Discover some of the themes of Dr. Seuss's major books. They see that despite being written for young people, Dr. Seuss' books contain powerful messages and important themes.

Sixth graders read Katherine Paterson's novel, Bridge to Terabithia, and watch a video of Maurice Sendak's book, Where the Wild Things Are. They examine the characters in both stories that share similar characteristics. Students use the...

Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details...

Using sentences from the book Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, this presentation explores the use of correct grammar. It starts out by giving examples of complete and incomplete sentences, and then moves on to nouns, verbs, and...

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...

Engage and entertain young learners with this collection of readers theatre activities. With over 25 different scripts, a wide range of topics are covered from simple counting and rhyming exercises to adaptions of popular children's...

Bring to life a class reading of the children's book Caps for Sale with this printable set of manipulatives. Color, laminate, and cut out these pictures of the peddler, his caps, the tree, and the monkeys, using them act out the...

Explore the book The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss with your class. They will design a pattern for the cat's hat. They will create color pattern designs with candy and frosting. In the end, they will describe their pattern.

Expand this Venn diagram so it's a little larger for your class. As they're reading Briar Rose, stop them and encourage them to compare Becca and Gemma, two characters from the novel. A teacher's guide gives some possible ideas. 

Guide your class through reading various versions of The Three Little Pigs. Talk about the traditional story line and then discuss a different point of view: Maybe the wolf was just an innocent bystander! This lesson plan, which has...

Work with your class on point of view by reading "The Three Little Pigs." Learners demonstrate an understanding that the point of view is determined by the author and that different points of view exist. They then read a different short...

Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee  and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write...

Is your class familiar with the tale of Peter and the Wolf? If they are, they will have fun testing themselves on how well they can identify each character by listening to the piece. This presentation acts as a quiz where the class works...

Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The instructional...

This is designed to be completed during, or after, the showing of the Magic School Bus episode titled "Busasaurus." Learners answer ten questions that are directly related to the video. It will motivate your class to view attentively....

Reading comprehension questions for the 13th Magic Tree House book, Vacation Under the Volcano, are divided by chapter. Each chapter warrants three to five questions. They cover basic comprehension, vocabulary, and some inference.

Arthur, the main character in Marc Brown’s books, is the star of this lesson. Pairs of researchers select one character from the Arthur series and use the internet to access Brown’s web site and learn more about their chosen character....

Study story elements with your young learners. Read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and discuss the order of events by making a story panel out of butcher paper. Sentences are given as suggestions for the panel, though you may...

First graders read the book, RAINBOW FISH and view a few pictures of different types of fish. They discuss putting certain shapes together make up objects and talk about and demonstrate straight and wavy lines, thick and thin lines....

Grow young performers with storytelling. Elementary schoolers listen to the story "Little Red Riding Hood" by Mike Lockett, highlighting dialogue as they listen, and then act out the story. This is based on a story told by Mike Lockett...

Students compare and contrast two different presentations of Holocaust experiences. They participate in class discussions and write journal entries to explore the differences between the book "Until We Meet Again" and the film "Devil's...

The book Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, is read aloud,and students listen for regular and irregular plurals in the story. They record their words on a worksheet which is embedded in the plan. This lesson plan provides good practice...

Students examine Dr. Suess's story, The Lorax, and the concept of needless waste in a "natural" environment, and study how this story relates to the real world. They discuss what recycling means and what happens when something is not...

First graders listen to the story "The Little Red Hen". They buddy read the story and then illustrate their own interpretation of the story on story paper. Students then use AlphaSmart to type their stories in sequential order.