Curated OER
Animals attributes
First graders analyze different animals in fiction and nonfiction stories. For this animal lesson, 1st graders choose an animal and read a fiction story with that animal as a character. They describe how the animal acted in the story and...
Curated OER
Prereading
Fourth graders participate in think-pair-share reading strategy in this lesson. They identify their purpose for reading as well as purposes for reading fiction/nonfiction. They list and discuss several prereading activities, and then...
Curated OER
Saving the Titanic
Students research the Titanic using fiction, nonfiction, images, and Internet based resources. They determine if it is appropriate to raise and save the Titanic and its artifacts before planning and writing an opinion piece which defends...
Curated OER
Pre-Reading Preparation
Learners explore a given historical fiction story. In groups, they research selected topics dealing with the story and determine what is fiction and what is fact. Students create a multimedia presentation about their findings and...
Curated OER
Reading and Responding: Lesson 3
Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one instructional activity intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read...
Curated OER
Heartsongs Poetry by Mattie Stepanek
Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...
Curated OER
All About Almanacs
Use almanacs to entice your learners to explore non-fiction texts in celebration of Read-An-Almanac Month!
Curated OER
Coming of Age Readings: Experiences in Korea and by Asians in America
Bring multi-cultural experiences and literature into your language arts class with this lesson. Here, young readers explore the points of view of first and second-generation Asian immigrants with a list of various fiction and nonfiction...
Scholastic
Point of View
The point of view in a story can dramatically change the story itself. Focus on finding the points of view in various reading passages with a language arts packet, which includes fiction and nonfiction text.
Louisiana Department of Education
Hatchet
Accompany a novel study of Hatchet by Gary Paulson with a unit consisting of 16 lessons focused on physical and emotional survival. Reading the story along with a variety of informational texts, scholars compare and contrast reading...
Curated OER
A Season for Chapters
Art, music, poetry, and the beauty of the seasons is what you'll find in this very nice unit idea. You can use any of the suggested books and activities to engage your second graders in an exploration of the changes that take place...
Curated OER
"Spelldown" by Becky Mushko
Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...
Curated OER
Libraries Are the Place to Be
Celebrate National Library Week by discovering all that your local library and the Library of Congress have to offer.
Curated OER
A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...
Curated OER
Everybody Needs a Rock
Second graders examine science non-fiction books in the 500 section of the media center. They listen to Byrd Baylor's, Everybody Needs a Rock, and write a sentence that tells why everyone does need a rock. They illustrate the sentence.
Curated OER
Reading to Learn
Children learn to read and comprehend non-fiction text and explore how to relate non-fiction texts to things they already know. They then examine how to stop and think about what they are reading repeatedly to make sure they understand...
Curated OER
What a Brave Little Girl
Students practice relating non-fiction to knowledge they already have on the subject. They evaluate differences in the types of text structrures in non-fiction. They employ a review strategy that allows them to understand their reading.
Curated OER
Writing to a Specific Topic
After a class discussion where learners make predictions about what will happen in a book based on its cover illustration, pupils are asked to compose a written response about an aspect of the story and include some of their own...
Curated OER
Book Review
Learners write a five paragraph theme that explains how the novel which they read in this unit effectively utilized various literary elements to portray the impact of a disease on a population. They then decide which three literary...
Curated OER
Eggs
Third graders examine a variety of information about eggs. They complete a class KWL chart, and read "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Eggs Are Hatching" by Monica Incisa and discuss the fictional and non-fictional aspects of each book. In...
Curated OER
Magnificent Mexico
Students complete a variety of activities in a unit about the art, culture, and traditions of Mexico. They read books about the Day of the Dead, create a skeleton puppet, and create a traditional Mexican tissue paper cutting. Students...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Music
Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...
Curriculum Corner
Academic Reading Vocabulary
From A to Z, learners define, draw, and find examples of specific reading focus skills in an alphabetized reading vocabulary packet. Words include dialogue, theme, text structure, genre, paraphrase, and many more.
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Government
A reading adventure pack looks closely at government with the help of two books—one fiction, one nonfiction, and a series of activities. Learners craft a mobile to visualize a balanced government, participate in a scavenger hunt around...