Vanderbilt University
Stories from the Panama Canal
The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...
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Ain't Gonna Rain No More
In this creative writing lesson, pupils listen to the song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More", read the book adaptation titled I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!, and pay close attention to the rhyming scheme, punctuation and illustrations. They...
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Bless You
Students practice recognizing the phoneme /a/ in spoken and written words as well as by symbol. They interact with the book, "The Cat Nap," from Educational Insights and the Dr. Seuss book, "ABC's Book." Each student also plays a memory...
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Outer Space
In this space worksheet, students write a sentence for each picture. The pictures show a space shuttle, an astronaut, and a planet.
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Hide and Seek Vocabulary!
Third graders practice word recognition and vocabulary building. They find word cards in the classroom. Then they practice reading the words and using them in sentences. Additional practice is gained by writing the words and using them...
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Expressive Body Part Identification
Students participate in activities with Mr. Potato Head and Inspector Gadget. During the activity, they must request the body part they want to add to the body. They must state their request in a complete sentence and point to the body...
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Geo Jammin' - Day 3, Lesson 9: Attribute Attitude
Second graders read poetry and build their vocabulary through use of the puppet Geo George.
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Children's Picture Books
Fifth graders will enhance their typing skills and practice using Pages, a software for Mac computers, by writing their own children's book. Note: This lesson plan refers to a template that is not included, however, you can adapt this...
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Mud Tortillas
First graders read a story entitled, "Mud Tortillas." After reviewing the book, 1st graders predict what will happen. They review methods and strategies for decoding unfamiliar words. A Venn diagram is created for students to compare...
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Silent Sam
Learners engage in a lesson plan to investigate the children's book Silent Sam and they strengthen the skills reading with expression, concept of print, and recognizing the correct sequence of a story. They practice reading narrative...
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Using Starfall to Review the Short A Sound
Students read a story with the short a sound. The story is about a rat. They access Starfall and select the story called Zac the Rat. They read the story out loud as a group then the students answer comprehension and skill questions...
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"Little" Brothers Share Big Bond
Young scholars listen to the story Little Brothers Share Big Bond and answer comprehension questions. In this lesson on acceptance, students use various areas of reading (vocabulary, fluency, comprehension) to promote compassion and an...
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Expression in Action
Students observe and demonstrate a variety of strategies for reading with expression. They listen to the teacher read different sentences with and without expression and discuss the differences. In small groups, they read the short...
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Only Let Your Brain Hear You!
Learners explore the benefits of silent reading and practice reading silently in this lesson. As they are silently reading, they use the cross checking strategy to monitor their comprehension. The teacher assesses their progress by...
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Listen to the Pin Drop
Learners practice reading silently. The class discusses the benefits of reading silently and several methods for reading silently, including cross checking and chunking. Working in groups, they silently read a leveled text and discuss...
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Speedy Reading
Learners strive to read fluently so their entire reading experience is enriched. They use automatic word recognition, more expressive reading, and faster reading are all products of fluent reading. Students read and re-read decodable...
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Learning to Read With Jet Speed
not a lesson Student's success in school depends on the accuracy at which they can read their materials in the expected amount of time. If students do not read accurately, quickly, and effortlessly they may fall behind their...
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Picture Sentences
Second graders create sentences using word wall or spelling words. For this literacy lesson, 2nd graders type their sentences and attach a clip art picture that coordinates with the word or sentence.
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"Ready, Set, Speed Read!"
Students become fluent readers. They need plenty of time to practice reading familiar text in order to remember more words, read faster, smoother, and more expressively. Students reread familiar text, the more their reading skills with...
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders read and take quizzes over the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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Author! Author!
Beverly Cleary is the fabulous author focused on, in this author study. Students conduct Internet Research in order to find out as much as they can about Ms. Cleary. They then use their findings and the Garageband program to create a...
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Creating a Story that "Stacks" on Itself and Repeats a Catch Phrase
Students explore language arts by reading a classic children's story in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the Judith Viorst book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Students discuss the...
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Color, Play, Podcast
Students encounter the format of a podcast and plan what content they will include. They work in small groups or with the whole class to develop an outline. Students practice reading their scripts to other students.
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Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know. In this Monarch Butterfly lesson,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly. Students gather...