. What new words will they learn? Find detailed comprehension questions for these...

As budding readers learn about the ocean, they'll get practice with the alphabet and new vocabulary words (cling, nab, prey, slumber, and thrive) in context. Read Deborah Rose's book Into the A, B, Sea, which includes a...

Use the Caldecott Award-winning book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it) to guide budding readers through vocabulary in context. Although the...

Barbara Joosse approaches an age-old question through an equally traditional culture in her story Mama, Do You Love Me?, which helps budding readers explore Native American vocabulary in context. Here you'll find...

Explore vocabulary in context with emerging readers using Leo Lionni's whimsical story Matthew's Dream, which you can find on YouTube if you don't have it. Kids expand their word base as you pre-teach the...

What is Miss Bindergarten up to now? Joseph Slate's story Miss Bindergarten Stays Home is an excellent resource for budding readers to practice five vocabulary words in context: advise, lesson, lovely,...

If you are reading Frank Asch's book Moonbear's Bargain, here is an excellent way to practice vocabulary in context with budding readers. Although you could include others, the recommended words for this text are: blossom,...

Your classroom may feel like a zoo sometimes, but it's nothing like this! Stu Smith's book My School's a Zoo is an excellent way to introduce some fun vocabulary words in context, and it's available on YouTube in case...

Do any of your budding readers have parents who work the night shift? Eileen Spinelli's book Night Shift Daddy, which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it, examines this family dynamic in a positive light and is an...

If you're reading the classic story Over in the Meadow, consider this strategy to cover vocabulary in context with budding readers. After a brief introduction, listeners raise a hand when they hear each word (bask,...

Jump into traditional Chinese culture with budding readers as they examine vocabulary in context through Shirin Yim Bridge's book Ruby's Wish. This book is read on YouTube if you don't have it on hand. Scholars are briefly...

Experience the Los Angeles Riots through the eyes of a child in Even Bunting's poignant story Smoky Night. Use this text as you teach vocabulary in context, using comprehension questions to help scholars make connections to outside...

Learn the importance of leadership as you explore vocabulary in context through Leo Lionni's book Swimmy, which can be found on YouTube in case you don't have it. This text includes some excellent vocabulary words for young readers,...

Anyplace can become a beach! Budding readers explore Faith Ringgold's world of imagination in her book Tar Beach, which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it. What words will budding readers learn? They focus on the following...

Support children with finding meaning in unknown words using this graphic organizer. While reading a piece of writing, learners identify unfamiliar words, using context clues and reference materials to find and record definitions before...

Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...

Considering a lesson on using context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words? This packet includes a brief reading passage about strategies readers can use and 12 very different graphic organizers, including a template for a...

Cows can't fly, can they? David Milgrim's whimsical story makes vocabulary fun! Although this strategy can be used with any text, using Cows Can't Fly will be a breeze with this outline. Pupils are ready to raise their...

William Steig's story of a witty mouse couple will have scholars intrigued as they listen for new vocabulary words and context clues. Doctor DeSoto can be found on YouTube in case you don't have it. Emerging readers expand...

Patricia Polacco weaves an engaging tale for budding readers in her book Some Birthday!, an excellent resource for vocabulary in context. You can use this text to introduce the following words: investigate, snarl, and squawk....

An Alaskan quarter and a book of fables is what you'll need to start this lesson. Learners will use the image of the bear and the salmon found on the reverse side of the Alaskan quarter as inspiration. They will compose a fable about the...

The African plains come alive as scholars learn vocabulary in context through Verna Aardema's story Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (tip: this strategy can be applied to any book). Precede reading by...

Dandelion the lion is dapper and elegant; young readers learn these and more vocabulary words as they read Don Freeman's story Dandelion (hint: this strategy can be applied to any book). Familiarize pupils with the new words...

Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...