Virginia Department of Education
Identifying the Main Idea in Fiction
Discovering the main idea in fiction is like uncovering buried treasure; one must persevere to locate it, and the reward is priceless. Scholars delve deep into leveled stories using three questions to aid in identifying the main idea.
Curated OER
Book Parts Matching Activity
In this book parts worksheet, learners match a set of definitions with their correct terms, list ways to care for books and use a word box to match statements to terms.
Curated OER
Nonfiction Books: Table of Contents and Index
How do you find what you're looking for when reading a nonfiction book? Even first graders can learn how to use a table of contents and an index. They use the provided images of each to locate information and answer nine questions.
EngageNY
Determining Main Idea Using Text and Illustrations: Accessing Books Around the World
Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...
Curated OER
Inspector Readers: The 002 Book Club
This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...
Curated OER
Finding the Main Idea: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
An excerpt from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea provides learners with an opportunity to practice their ability to identify the main idea and supporting details in a passage. The beautifully illustrated worksheet also has an...
EngageNY
Close Reading of That Book Woman: How Did People Access Books in Rural Areas of the United States?
For this ninth lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit, close reading skills are used independently to find the gist of the story That Book Woman. Rereading for important details is the targeted skill to unlock a deeper...
Curated OER
Analyzing Literature via Literature Circles
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 lesson includes...
Curated OER
A Book About Me
How big is your foot? How long is your arm? How big is your mom’s hand? After learning how to measure body parts, young writers collect their observations into an illustrated book. Instructions for crafting a 3D Tim Foil Man are also...
Curated OER
Body Parts
In this science instructional activity, students identify the placement of the main parts of the human body. Students begin by cutting out the head and torso pieces and pasting them and the smaller body parts in the proper location.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Nasreen's Secret School: How Do People Access Books in Afghanistan?
Third graders continue to practice the close reading skills of capturing the gist and reading again for important details in the sixth lesson in a larger unit. This is a great beginning-of-the-year unit for establishing visible thinking...
Curated OER
Book Report Task Cards
With 52 task cards, learners will not run out of things to do with a book they are reading independently or with the class. Tasks include making a poster on a specific topic, writing a summary, drafting a sequel, creating a windsock,...
Curated OER
Books - Parts and Care of
For this books worksheet, students match parts of books to their definitions, write how to take care of books, and more. Students complete 3 activities.
Curated OER
Come Fly with Me . . . Open a Book: Travels through Literature
This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...
Reed Novel Studies
The Princess and The Goblin: Novel Study
The Princess and the Goblin's main character, Irene, has a special bond is with her magic great-great-great grandmother that lives in a mysterious part of the castle. Worksheets focused on George MacDonald's novel offer eight vocabulary...
Reed Novel Studies
Wonder: Novel Study
Beauty is more than skin deep. Auggie, the main character in Wonder, has a facial defect, but his inner beauty shines. Taking a cue from Auggie, scholars learn how a person is more than outer appearance. To finish the resource, they...
Curated OER
Introduce: Comprehension Monitoring using About Trees
As scholars begin reading more difficult text, they need to acquire an arsenal of comprehension strategies. Here are few helpful ones to guide new readers through the informational text About Trees, which is linked here for...
Lerner Publishing
Meet the Dinosaurs
Take your class of youngsters on a prehistoric adventure with this four-lesson series on dinosaurs. Accompanying the Meet the Dinosaurs books by Don Lessem, these lessons engage children in writing their own dinosaur books,...
Curated OER
Book of the Month - A Technology-Integrated Literacy Project
Students write a paragraph predicting what the book is about after viewing the front cover. They are given a copy of the Story Parts Maps, students are explained each story part. Students are explained that they most take notes on the...
Curated OER
Parts of a Tree
Students identify four parts of trees. In this plant biology lesson, students read the book Trees and conduct Internet research to identify the parts of the tree. Students take notes from each website and complete an included worksheet.
Curated OER
Fish Book Report
Students use previously prepared book reports about fish themed books to make a shoebox float that displays the theme of the book. Shoe boxes are decorated colorfully, using dolls or stuffed animals as the book character. They create a...
BW Walch
Daily Warm-Ups: Grammar and Usage
If grammar practice is anywhere in your curriculum, you must check out an extensive collection of warm-up activities for language arts! Each page focuses on a different concept, from parts of speech to verbals, and provides review...
EdHelper
George Washington's Socks by Elvira Woodruff
A solid, straightforward book report form is an excellent addition to your literature unit. Class members note the main characters, point of view, plot elements, and other important details from a story, adding their favorite part...
Curated OER
What's In a Phrase? Finding Historical Understandings in an Immigrant Guidebook
Using a Chinese-English phrase book from the late 19th century, learners view a glimpse of life on the frontier for a Chinese immigrant. They work in groups and on their own to analyze and summarize the content of various phrases, given...