Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...

Students explore 5 senses poetry.  In this poetry writing lesson, students visualize a special day and brainstorm related vivid adjectives and phrases.  Students create mindmaps of the five senses to go with their visualization...

Familiarize young analysts with the relationship between words, meaning, and visual images. They consider the relationship between the painting Beach Poetry and the poem Sandpaper. They compose and illustrate an original a...

Students examine the lives of the Aboriginal peoples of Saskatchewan. In this talking stick lesson, students discover dance, art, music, and traditions of the First Nations people.  Students design and create a talking stick to...

Fourth graders recognize that the Tejanas were Texas women of Spanish-Mexican origin who contributed to the history of Texas. Students read and research the Tejanas women, complete an essay about a day in the life of a Tejanas woman ,and...

Students listen to data on African American women in Texas before the Civil War. In this Civil War instructional activity, students compare and contrast the lives of slave and free women, and discuss case studies, locating areas on a...

Students identify the elements of a story. In this reading and writing lesson, pupils read the book, Tyrone the Horrible by Hans Wihelm and then identify the characters, setting, and plot of the story.This lesson includes adaptations and...

First graders discuss what compound words are and what they look like as a whole group.  In this compound words instructional activity, learnerseach have a single word card and pair up with another student to create a compound word....

Have class members create a recipe flip book for their favorite after school snack. Using ordinal words (first, second next, etc.), young chefs write and illustrate each step in the process on separate cards. They then design a cover,...

Use this lesson to reinforce the importance of a strong thesis statement. After viewing samples, middle schoolers identify the three parts to a thesis. Additionally, they create their own thesis including and labeling the three parts and...

Have your class examine the work of Gordan Parks. They determine how Park's childhood in Kansas inspired his artwork as they analyze his writings and photographs. Students complete the provided worksheets as they compare, contrast, and...

In this sentence completion worksheet, young scholars read the 10 sentences and choose the appropriate word to complete each sentence. There is an extension activity where the student must write silly sentences using the word "because."

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...

What are some things you think are special enough to keep? Discussing special things launches young learners into reading Keepers. They investigate related vocabulary and practice before, during, and after reading comprehension...

Have your class explore active reading strategies! In this guided reading instructional activity, learners make personal connections to characters having a bad day as a prior knowledge activation discussion. After reading Gettin' Through...

Elementary students explore African American culture by reading children's poetry. They read the book, The Palm of My Heart which features poetry by an assortment of young African American boys and girls. Students define several...

A reading of Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter opens a discussion of justice and fairness. Using a Venn diagram and an Idea Wheel graphic organizer, class members consider the similarities and differences in these two terms. They then...

Fifth graders explore historical fiction. In this genre study lesson, 5th graders go on a text feature scavenger hunt to identify the parts of a historical fiction text. Additionally, students read the book, My Secret War and discuss...

Fifth graders write a speech.  In this history lesson, 5th graders define the word infamy and listen to a speech by FDR.  Students work in groups to summarize his speech and rewrite sections of the speech.

Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...

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...

From British accents to Texan drawls, a character's dialect can be an important part of the reading experience. A Six-Trait writing activity guides learners through the analysis of a character's dialect (Daniel Keyes's Flowers for...

What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...

Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this lesson plan could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing process,...