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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...
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Author's Purpose
A simple activity for young readers, this introduces the idea of author purpose. Learners analyze various types of texts (newspaper articles, magazines, books, advertisements, etc.) and determine if the author's purpose for writing was...
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Teaching Summarization
Examine the process of summarizing a piece of text using the book So You Want to Be a President? Kids review the definitions for main idea, topic sentences, superordinate terms, and supporting details. Next, they work in small groups to...
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Body Basics
Youngsters discuss the basics for appropriate bodily behavior in the classroom. This lesson addresses the importance of keeping one's hands to yourself, raising your hand when wanting to speak, and keeping your eyes on teacher when they...
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Classroom Fun with Flat Stanley
Complete a series of activities based on the Flat Stanley books in this literature study lesson. Introduce the book with a discussion of supernatural qualities, then studentscan create character webs, write news articles, build kites and...
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The Writing Process- Prewriting Using Collaboration
After a class discussion on strategies pupils can use to pre-write, learners are given a topic which they use to guide them in selecting a book to read. Everyone uses a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to write down information from the...
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Prewriting Strategies
Fourth graders explore various strategies to overcome fears of writing, and utilize a story map as a prewriting strategy. They read and discuss the steps of the writing process, follow the steps along with the teacher as they discuss the...
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Monkey Business
Students practice reading with expression, decoding and word recognition to become fluent readers. They read the book, "Not me!" Said the Monkey," by Cohn West and view drawings of a lion, snake, rhino, elephant and a monkey from the art...
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Flipped: After Reading Strategy
Everyone can be an expert! After finishing Wendelin Van Draanen's book Flipped, divide your class into small groups. Then, assign each group a topic to become experts on. The resource suggests topics such as characters, themes, setting,...
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K-W-L Chart
After choosing a topic of interest, young learners use the K-W-L thinking process to create an informational, illustrated, big book. K-W-L, a three-part thinking process, asks the learner to respond to three questions: What do we know...
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Learning the Rules with "Never Spit on Your Shoes"
Foster a sense of community by having youngsters work together to create a list of classroom rules. They draw pictures of their hopes for first grade after reading a children's book as a group. They also discuss why it is important to...
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Conferences and General Courses Individualized Law-Related Education Projects
Sixth graders develop a law-related lesson plan to teach to primary grade students. They choose a law-related topic, read a book, and create a lesson plan to present to other students.
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Watercolor Rainbows
Who doesn't love a rainbow? Little ones adore them, so why not make rainbows the subject of your next art project. Your class can use watercolor to paint rainbows. As they do, have them identify the colors in the rainbow, talk about how...
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Meeting Place
Second graders read a book about carpets, a magic carpet ride, or some other type of story involving rugs/carpets. They examine discuss the classroom carpet, designate it the share carpet and develop rules for classroom carpet behavior.
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Interpreting Data from Birdfeeders
What kinds of birds live in your area? Read a book about birds to your learners and explore their feeding patterns. Charts and graphs are provided in this three page packet, but consider assigning the basic questions if using with young...
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The Koala Life Cycle
Young scholars ask and answer questions about the koala life cycle while visiting the zoo. In this koala lesson plan, students review mammal characteristics, read books about koalas, and answer questions about koalas while at the zoo.
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The Diary of Anne Frank-The Play
The Diary of Anne Frank is not only a book, but a play as well, and this quiz focuses on the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Nineteen of the questions are multiple-choice and one is fill-in-the-blank.
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!
Are your beginning readers trying to build fluency? Use this activity to teach them how to monitor their reading fluency. First they get a sentence to practice with, reading it to their partner once and rereading it silently five times....
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Language Arts: Bringing Verbs to Life
Kindergarteners create action words collections to use in their own writing projects. After listening to several books, they select action verbs to dramatize and take digital photographs of their acting. Once the photos are printed, they...
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Similes and Metaphors
Reward your class with tasty treats while teaching them about simile and metaphor. After a teacher demo and explanation of simile and metaphor, pupils read books, looking for examples of these literary devices and copying them down....
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How Do Bats Navigate At Night?
Through an experiment, learners explore how bats use echolocation. First, they discuss how sound travels through air waves. Then, they talk about the ways bats navigate in the dark. As an extension, they can write about what they have...
Novelinks
Lord of the Flies: Themes and Notetaking
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a treasure trove of symbolism and literary themes. Help your kids note the richest passages in the book with a lesson and graphic organizer. The lesson prepares kids to come up with a thesis...
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All About Me
This is an awesome resource for any elementary or middle school teacher about to start a new school year! This resource includes an extensive list of activities for introducing the members of your class to each other. Some of the ideas...
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Kindergarten
Students engage in a discussion about their preconceived ideas about kindergarten. They share their feelings about being in kindergarten and listen to the book "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss.