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Human Body Lessons
Students read "The Magic School Bus in the Human Body" and discuss the importance of maintaining a healthy body. They create a hinge and joint paper skeleton, follow the journey of a hamburger through the digestive tract, jump rope and...
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A'planting We will Go
Germination is an amazing process that results in amazing things. The book The Tiny Seed is the inspiration for a set of activities that will help build early literacy, observation, language, and writing skills. The class observes how...
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Where are the Mittens?
Help early readers identify rhyming words in nursery rhymes. They will read the nursery rhyme Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens in order to identify rhyming words. Then they chart the rhyming words they heard in the story.
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram
Compare and contrast the characters in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Using a Venn diagram, kids write in different traits to describe each person, and note their shared characteristics in the middle section.
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Help Others
Students share the value of helping others through reading and art activities. In this Clifford and the Big Storm lesson plan, students read the story, discuss courage, and create a gallery of heroes.
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Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell Author Study
Students complete various activities based on books by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell. In this author study lesson, students are introduced to a number of books written by Curtis and Cornell, then complete worksheets by finding...
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Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell Author Study
Students complete various activities based on books by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell. In this author study lesson, students are introduced to a number of books written by Curtis and Cornell, then complete worksheets by finding...
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Be Kind
Students express feelings and learn about kindness. In this social skills lesson, students read Clifford Wants a Cookie and retell the story in sequence by using pictures. Students create a sweet treat for someone that has shown them...
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Mini-Ecosystems
Third graders identify the living and non living things in a book read aloud and discuss the interactions represented in the book. Then, they research and include a list of food that each animal needs in an ecosystem. Finally, 3rd...
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My Lips are Zipped
Students practice reading silently. After discussing how reading silently can enhance the reading experience, students discuss decoding strategies. Individual students read selected, level passages during sustained silent reading.
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Race to the Finish Line
Student increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing the importance of fluent reading, 3rd graders complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed...
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Cookies and Cream
Students listen to stories and identify the cause and effect situations in each. In this cause and effect lesson, students read the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and then make cookies and ice cream. Students identify the changes they...
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Our Story: Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence
For this parent and child activity, young learners read Martin’s Big Words and a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is a wonderful guided reading pdf that defines challenge words and provides reading tips. The object of this...
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Phineas Gage: Assessment Strategy
Close up your study of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a letter-writing assignment. Pupils prepare by journaling and sharing with a partner. They then compose letters that focus on a big idea from the...
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I'm a Changed Pig
Introduce your class to fairy tales with this lesson. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the fairy tale....
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I'm a Changed Pig - Personal Narrative
Young writers explore character arcs, conflict, and narrative in this complete and ready-to-use lesson plan from Scholastic. As a class read The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig and discuss the dramatic change the pig undergoes...
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I Know An Old Lady
Have your young pupils complete a variety of activities related to the story "I Know an Old Lady." They act-out the story using puppets, visit the illustrator's website, discuss his cartoon drawings for the book, and generate a list of...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Curious George Rides a Bike (Rey)
Are your learners curious about new words? Take them on an adventure with Curious George as they learn vocabulary in the context of H.A. Rey's book, Curious George Rides a Bike. Prepare budding readers by introducing the terms before...
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Introduce Vocabulary: Jonathan and His Mommy (Smalls)
Go on a walking adventure through Irene Smalls' touching book Jonathan and His Mommy, an excellent resource to practice vocabulary in context. Go over the walking-themed terms (humongous, pace, leap, and zigzag) learners will hear before...
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Study Guide for Missing May
Use this comprehensive packet to accompany a study of Missing May by Cynthia Rylant. Starting out with a brief author biography and background information about the novel, this guide includes materials to use throughout the entire novel....
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Rural Life During the Great Depression: A Year Down Yonder
“Anyone who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.” Mary Alice, the fifteen-year-old narrator of A Year Down Yonder, is forced to leave Chicago and spend a year with her Grandma Dowdel in a small rural...
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I Am Special and You Are Special Too
Pre-schoolers identify things that make them a special individual. In this diversity instructional activity, they read the book Little Gorilla and discuss ways they are special and unique. Children create a birthday party for "Little...
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Visualization: Cricket in Times Square
After reading The Cricket in Times Square chapter titled "Caught in the Kitchen," learners list three describing details about the characters and setting. Groups collaborate to find sensory details to support their character assertions....
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Introduce Vocabulary: Clouds (Bauer)
What type of cloud is that? Explore meteorological vocabulary using Marion Bauer's book, Clouds (although these strategies could be used for any fiction or nonfiction text). Pre-teach the new words before reading the story aloud....