Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Graphic Organizer
Help young readers align character relationships in an activity for Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. After kids discuss the characters and how they relate to each other, they use index cards and a graphic organizer to outline the ways...
Penguin Books
Gulliver's Travels Teacher's Notes
Who are "the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth”? Readers of Gulliver’s Travels will learn the answer, as the journey with Lemuel Gulliver to Lilliput,...
National First Ladies' Library
Writing (and Rewriting!) History
Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 7
Sixth graders discuss the vocabulary word, "migrate" and what it means and how it relates to the novel they are reading, Esperanza Rising. In this novel lesson, 6th graders read chapter 7 of their novel in small groups and complete a...
Curated OER
5 W Questions
Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book. In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter. Students...
Curated OER
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....
Curated OER
Do You Have Character?
Sixth graders read Katherine Paterson's novel, Bridge to Terabithia, and watch a video of Maurice Sendak's book, Where the Wild Things Are. They examine the characters in both stories that share similar characteristics. Students use the...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Chraisma by Jeanne Ryan
Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest in...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Counting by 7s
Everyone takes a different journey through grief. A series of lesson plans for the novel Counting by 7s introduces readers to the main character who loses her parents in a car crash. Discussion questions and writing prompts combine...
Anti-Defamation League
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough lesson, discussion guide, and series of activities to discuss the social...
Curated OER
Counting Up/Down Stories
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 that...
Curated OER
The Holocaust: An Introduction for Children (To Be Used with Number the Stars)
In this literature and history worksheet, students prepare to read the novel by Lois Lowry Number the Stars. Students read the history behind the Nazi occupation of Denmark and the arrest of the Jews there. This is a 10 page historical...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Graphic Novel Maus
Students begin reading the graphic novel "Maus". Using the Internet, they discover fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity. Using excerpts from the novel, they identify animal metaphors used for nationalities and ethnic...
Curated OER
Express Your Reading
Learners increase their reading fluency and reading expression through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text without expression. Working with a partner,...
Curated OER
Get Ready to Rumble with Reading
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding, reading with expression, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with the instructor, they read...
Curated OER
Ready, Set, Read
Young scholars increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. They record their word count on a progress chart after timed...
Curated OER
On Your Mark, Get Set, Read
Student increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed assessment of their words read...
Curated OER
I Can Read With Expression
Young scholars practice reading fluently and expressively through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking, decoding, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. They create a deck of expression cards...
Curated OER
On Your Mark, Get Set, Read
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking, decoding, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with the instructor, they read complete a timed...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own terms for common classroom objects,...
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
Use Your Imagination: Reading to Learn
Students examine the process of visualization as a means of comprehending what happens in a story. They read a chapter in a novel, visualize what happened in their mind and then draw a picture of what they visualized. They write two...
Curated OER
911 As History
Students recognize persuasive techniques, think criticaly about the messages contained in various media, and discuss controversial issues in constructive ways. They analyze the deeper messages contained in children's literature, and...
Curated OER
Go, Speed Reader, Go
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking, decoding, and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working in small groups, they read complete a timed...